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Forums > Windsurfing General

Sailplay port to Windows - Who is keen ?

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Created by jn1 > 9 months ago, 12 Mar 2013
jn1
SA, 2501 posts
13 Mar 2013 12:49AM
Thumbs Up

All

Three years ago I wrote a program called Sailplay. It's a program that converts GPS log data into a google moving map movie (MPEG) file. Here are two movies I produced for a mate last summer from his GPS log data:





Sailplay is a Linux (UNIX) program and when I announced it's availability to seabreeze users back then, it didn't receive any interest. This was understandable as nobody uses Unix now days. As a winter project, I am toying with the idea of converting this program to a Windows program and releasing it as freeware. I was wondering if anybody would be interested ?

BUT... there is a catch though. Sailplay is "command line" driven and I'm pretty sure that most seabreeze users would get an anaphylactic reaction to that, so that is what I'm worried about (and hence wasting my time). Maybe, down the track if the software becomes popular it would be worth making it GUI driven for the greater masses.

Anyway, what are people's thoughts on this ?. Is it worth going ahead ?

Cheers J

FormulaNova
WA, 14880 posts
13 Mar 2013 5:21AM
Thumbs Up

Sounds good to me.

Can you have multiple GPS files running at the same time, so that you can show multiple people on the same map? This would be good so that you can watch it like a race.

Mobydisc
NSW, 9029 posts
13 Mar 2013 8:36AM
Thumbs Up

That looks very clever. Would you plan to sell it or make the application available for free?

powersloshin
NSW, 1731 posts
13 Mar 2013 8:57AM
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Looks awesome, I saw something similar, but on a static map, not nearly as good. I have some programming background, would be ready to use it from the command line anytime, but should not be too difficult to wrap your commands in a graphical UI. Or in the beginning you could get the user to edit a config or batch file to pass the parameters to the application. Great work.

Cluffy
NSW, 415 posts
13 Mar 2013 2:43PM
Thumbs Up

I like the colour coded speed.

I'd be willing to pay a few bucks for a user friendly bug free version. I think this type of thing will eventually come in on most GPS software but if you get in first you might make an early name for yourself that sticks in peoples minds and promotes a bit of brand loyalty.

Sailhack
VIC, 5000 posts
13 Mar 2013 4:34PM
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Would be very cool with a little animated windsurfer!

jn1
SA, 2501 posts
13 Mar 2013 9:30PM
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FormulaNova: Yes, definately :)

Mobydisc: It will be released under the the Perl foundation artistic
licence 2.0 (ie: freeware). Note: Sailplay is written in 'C' not Perl though.

powersloshin: The first step is just getting it working under windows.
I've never done this before, so a bit of a learning curve. By that
stage, people can start using it. I could semi-automate the process with
desktop shortcut icons that run commands (ie: user renames a GPS log
file, "in.txt", then double clicks a shortcut icon, movie file then
appears etc). If it gains momentium, I could look at making it a proper
Windows app. However, I'm not a Windows developer, and I'm not going to
splash out on a developer's licence, which I think costs a few grand.

Cluffy: Thanks :)

Sailhack: There is one in Nick's movies, but it's scaled to be the same
size as a real windsurfer, and the view is too far away to see it (I did
that for a reason in Nick's movies, but long story). Note: In my
program, the sail racks back when you go fast for effect.



J

jermaldan
VIC, 1572 posts
14 Mar 2013 12:36AM
Thumbs Up

I think that its pretty cool.

Do you know what gps software the yachties use to track their races? Saw this in the Olympics and looked quite good. being able to pan in and around like that is definitely awesome. Great for races and making sure everyone make it around the mark.

Interesting if this could be written into a smartphone app? Track and render your trip, or log your trip live via the cell connection onto a server for a race so it can be viewed from shore on a screen connected to a computer... good for spectators.

GWilko
SA, 110 posts
14 Mar 2013 10:03AM
Thumbs Up

Plenty of people are using Linux OS's, just a lot more (hell of a lot more) are running Windows.

Did a bit of C and VB coding at uni so might be able to help a little bit, haven't got much spare time, currently working in infrastructure doing some application packaging and other stuff so getting non standard apps working in win7 is fairly standard part of my day.

Happy to lend a hand.
Cheers
Graeme

jn1
SA, 2501 posts
14 Mar 2013 8:01PM
Thumbs Up

jermaldan: I'm guessing they would use the NMEA0183 standard (pronounced "Enemy 183"), which is a defacto standard for weather stations and GPS loggers (the GT-31 GPS logger records NMEA0183. Here is the link to the protocol. www.tronico.fi/OH6NT/docs/NMEA0183.pdf. Yes, portable devices is the way of the world now. Unfortunately Sailplay doesn't track live, but it wouldn't be too hard to recode for it to receive live NMEA0183 streams via wireless etc. In Unix-land (and windows has copied this too), everything is either a file or a process, and a wireless connection is treated in unixland as a file too. So yeah, piece of piss to modify it to display realtime feeds from remote GPS loggers as you described.

