Application that shows Lat/Long etc without maps?

[ElectricBoss]

This is nothing more than a simple light hearted post so please don't read anything into it. I have followed this thread from the start. I don't do geocaching but like applications like this one & have been amazed at how it took off & how smart the developers of this program are. The one thing I have noticed pretty much through out is when this thread sits for a while sam1ee is usually the last one to post. Sam, I would love for you to come over to my house & get the last word in with my wife. Just once I would like to see that. Take care all.

[Opperpanter]

Hi,

Looks promising, will install in a moment.

Maybe it's a good idea to keep the top post up-to-date? I just spent lots of time browsing all 23 pages to get the latest version + install instructions.

[PvT]

Hi all

I'm just going to jump into this thread. Just added Blackstar and will start toying with it. I'm excited to see what this app for Blackberry can do.

I'm already an avid Garmin GPSMAP60CSX user. Fantastic GPSr and the real McCoy. So, I'm a tad GPSr spoiled and will refrain from comparing that apple with this orange.





Also a NUVI 660 (For Car, rarely use it) Easier to use my BB for that, though the NUVI is nice for long road trips.



Cheers,

Peter

[BruceRTL]

I hear you PVT! I to have numerous GPS's. My truck navigation system, my Garmin Vista C, and the Garmin G1000 in the Cessna 172's I fly. But when I'm traveling and want to go geocaching, or just want a way to mark a waypoint. BlackStar is great. Currently, it's more like those hundred dollar Garmin Etrek models but who knows what the future will hold. I don't think it will replace my Garmins', but in those times when I don't have my Garmin, or want to lug my Garmin around - it's great to have!

Enjoy.

[PvT]

^^^ Bruce,

Thanks for the hello. GPSr's are fantastic tools aren't they and they've come such a long way.

First impressions of Blackstar is a very nice package, more features than I really expected. Haven't taken it out into the field yet. I see you can import gpx/loc files, haven't seen an export of waypoints yet, but again, haven't messed with BlackStar long enough. Compass looks great Hear that's a bit of BruceRTL in that.)

cook46933 mentions the small size of the coordinates:

Note: the Main page layout now had the actual gps coords in a very small font. That was to help fit everything and most comments I heard was that nobody was using the raw gps coords. But I did not want to get rid of them. If someone is using that and thinks it is too small, speak up and I can increase it in the next release.

I can certainly understand that they are not needed to be huge, though I will add that on the Bold 9000 hi-res screen, they do display very very small. (Maybe another screen switch for a secondary view of the coords, would be needed for the higher res BB's)

Again, looking forward further exploration of BlackStar.

Are there other Apps I should be looking for further back on this thread, or is BlaclStar a culmination of everything brought forth by this thread?

Peter

[cook46933]

Originally Posted by PvT

I see you can import gpx/loc files, haven't seen an export of waypoints yet, but again, haven't messed with BlackStar long enough.

No export yet. But it a future enhancement we plan on doing.

One note about GPX files is that it currently only works with GPX files created by Geocaching.com's pocket query. It does not work with GPX files created by most other apps because it is looking for specific tags that it seems only geocaching.com uses. That will be fixed soon too.

I can certainly understand that they are not needed to be huge, though I will add that on the Bold 9000 hi-res screen, they do display very very small. (Maybe another screen switch for a secondary view of the coords, would be needed for the higher res BB's)

Yeah, we kicked different ideas around, but I was trying to keep the screen navigation simple. In seeing the screen layout for a while now, I think I could increase the font to a more visible size, we just need to make sure the images don't scroll off the bottom.

I wouldn't want to have to add multiple views to the menu options and make it all cluttered and hard to navigate to a second view. I have been considering implementing the sideways scroll I have seen in other apps to change to different views. That might work better.

Another option is to make the whole screen customizable: choose fields to display and font sizes. This is a little more involved, but would be the most flexible.

Again, looking forward further exploration of BlackStar.

Are there other Apps I should be looking for further back on this thread, or is BlaclStar a culmination of everything brought forth by this thread?

Peter

Yes, this has been a work in progress thoughout the life of this thread. Different versions had different features and different look and feel. I think the original version before the navigation features were added is still an excellent stand alone app which displays location, speed and direction. There are other posts mixed in throughout of other apps that are out there too.

