Blank Map Navigation still actual in 2006
Preliminary Remark: We just love the small Qtek G100. We do not have any affiliation with Qtek or any other device maker, mentioned in this article.
Most of our planet's land surface has not yet been mapped out in detail. And an even bigger part you will still not find in the TomTom, Garmin or whichever car navigator devices or programs. GPS can be used everywhere, even at sea. With or without map, it is important to have the ability to use it. For many of our readers a car navigator is only of value when they travel abroad. They will be much better of with a universal solution, that can guide them in the car, but also help them anywhere else.
In 2003 we wrote the following on our GPS Types page:
Quote
The most flexible GPS configuration
Almost every GPS receiver can communicate with a PDA (Pocket-PC or Palm). A good non-mapping GPS receiver will serve you much more than a car navigation system could ever achieve. As stand-alone classic GPS receiver it will be your guiding assistant wherever you are on land, at sea or in the air. Linked to a PDA with commercial navigation software and a route-planner, it is a complete door-to-door car navigation system.
Unquote
We still believe that this is true
But we have to admit that the manipulation of two devices, connected with a cable, sometimes really was a burden. Especially when we had to take them out of and back into the car several times on the same day.
Now we have discovered the Qtek G100
The Qtek G100 is a "GPS PDA", as Qtek calls it. This means that it is a pocketPC with incorporated SiRFStar III GPS receiver. Let's have a look to the practical consequences. Our first photo shows the fronts of the Qtek G100 and our Garmin GPS76. Both have the same screen size, but the Qtek G100 is much smaller and lighter: 128 gr against 229 gr for the GPS76.
The side view of the devices shows an even bigger difference. The cable at the bottom of the Qtek G100 has a mini USB plug, only to power it. The cable with big Garmin proprietary plug in the back of the GPS76 is needed for power and communication with a PDA. More modern Garmin receivers also have a USB plug at the bottom.
And now a photo of the configuration that we have used for almost 3 years. A Garmin GPS76 plus a Dell Axim X5 pocketPC (another 196 gr) with cable between them, and now the Qtek G100 that can perfectly replace the GPS76 and the Axim, in combination and each device separately.
The Qtek G100 can do everything the GPS76 can, and much more
We will have to proof this. After all, a promise is a promise. A couple of years ago there was a question in some Usenet GPS groups how to use a PDA as a non-mapping GPS receiver. We have then promised to try to figure that out. And we have tried, but the hassle with two cable-connected devices, a very long time to first fix of the GPS76 and a somewhat unstable Axim pocketPC, made us abandon this exercise. But with the Qtek G100, it is really a pleasure.
OziExplorerCE
OziExplorerCE is our program of choice to use all possibilities of our Qtek G100. You should know that Waypoints, Routes and Tracks can perfectly be exchanged between OziExplorerPC and OziExplorerCE. Simply copy the respective file(s) from one program (device) to the other. This means that waypoints and tracks, registered in the field, can be visualized on the PC. And you can create waypoints and routes on the PC, simply copy the files to your PDA, and navigate them in the field.
Blank Map
Here is how we created a Blank Map. On a (electronic) map of our region with UTM grid, we decided to choose a rather large area of 35 x 45 km, so that we had the possibility to use one map for several different trips. We noted the Eastings and the Northings of the four corners. In Paint Shop Pro we created a new blank image of 1398 x 1798 pixels and added a black border, one pixel large, to all sides of the image. Not sure if this is really important, but this way we had an image of 1400 x 1800 pixels, which is exactly the number of meters, divided by 25, which means that at 100% scale of the map, 1 pixel in the image equals 25 m on the ground. In OziExplorerCE we can zoom in to 1000%. In that case 1 pixel in the image equals 2.5 m on the ground. This is a high enough resolution for GPS use.
