AlpineQuest & OfflineMaps

First thanks for your excellent product.

But I have one problem. I often need to see on the map the position of another moving object, which is not very far from me but I can not see it because of trees or another visual obstacles. The distance from me to another man or a dog is a few hundred meters maximum. I wrote an android program that gets the coordinates of this object from the online service (or without it, directly through wireless sub-gigahertz transceivers) and creates mock location source "RemoteGPS" for AlpineQuest. Switching source of positioning from real GPS to "RemoteGPS" I can see my location and the object location serially but not in the same time. In the forest it is not very informative but very tedious.

I tried to use Android intent mechanism described here viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2618 to add at least a regular waypoint to see it later on the map at the same time as my location, but unfortunately I did not succeed with AlpineQuest version 2.0.4 (r3456) I have taken from 4pda forum.

Is it possible to use this mechanism to display another moving object, for example:

• "psyberia.alpinequest.free.intent.action.REALTIMEMARKER_SHOW": Show the real-time marker on the map. String called "name" specifies a name, string called "lat" specifies a latitude,string "lon" specifies a longitude.

• "psyberia.alpinequest.free.intent.action.REALTIMEMARKER_HIDE": Hide the real-time marker on the map. String called "name" specifies a name.

The obligation to receive and provide the coordinates of the object will be assigned to a third-party program.

Hi and thanks for your feedback.
Before adding one more feature request to the already very long list, here is a summary of various ways to achieve this. Let me know if one is suitable:

• Even if I could never test is myself, it should be possible to start the track recorder on the "External locations" source to track your "object" in real time (the recorded track is updated every few seconds), then set up the real-time GPS position to "Outdoor GPS" to display your own location at the same time.
• Using an intent with the action "net.psyberia.intent.action.DISPLAY_LOCATION": this will add a waypoint on the map at the specified location. You can set various field using the Intent's extras, including: net.psyberia.intent.extra.LONGITUDE (double), net.psyberia.intent.extra.LATITUDE (double), net.psyberia.intent.extra.ELEVATION (double), net.psyberia.intent.extra.NAME (String), net.psyberia.intent.extra.COMMENT (String) and net.psyberia.intent.extra.DESCRIPTION (String).
• Using a Geo URI intent: "android.intent.action.VIEW" as action, "android.intent.category.DEFAULT" as category and "geo:<lat>,<lon>(<label>)" as data.

Please let me know if you have any issue using one of those method or if you need additional details.
Best regards

Thanks for your suggestions, I tried all the methods. They all work as you describe, but each method has its own inconvenience:

• The track recorder really shows the path of the "object", but the "object's" current position can only be determined as the end of the blue line.
• Creates a series of waypoints that clog up the map and then have to be manually deleted. Therefore, it is difficult to see the current location of the "object".
• Similar to the previous method, but first the system asks which application will process the request.

The second method would be most effective if it would be possible to programmatically delete the previous waypoint before creating the next one.

Sorry for the delay, I was busy with the release.
Ok I understand.
It's difficult to add a command to remove an existing point as there is no way to identify a particular point.
However I'll try to add a proper method to follow a remote object.
I'll give you an update soon.

Thank you. I look forward to it.

Hi again and sorry for the delay.
Starting with AlpineQuest 2.0.6 you can specify two new extras when using the intent action "net.psyberia.intent.action.DISPLAY_LOCATION":

• "net.psyberia.intent.extra.TRACK_ID" to save your locations in a specified track named after the extra "String";
• "net.psyberia.intent.extra.SET_ID" to save your locations in a specified set named after the extra "String".

This way you won't have sparse locations all over the map.
Best regards

Thanks for the improvement. But I could not understand how to use this mechanism to clear the map from the previous waypoint when the next one is created.
When I use TRACK_ID extra with the name "track_name" next waypoint added to this "track_name" (and it's comfortable to remove this track with all the created waypoints later after using); but visually on the map it's the same as in the first option of your April message, i.e. the "object's" current position can only be determined as the end of the blue track line.
When I use SET_ID and NAME extras it creates the waypoints with the name labels that clog up the map, so it's the same as in the second option of your April message, excluding it's comfortable to remove this set later.
Please inform is it planned or just I don't know "how to cook properly"?

Hi again,
You got it right, sorry for wrongly understanding what you meant.
I thought the major problem was the sparse waypoints you needed to remove one by one, that's why I added a setting to allow group them in one set.
I've made a new change I released in the last beta version (r3746). You can now specify the extra String "net.psyberia.intent.extra.MEM_ID" so each waypoints with the same ID will replace the previous ones. This way you'll just have one single waypoint at a time.
I've also added the "net.psyberia.intent.extra.ICON" extra String to change the icon of the waypoint.
To get a beta version, you can follow those instructions.
Best regards

Thank you! It works exactly as I need. Additional thanks for the ability to change the waypoint icon.

After the winter break, I start to use this feature again and notice that every time the external coordinates are transmitted via Android intent to AlpineQuest 2.0.10 (each 10 sec), the following occurs:
1. The AlpineQuest screen is centered on the created waypoint instead of the current local location.
2. A blue arrow turns for a short time into a red dot.
3. A distance line appears that connects the current location with the waypoint.
4. The icons appear in the centers of the map tiles, as if the image is rebooting.

Video from the screen can be viewed here.

Why is this happening and is there a way to avoid it?

The centering of the map screen on the created waypoint (1) and a distance line (3) can be turned off by removing the lock from the "GPS position" icon. I can not yet adjust (2) and (4).

Hi again and sorry for the delay.
I'll have a look at this and keep you updated as soon as possible.

Hi again and sorry for the delay.

Here is what I understand (based on your video and by looking at the app code):

- The fact that the map center move over the newly displayed point is actually an issue. It will be fixed in the next update in few days. Note that you must use the intent extra "net.psyberia.intent.extra.MEM_ID" for the map to not move over the newly created point.

- It seems that when the app opens the intent, it's paused for a very short time during which the GPS is temporarily paused. You can try to un-check the app setting "Disable in background" in the GPS section, it should fix 2. and maybe 3.

Hope it helps,
Best regards

Thanks for the tips and the new version of the program.

I was able to fix 1-3; 4 is remained. But it seems that it is a feature not a bug, because I can note that new coordinates of the remote object is received and updated.