GWilko: Times have changed too. The era has homebrew software is gone. Big companies have have hijacked GPL, which is good and bad..

jn1
SA, 2501 posts
14 Mar 2013 8:14PM
Thumbs Up

To all that have replied, thank you for your positive feedback, but the numbers aren't enough. This is niche software, and it looks like it won't get any interest if I went ahead. However, I'll make Unix/Linux distribution publicly available to all. Watch this space. For Mac OS X users, this should work (ie: downloading a GCC/binutils toolchain and compiling/making/installing distribution) on your equipment, as OS X is really just a Linux/X-Windows system. If you are keen, and you need a hand getting it going, then I'm more than happy to help guide you

Mobydisc
NSW, 9029 posts
14 Mar 2013 9:20PM
Thumbs Up

Hi,

I have both an Mac and an Android phone. I'm thinking about getting an Android tablet later on. If you could get an app like this going on either device that would be unreal.

I'm keen to be a tester for Mac if you need one.

A question about your utube vids. How where they recorded?

Windxtasy
WA, 4015 posts
14 Mar 2013 7:31PM
Thumbs Up

Don't underestimate response from replies so far. Post this again on the GPS forum. They are the ones most likely to be interested, and rename it "Turn your GPS track into a movie". Frankly I have seen your post a few times and never bothered to look at it because the title is too obscure.
I think you are very clever and it's a great idea. I always like to look at my GPS track after a session and I'd like to trace my track to work out where a certain event occurred but sometimes the spaghetti lines get so crossed over I can't.
Love the colour coding for speed! That is really useful.
Perhaps you can talk to KA72 (Dylan) and combine your efforts? Just as after dowloading data to KA 72 you can view your track on google earth, perhaps you could view it on sailplay? That might take out any tricky steps the sailor has to do him/herself.
Don't give up. It's a great idea.

Fez
NSW, 130 posts
14 Mar 2013 11:51PM
Thumbs Up

I am keen to give it a go... I am a Mac user so would need some help to get it up and running.
Great visuals.
Fez

paddymac
WA, 937 posts
14 Mar 2013 9:11PM
Thumbs Up

Windxtasy said...
Perhaps you can talk to KA72 (Dylan) and combine your efforts? Just as after dowloading data to KA 72 you can view your track on google earth, perhaps you could view it on sailplay? That might take out any tricky steps the sailor has to do him/herself.
Don't give up. It's a great idea.

Great idea.

jn1 - there are heaps of coders in the windsurfing community, I'm sure there would be plenty of helpers.

jn1
SA, 2501 posts
15 Mar 2013 4:42PM
Thumbs Up

Windxtasy said...
rename it "Turn your GPS track into a movie". Frankly I have seen your post a few times and never bothered to look at it because the title is too obscure.


Windxtasy: That is an excellent point. Will do.

paddymac: That is an excellent idea too "KA72 (Dylan)". I'll shoot him an email soon.

Okay. I'll first release the unix version first. This will be the first public release. This will happen soon. I want to fix an intermittent bug I noticed when producing Nick's movies. This is what is delaying release.

I'll then produce a pictural instruction (ie: "follow the bouncing ball") to make it as easy as can for people (PDF format). ..and then we'll take things from there. Then I'll attempt a Windows conversion in the next few months, as well as aid Mac users. I'm not a Mac user and have no idea how Apple has tailored (butchered?) the Linux OS, so this is going to be a learning curve for me, and I'll be doing it blind.

J

jn1
SA, 2501 posts
30 Mar 2013 1:32AM
Thumbs Up



Sailplay revision 9 is now publicly available. This is a Unix version and will only work on operating systems like Linux, OpenBSD and (and with some poking) Mac OS X. Here is the link below:

www.fileden.com/files/2013/3/29/3431045/sailplay-9.0.0.tar.bz2

I'll investigate a Windows port when time permits. Watch this space.

J

FormulaNova
WA, 14880 posts
30 Mar 2013 7:01AM
Thumbs Up

I'm getting 'file not found' when I click on the link. Anyone been able to download it?

