Update README for USB
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# Navpoint Desktop
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This is a simple Python program that will run two HTTP servers. One listens on
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the computer's local IP address (e.g. `192.168.x.x`), port 8888, to receive
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location updates from the [Navpoint
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Mobile](https://gallery.appinventor.mit.edu/?galleryid=2c18ee4d-4eed-452a-9228-de8e813820d1)
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Android app. The other listens on `127.0.0.1` (i.e. `localhost`), also on port
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8888, for connections from a digital globe program such as [Google Earth
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Pro](https://www.google.com/earth/about), allowing that program to track the
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user's location. (Navpoint is not developed or endorsed by Google.)
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Navpoint makes the user's current location available in KML format over
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a local HTTP server (listening on `127.0.0.1`; external devices cannot
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connect). Its main purpose is to allow GPS tracking from a digital globe
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program such as [Google Earth Pro](https://www.google.com/earth/about).
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(Navpoint is not developed or endorsed by Google.)
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Navpoint Desktop has a minimal GUI consisting only of a QR code. Simply scan
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the code in Navpoint Mobile to establish a connection. The phone and computer
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must be on the same Wi-Fi network; if a router is not available, enabling
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mobile hotspot on the phone and connecting the computer to that network should
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work well. An Internet connection is not needed; Navpoint works over a LAN.
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Navpoint Desktop makes the geographic data available in KML format at
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Navpoint makes the geographic data available in KML format at
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`http://127.0.0.1:8888/navpoint.kml`. The `navpoint_link.kml` file in this
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repository contains a link to this URL configured to update every three
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seconds; simply open this file in Google Earth or another compatible program to
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connect to Navpoint Desktop.
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## Connection modes
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Navpoint can obtain location information from two different sources. The first,
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recommended where possible, is from a USB GPS receiver that supports the [NMEA
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0183](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NMEA_0183) protocol. (A handheld GPS
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receiver connected to a computer may or may not work; it does not work with my
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Garmin GPSMAP 64st. Any common USB GPS dongle, such as [this one available from
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Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/VK-162-G-Mouse-External-Navigation-Raspberry/dp/B01EROIUEW/)
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should work, although, of course, I cannot guarantee that any particular device
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will be compatible with Navpoint. On Windows, USB mode should work
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out-of-the-box with a compatible GPS receiver; on Linux, your user account
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needs to be a member of the `dialout` group. If you get "Permission denied"
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errors from Navpoint, run `sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER`, then log out and
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back in.
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Alternatively, you may use the [Navpoint
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Mobile](https://gallery.appinventor.mit.edu/?galleryid=2c18ee4d-4eed-452a-9228-de8e813820d1)
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Android app. This uses an Android phone's GPS receiver to obtain location data;
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however, it is typically less accurate than a USB module, and more likely to
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have problems. Navpoint Desktop runs a second HTTP server listening on the
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computer's local IP address (e.g. `192.168.x.x`), and the phone connects to
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this server and sends location updates via HTTP requests. If you want to use
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Navpoint Mobile, choose that option when opening Navpoint Desktop, then scan
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the QR code from Navpoint Mobile. (Make sure that your phone and computer are
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on the same Wi-Fi network, or that your phone's hotspot is on and your computer
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is connected to it.)
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## Licensing
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Navpoint Desktop is released under the [GNU General Public License
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