2.9 KiB
Executable File
Navpoint Desktop v0.10dev
Navpoint makes the user's current
location available in KML format over a local HTTP server (listening on
127.0.0.1; external devices cannot connect). Its main purpose is to allow GPS
tracking from a digital globe program such as Google Earth
Pro. (Navpoint is not developed or
endorsed by Google.)
Navpoint makes the geographic data available in KML format at
http://127.0.0.1:8888/navpoint.kml. The navpoint_link.kml file in this
repository contains a link to this URL configured to update every three
seconds; simply open this file in Google Earth or another compatible program to
connect to Navpoint Desktop.
Connection modes
Navpoint can obtain location information from two different sources. The first,
recommended where possible, is from a USB GPS receiver that supports the NMEA
0183 protocol. (A handheld GPS
receiver connected to a computer may or may not work; it does not work with my
Garmin GPSMAP 64st. Any common USB GPS dongle, such as this one available from
Amazon
should work, although, of course, I cannot guarantee that any particular device
will be compatible with Navpoint. On Windows, USB mode should work
out-of-the-box with a compatible GPS receiver; on Linux, your user account
needs to be a member of the dialout group. If you get "Permission denied"
errors from Navpoint, run sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER, then log out and
back in.
Alternatively, you may use the Navpoint
Mobile
Android app. This uses an Android phone's GPS receiver to obtain location data;
however, it is typically less accurate than a USB module, and more likely to
have problems. Navpoint Desktop runs a second HTTP server listening on the
computer's local IP address (e.g. 192.168.x.x), and the phone connects to
this server and sends location updates via HTTP requests. If you want to use
Navpoint Mobile, choose that option when opening Navpoint Desktop, then scan
the QR code from Navpoint Mobile. (Make sure that your phone and computer are
on the same Wi-Fi network, or that your phone's hotspot is on and your computer
is connected to it.)
Licensing
Navpoint Desktop is released under the GNU General Public License
v3.0, except the files
navpoint/get_ip.py and navpoint/fix_path.py, which are released under
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
International due to use of
code published on Stack Overflow
(get_ip.py and
fix_path.py).
Navpoint Mobile is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0.