As a GPS afficianado, feel free to recommend other features, all feedback is welcome. It may not be real quick turnaround on new features as this is just a hobby, but we want to make tihs the best app we can.

[BruceRTL]

Good post Dave, as I was reading it, I wondered if maybe the lat/lng could go on the bottom of the screen instead of the top. This way if anything was going to scroll off the bottom, it would be the lesser used items. I have the source code, so I may experiment with that on my own.

[F2]

Maybe it's daylight savings or just the phase of the moon (or blackstar) but how does one figure out which version is out there NOW? (G) Is there a way to add the most current link to the first post of this thread or maybe in one of the programmers' signature?

So, is 1.3 the latest?

(google points back here to this thread)

[cook46933]

Unfortunately, we don't own the initial post to this thread, otherwise that would be perfect. I thought about starting a new thread, but I didn't want to lose all this history.

But I like the signature idea. BTW the current version is 1.3.2

[cook46933]

Originally Posted by BruceRTL

Good post Dave, as I was reading it, I wondered if maybe the lat/lng could go on the bottom of the screen instead of the top. This way if anything was going to scroll off the bottom, it would be the lesser used items. I have the source code, so I may experiment with that on my own.

I am not exactly sold on having any field scroll off the bottom. I am still thinking someone is using the lat lon. Plus two things can still happen, we could still see a screen bounce when information scrolls off the bottom, and when scrolling down, you may not be able to scroll back up.

I am leaning more towards a sideways scroll to another screen and then we can make it fairly large.

[PvT]

Thank you cook46933,

I'm glad I got the latest BlackStar having grabbed it from your post # 323 and am able to confirm that via the Menu / About.

Thanks for getting back to me. I'm glad I finally joined in on the fun and the raising of this star.

Hello to all and we'll see you around

[qfadder]

BlackStar rocks!

I used version 1.3 on the Colorado River over the weekend. B* worked great. I was having issues with GPS locks, but I think that is my BB, not B*. Perhaps I should try an external puck.

I just downloaded v 1.3.2. Very Nice update.
I like the new layout and compass face.
The ability to sort waypoints works well.
The new icon is much easier to find on my home screen.

Feedback -
I like the small font on the Lat/Long, but I would like to have the Alt. in a large font.
Also, in the US display of Alt. I'd prefer the altitude in feet, instead of miles.
It would be great if there was a way to export waypoints.

Once again, thanks for everything cook46933. B* is a great app!

Sprint 8330 w/4.5.0.66

[undetermined22]

Downloaded the latest version last week, finally tested it on the weekend and was very successful.

I like the new layout too. I can read the lat/lon with a bit of squinting, but I haven't been using that feature.

[cook46933]

Originally Posted by qfadder

BlackStar rocks!

I used version 1.3 on the Colorado River over the weekend. B* worked great. I was having issues with GPS locks, but I think that is my BB, not B*. Perhaps I should try an external puck.

I just downloaded v 1.3.2. Very Nice update.
I like the new layout and compass face.
The ability to sort waypoints works well.
The new icon is much easier to find on my home screen.

Feedback -
I like the small font on the Lat/Long, but I would like to have the Alt. in a large font.
Also, in the US display of Alt. I'd prefer the altitude in feet, instead of miles.
It would be great if there was a way to export waypoints.

Once again, thanks for everything cook46933. B* is a great app!

Sprint 8330 w/4.5.0.66

Yes, the altitude in miles was an oversight in switching to common conversiions. I will get that fixed for the next release.

It does seem a lot more people use the altitude than the lat/lon. We'll work on it.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Bob G]

I've been trying out 1.3.2. The new compass is very impressive indeed and I generally think the layout is improving. I also like having the option to not confirm exit. However, I have some comments:

- When driving, the "Spd:" sometimes gets too wide for the field and re-formats the screen so that is has two lines. This makes everything jump around. It probably needs a wider field, smaller fonts, or less significant digits.

- The "small" font for latitude and longitude is way too tiny IMHO. Ideally, I would prefer that all the fields stay within 1 size of the user's default font. One of the things I like about the BlackBerry is that you can set the size and face of the screen fonts to suit your tastes. So if you're 20 years old, tiny fonts let you see more information on the screen. But when you're 50, you can crank up the size to make it legible. You can't do that with Palm, Windows or iPhone OS!