In order to facilitate the calibration in OziExplorer, we added a symmetric white border of 10 pixels to the image and saved it as a .png file (could also have been a .gif). Now we could geo-reference this image in OziExplorer, using the four corners of the black rectangle on the image as calibration points. Via Img2Ozf we created the .ozfx3 and _ozf.map files and transferred them to the Qtek G100.
In OziExplorerCE on the Qtek G100, File Menu --> configuration --> moving map --> Detailed Map, you can set the interval with which the program looks for a more detailed map and automatically loads it. We like this feature very much and let it checked with a 60 sec interval. In order to prevent the program, after 60 sec use of our blank map, to change it with a more detailed "normal" map, we had to introduce another small trick.
Map Storage
The program allows for 6 different places where it will look for maps. Every choice can be checked, or not checked, in File Menu --> Configuration --> Map & Data Files. So we created a folder \Storage Card\Ozi Maps for the "normal" maps and a folder \Storage Card\Ozi Maps Blank for our blank map(s) and copied the .ozfx3 and _ozf.map files for our blank map to the blank maps folder on the Qtak G100. Now, if we want to use a blank map, we check the blank map folder and uncheck the other folder. If we want to switch to "normal" map use, we do the opposite.
How to find maps in OziExplorerCE?
If you click the file folder icon at the bottom of the screen, this opens the \OziExplorer\Maps folder. We have stored our maps on the Storage Card in the Qtek G100. The first item on the screen is "Up One Level". If you click on it, it highlights. If you then click "ok", you are back on the map, already open. So, better double click "up one level" and in the next table again double click the "up one level". Then you double click "storage card". Then you either double click "ozi maps" or "ozi maps blank". And finally you can click the map of your choice and click "ok".
Discipline
For one reason or another, closing a program on a pocketPC, often does not mean stop it from running. You only do not see it anymore. If you use Johan Franson's GpsGate to create virtual ports on your pocketPC, which allows you to run several programs that use the GPS signal, without every time changing the settings, you should consider the following. As every program reads its own virtual port, this means that several programs can read the GPS signals simultaneously.
This is very comfortable when you change programs, but if, after your trip, you forget to tell OziExplorerCE to stop logging to the track file, and you drive home at several hundreds of kilometers, using TomTom Navigator as your guide, you will come home with a huge track log file in OziExplorerCE, as it continued to log to this file, while you used TomTom.
At the start and end point of your trip you better do some cleaning/stopping, like you do with your good old GPS receiver. On the Qtek G100 it is even simpler than on most dedicated GPS receivers. So at the start point you better choose File Menu -->Track Log -->Delete Track Log File and also --> Clear Track Log (Mem). Same for Routes and Waypoints. And at the end point File Menu -->Track Log --> uncheck "Log Track to File". You can also choose not to show waypoints, routes or tracks. View Menu -->Waypoints, Route or Tracks --> uncheck "Show".
Exercises
Let's do some exercises with our new Qtek G100, like we did with our GPS76. See our GPS Exercises page.
In order to familiarize ourselves with the new Qtek G100 we will do a small trip, show the track on our blank map, log the track to file and create some waypoints at the usual points on the trip.
At the start point of our trip we first delete the existing track log file and the existing waypoints file. If you want to keep them, you can always save them under another file name. We want to use our blank map, so we check the blank map file folder and uncheck the "normal" map file folder (see above).
File menu --> Track Log --> Log Track to File. File menu --> Waypoints --> Log waypoints to File. View menu --> Waypoints/Tracks --> Show.
At the start of the trip we mark a waypoint. File menu --> Waypoints --> Create Wp at Position. We repeat this for some more points and after Waypoint 3, our screen looks like this:
At waypoint 5 we wonder how it would have looked on a "normal" map, so we check the normal map file folder and uncheck the blank map file folder. Then: Map menu -->Find Maps --> Find Maps at Cursor. This brings a list with Maps Found. We choose a detailed map for the region and the screen looks like in the image below.