BRUCE H
NSW, 179 posts
30 Mar 2013 10:46AM
Thumbs Up

This seems similar to the GPS Action Replay free software which also has a paid version more up to date. It allows you to see several GPX 0r NMEA tracks simultaneously and you can superimpose it on a google earth or map (though I never did that). We used to use it to follow our Formula Racing a few years ago but it died out. The free version is no longer supported but you can still download it. I can't get it to work on my laptop but is fine on my XP desktop. I use it now to see where I went fastest during a session, it will display the speed, VMG, wind direction & gives the statistics for the session. I am saying all this in case you are wasting your time, your version looks cool.

seanhogan
QLD, 3424 posts
30 Mar 2013 11:15AM
Thumbs Up

Windxtasy said...
I always like to look at my GPS track after a session and I'd like to trace my track to work out where a certain event occurred but sometimes the spaghetti lines get so crossed over I can't.
Love the colour coding for speed! That is really useful.
Perhaps you can talk to KA72 (Dylan) and combine your efforts? Just as after dowloading data to KA 72 you can view your track on google earth, perhaps you could view it on sailplay? That might take out any tricky steps the sailor has to do him/herself.
Don't give up. It's a great idea.


+1 !!!!!!!

AUS1975
QLD, 2 posts
30 Mar 2013 7:00PM
Thumbs Up

jermaldan said...
I think that its pretty cool.

Do you know what gps software the yachties use to track their races? Saw this in the Olympics and looked quite good. being able to pan in and around like that is definitely awesome. Great for races and making sure everyone make it around the mark.

Interesting if this could be written into a smartphone app? Track and render your trip, or log your trip live via the cell connection onto a server for a race so it can be viewed from shore on a screen connected to a computer... good for spectators.


tacktracker.com/ Australian Sailing team use tacktracker

jn1
SA, 2501 posts
31 Mar 2013 8:08PM
Thumbs Up

FormulaNova: Okay. That file den site doesn't look like it's any good (it's been a long time since I have released something. It used to be FTP repositories). I'm just recovering my sourceforge account. I'll try uploading it on that and repost a link that works. Thanks for letting me know (failing that, I can email you the file).

Bruce: Thanks for info. What you have just said has set my mind at rest. I won't waste my time since there is Windows stuff already out there that does the same job (unless some budding software developer wants to do it as an exercise ??).

AUS1975: Okay, thanks.

I'll repost a sourceforge download link (if it works) and leave it at that. Watch this space.

J

jn1
SA, 2501 posts
31 Mar 2013 8:47PM
Thumbs Up

Okay FormulaNova, try the link below.

sourceforge.net/projects/sailplay/files/latest/download

J

CRO169
44 posts
31 Mar 2013 9:39PM
Thumbs Up

Could you suggest a similar software to yours that runs on Windows, since you decided not to develop the Windows version yourself? Btw the software looks great and I would really need something like that.
Thanks!

Fez
NSW, 130 posts
1 Apr 2013 11:10AM
Thumbs Up

Can you help me get it going on a mac.
Not sure what is needed.
Thanks

jn1
SA, 2501 posts
1 Apr 2013 12:05PM
Thumbs Up

CRO169 said...
Could you suggest a similar software to yours that runs on Windows,
Thanks!

Yep, from the above comments, there is:

GPSActionReplay gpsactionreplay.free.fr/

Tack tracker tacktracker.com/

I had a look on GPS Action Replay's web site before I wrote sailplay (circa late 2009). I don't know it's support now, but back then you had to pay for it, and it was Windows only. That didn't suit me.

The Tacktracker software looks the goods for most seabreeze users (nearly everyone at my locals is operating their phone to look at seabreeze or BOM). Phone applications is at the vanguard of software development now days.

Fez: I'll PM you shortly.

J

CRO169
44 posts
2 Apr 2013 4:04AM
Thumbs Up

Thanks jn1, I'll try them ...

AJEaster
NSW, 696 posts
3 Jan 2014 3:01PM
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Select to expand quote
Fez said..

Can you help me get it going on a mac.
Not sure what is needed.
Thanks


That is really cool. I am a Mac user as well so I will give it a run. Fez, it all work out for you?

saltiest1
NSW, 2510 posts
3 Jan 2014 9:06PM
Thumbs Up

how would it go for a 3d overlay onto google?
theres a whole bunch of wing suit fliers i know that would be a good market for this stuff if it was made really simple to use. we need it for performance checking our jumps and for a new competition thats developing in distance flying.

Roar
NSW, 471 posts
4 Jan 2014 6:23PM
Thumbs Up

check out the pidgeon racing forums :

gavnwend
WA, 1367 posts
4 Jan 2014 4:13PM
Thumbs Up

That pigeon racing tracking device is pretty cool gives you a perspective on where & how we could do it in windsurfing.



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"Sailplay port to Windows - Who is keen ?" started by jn1