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AstrolabeSMS your GPS position
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Newest versionVersion 1.3.1.1 released on 08.07.2009, size 25 KB. It works on any mobile device with DotNet Compact Framework 2, so you need at least Windows Mobile 6, PDA edition (not smartphone). For Windows Mobile 5, first install DotNet Compact Framework 2. Your PDA must have GPS and phone capabilities. To run the program, unzip the downloaded file where you want on your mobile device, and run the executable file.
DescriptionUse your PDA to acquire your GPS position and send it through an SMS. The GPS position is update every 5 seconds (in order to conserve energy). SMSs can be sent automatically at regular time intervals. You can also view the trail of GPS positions where you were. The trail is updated once per minute. The following power saving modes are available: none, manual, auto. For more features read History of changes.
Power savingThe following power saving modes are available: none, manual, auto.
NoneIn this mode there is no power saving. The application and the GPS are running even if the PDA is in standby. GPS positions are retrieved as soon as they are available and are automatically sent through SMSs as soon as it is mandated. Warning: In this mode, the battery is drained quickly (because keeping the GPS active requires a lot of power). Therefore, the "Auto" power saving mode is active by default. Use this mode only when GPS position availability is critical.
ManualIn this mode the power consumption is the same as if the application (including the GPS) is not running. However, you must keep your PDA on in order for GPS positions to be retrieved and automatically sent through SMSs. Use this mode only when power consumption must be at minimum. Switch to this mode when you're going to be stationary for a long time.
AutoIn this mode the application is running all the time, but the GPS is sleeping most of the time. Once every 30 minutes, the GPS is awoken for maximum 5 minutes in order to get a GPS position and automatically send it through SMS. When a GPS position is available, this timer is reset. In this mode, since the PDA sleeps most of the time, it may miss the narrowest chance it may have to get a GPS signal. In order to be sure that GPS positions are retrieved and automatically sent through SMSs, you must keep your PDA on. Warning: Do not rely on the ability of a PDA in standby mode to automatically acquire a GPS position in (maximum) 5 minutes. Check this yourself! Use this mode in most cases.
Survive in the wildernessDo you like hiking? What if you go out in the wilderness and have an accident? How do you direct a rescue team to your location? You can use Astrolabe on your PDA to acquire your GPS position and send it through an SMS to your friends / parents / children / rescue team.
PrivacySMSs are not encrypted, so anyone who tracks your phone number can tell your precise position by reading the SMSs with your GPS position. However, it's debatable whether this is relevant because if someone tracks your phone number, they may already know the position of your phone in the communication grid.
Q & AI didn't receive an automatic SMS at the scheduled time, from my friend / kid / parents. Should I alert the rescue team? Astrolabe doesn't automatically send SMSs if it has no GPS position, but it does so as soon as it acquires one (the delay is measured in seconds if no power saving mode is active). This is done is order to preserve the SIM card's credit, if for instance, you leave the GPS and the program running for an entire night while sleeping in a hotel.
What if there is no GPS signal? The program waits until it acquires a new GPS position. Then, a new SMS is sent within (generally) 5 seconds. If the time to automatically send an SMS is X, the SMS is sent only if more time than X has passed since the last sent SMS.
What if there is no phone signal? If an SMS has to be automatically sent but can't be, the program keeps trying to send an SMS every 5 seconds, until it succeeds.
I just started Astrolabe, put the PDA in standby but I still see the GPS led blinking. Isn't auto power saving mode active by default? Yes, it is. However, when you start Astrolabe, since it has no GPS position yet, it will try to acquire one. Therefore, the GPS will be on for 5 minutes (or less if a GPS position is acquired before that).
How long does the battery last? Tests showed that, for a HTC Polaris with a battery of 1350 mAh, without power saving, the battery would be depleted in about 6 hours. In the auto power saving mode, if no GPS signal is available, the battery would be depleted in about 16 hours; if there is a GPS signal, the battery would be depleted in 30...36 hours.
Can the trail sampling period be increased? The default power saving mode is "Auto", which means that Astrolabe can take a GPS location only once every 30 minutes. As such, the trail can't be updated more often. Even worse, if the 5 minutes window when Astrolabe attempts to get a GPS location is missed (because the GPS reception is poor), the next one is 30 minutes later. You can change the power saving mode is "None", in which case the trail is updated once per minute, but the battery dies out fast. Instead of changing the power saving mode, you could manually start your PDA every time you think it's necessary to get a GPS location (and trail location). (Just look in Astrolabe to make sure that the time of the last GPS location is the current time.)
History of changesVersion 1.3.1.1 When the power saving mode is changed, some explanations are shown to the user.
Version 1.3 The following power saving modes are available: none, manual, auto. Added a menu item to copy the GPS position message to the clipboard.
Version 1.2.1 Improved "Show trail" feature.
Version 1.2 Use the "Main \ Show trail" menu item to view the trail of GPS positions (from the start of the application).
First public release of Astrolabe: version 1.1.1 on 01 June 2009. |
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