Hacking GPS

Kathie Kingsley-Hughes0764584243, 9780764584244

here are an estimated 30 million GPS receivers (GPSrs) currently in use in the civilian market. These receivers come in a variety of forms, from hand-held receivers, in-car systems, add-on devices for hand help computers and embedded receivers in other devices (such as watches and cell phones). The user manuals explain the basic functions of the GPS system, but they don’t go into any detail about the finer points of the technology, and they don’t tell users how to modify it, tweak it, and hack it in order to become power users and get the most out of a GPS system. These documents don’t want to reveal how to take a GPS to new levels! Hacking GPS does that and more! It offers the following coverage that no other title on the market details:·Hardware Hacks – Secret keycodes, hidden features, building power cords and cables, hacking the battery, hacking the antenna, mounting your GPS, protecting it from impact and falls, making a screen protector, and solar powering your GPS.·Software Hacks – Hacking the firmware, hacking into your PC Connection with a GPS, and COM or USB·Data Hacking – Software needs -free and commercial, creating data, waypoints, screenshots, troubleshooting, and more data tricks·Playtime – GPS Games, Hacking Geocaching, and use your GPS as a Metal Detector·Any potentially dangerous mod (from the point of view of the device) will be clearly labeled and precautions to take listed.·How to get a deeper understanding of how receivers work and how to get more out of them than the manufacturers want the users to!·Hardware that the reader can build to increase the function, performance or power of theirGPS.Hacking GPS fills the void that the manuals leave by giving the GPS user the information they need in order to get the most out of their investment – by hacking the system and taking a look at all of the super cool tweaks that can be done to/with a GPS.

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Table of contents :
Cover……Page 1
Contents at a Glance……Page 12
Contents……Page 14
Hardware Hacks……Page 18
Hidden Secrets……Page 20
Hard Resets……Page 21
Full GPS Resets……Page 22
Diagnostic Screens……Page 23
Magellan Secret Screens……Page 24
Magellan Meridian Series……Page 25
After a Hard or Soft Reset……Page 28
Summary……Page 29
Cables Demystified……Page 30
The Data Cable……Page 31
Power Cords……Page 33
Combo Cables……Page 34
Multi-Data/Power Cables……Page 35
Materials You Will Need……Page 36
Don’t Want to Buy a Connector?……Page 45
Making Power Cords……Page 47
Testing……Page 48
Precautions……Page 49
GPS/iPAQ Connections……Page 50
Cradle Modification……Page 51
Testing the Connection……Page 54
Summary……Page 56
Alkaline Batteries……Page 58
Lithium Batteries……Page 59
Rechargeable (NiMH) Batteries……Page 60
Power Hacks……Page 63
Carrying Your Own 12-Volt Power Supply……Page 64
Battery Packs……Page 66
A Different Kind of Battery Pack……Page 69
Alternative Power Supplies……Page 74
Summary……Page 77
The GPS Antenna……Page 78
Quad-Helix Orientation……Page 80
Patch Antenna Orientation……Page 81
Best Performance Summary……Page 82
External Antennas……Page 83
Antenna Placement……Page 87
Reradiating Antennas……Page 89
Personal Reradiating Antenna……Page 90
Reradiating Antenna Considerations……Page 91
Setting Up a Reradiating Antenna in a Car……Page 92
Making the System Permanent……Page 93
Cable Losses……Page 94
Connector Losses……Page 95
Materials……Page 96
Building the Antenna……Page 97
Summary……Page 102
Screen Damage……Page 104
Screen Protectors……Page 105
More Screen Armoring……Page 110
Commercial Protection for GPS and PDAs……Page 116
Car Mounting……Page 125
Mounting a GPS for Biking, Hiking, and Skiing……Page 128
Making a Personalized Case……Page 130
Summary……Page 139
Software Hacks……Page 140
Firmware……Page 142
Updating Warnings……Page 143
Updating the Firmware……Page 145
Hacking GPS Firmware……Page 146
Bypassing the Garmin eTrex Vista Startup Screen……Page 147
Bypassing the Garmin eTrex Venture Startup Screen……Page 150
MeMap Personalization……Page 151
Manual Firmware Editing……Page 156
Magellan GPS Firmware Modifications……Page 160
Garmin……Page 161
Summary……Page 162
The PC— GPS Relationship……Page 164
Connection Types……Page 167
PC Connection Trouble……Page 172
General PDA Connection Trouble……Page 174
General Bluetooth Connection Trouble……Page 175
Windows XP Problem: Microsoft Ball Point……Page 176
Microsoft MapPoint Troubleshooting……Page 177
Summary……Page 179
GPS Data Collection……Page 182
Position, Velocity, Time……Page 183
Waypoints……Page 188
Working with the Data……Page 190
EasyGPS……Page 191
G7toWin……Page 205
Sharing Waypoints……Page 207
Adding GPS Information to Digital Photos……Page 208
Wardriving……Page 209
GPS in Programming……Page 210
Summary……Page 211
NMEA……Page 212
NMEA Sentence Structure……Page 213
A Closer Look at NMEA Sentences……Page 214
Examining NMEA Sentences……Page 216
NMEA Checksum……Page 222
Using NMEA Sentences……Page 223
GPS NMEA LOG……Page 224
GPS Diagnostic……Page 226
RECSIM III……Page 228
GpsGate……Page 230
Recording Actual NMEA Sentences with GpsGate……Page 233
Recording Simulated NMEA Using GpsGate……Page 236
Why Bother with NMEA?……Page 237
Avoiding Data Corruption……Page 238
Summary……Page 239
G7toWin……Page 240
G7toCE……Page 246
Turning Your PC into a High-Precision Atomic Clock……Page 253
Setting Up the Software……Page 254
Setting Up the Hardware……Page 259
Hooking Up Hardware to Software……Page 260
Bringing a GPS Signal Indoors……Page 261
Other Uses for GPS Data……Page 263
Azimuth and Elevation Graphs……Page 265
Surveying……Page 266
Signal Quality/SNR Window……Page 267
Experiment for Yourself……Page 268
Summary……Page 269
Playtime……Page 270
GPS Accuracy……Page 272
The Birth of Geocaching……Page 274
Geocaching from Beginning to End……Page 275
The Final 20 Yards……Page 278
Go Paper-free……Page 283
Plan Before You Leave……Page 286
Sort Out Cabling……Page 289
Power for the Trip……Page 291
Better Antennas……Page 295
Protecting the GPS……Page 297
Summary……Page 304
GPS Games……Page 306
The Dawn of GPS Games……Page 308
Points of Confluence……Page 309
Benchmarking/Trigpointing……Page 311
GPS Drawing……Page 312
Hide-and-Seek……Page 314
Foxhunt……Page 317
Other Games……Page 318
Summary……Page 319
The GPS Network……Page 320
How GPS Works……Page 324
GPS Signal Errors……Page 328
Summary……Page 329
Websites/Internet Resources……Page 330
Glossary……Page 334
Index……Page 338