Navigation along a Route
On the PC we have created a Route with 10 Waypoints with OziExplorerPC and saved the Route to a file and the Waypoints to another file. These files we have transferred to the Qtek G100 OziExplorer Data folder. On the road we stopped our car about 500 m before reaching Waypoint 1, the start of the chosen route. Here we deleted files from a previous trip and loaded the waypoints and route files. File menu --> Waypoints --> Load Wp File --> Choose the correct file. File menu --> Route --> Load Route File --> Choose the corresponding file. Now we can start navigating. Map menu --> Navigation --> Forward Route. Now we see a yellow, red outlined, straight line from our actual position (= center of screen) to the first waypoint in the route, if "Draw Nav Line" is selected in Configuration.
As soon as you come within a distance of about 200 m to the next waypoint, a voice prompts you several times what to do at the next waypoint. In the lower left corner this is also indicated with a road sign. At point 2 we have to go straight on, as can be seen in the next screenshot. Next time we will choose different colors for the track and the route.
When we approach point 4 to within about 200 m, we are told to turn right in x meters. On the other hand, the route and the road sign are clear enough.
Remark about Navigation
Contrary to the PC version of OziExplorer, you can not start navigating from another point than the first point of the route. After you started navigation, Map menu --> Navigation --> Forward Route, you have to go to the first waypoint in the active route. If, at the end of the route, you want to navigate back to the start, along the same route, you can do a reverse navigation. Map menu --> Navigation --> Reverse Route. But again, you must start with the last waypoint in the active route.
But what, if halfway the route, you want, or worse, you must go back and want to do a reverse navigation along the route?
Here is a simple solution for this situation. We navigated our previous route with 10 waypoints. You can see the red track along the blue route. At point 7 we wanted to navigate back to the start point. So we deleted the remaining waypoints (8, 9 and 10) from the route file on the Qtek G100 (NOT from the Waypoint List). File menu --> Route --> Route Properties. Click on WP10 and then the Delete button on the right. Same for WP9 and WP8.
In the next picture can be seen that waypoints 8, 9 and 10 are still there, but they are no longer part of the route. A Navigate --> Reverse Route guides us now to WP6, as we are already in WP7.
All went well and here we arrived at the start point of our route.
Go Back
We have not discovered a TracBack function in OziExplorerCE, but no panic, we can perfectly do this the manual way. Simply navigate from one waypoint to another in the reverse order as we created them. Here is how.
We made a small trip and marked the waypoints 0(start), 1 and 2. At a certain moment we decided to go back along the same traject that we came. We marked another waypoint, so we would always be able to find out where we decided to go back. This is waypoint 3. We turned around and started a Go Back navigation to waypoint 2.
File menu --> Waypoints --> Waypoint List. In the Waypoint List we click on WP2, as we want to go there. When WP2 is highlighted, we click the GoTo button on the right. Then OK. On the map we see the yellow navigation line from our actual position to WP2.
We move in the diretion of WP2. As long as the direction is correct, the red arrow, which indicates our direction of travel, and the yellow line will be more or less in line. Now we make a mistake and travel somewhat in western direction.
Very soon the yellow navigation line and our direction arrow are perpendicular to one another. Now it is clear that we are not heading towards WP2 anymore.
Instead of turning back and trying to find out what went wrong, we have continued. We wonder if the yellow navigation line in this case is very useful. Even without it, the track and our direction arrow clearly show that we turned in the wrong direction.
Remark
The Qtek G100 is not waterproof and as the screen is very reflective, it is hard to read in bright sunlight, but it is a small and light marvel, that can mean a lot for its owner and that you can always take with you, wherever you go. No need to leave a Qtek G100 in your car. Never.
As far as we can judge, the Qtek G100, the i-mate PDA-N and the Pharos Traveler GPS 525 are identical devices under different brands.
Some other GPS programs on our Qtek G100
Here is the well-known screen of TomTom Navigator 5.
And here are the results of Navio under a rather good GPS satellite constellation. A HDOP of 0.9 is not bad at all.
