GPZ GPS Security

[Steve Herschbach]

There currently is no import/export function and it is absolutely the number one thing limiting the usefulness of XChange and the GPS system as a whole.

That said I think I may be able to hack the system via a script. Hacks already exist for the CTX 3030 that can be applied to the GPZ 7000 but they are more work than they are really worth and not something just anybody can do. Anyone interested can find details at Access and Export XChange Data and Direct GPS Track Data Extraction

An issue related to this is using two computers. Let's say I use a home computer for most work with XChange and use it as the main data repository. Now I take a laptop onto the field, and because the GPZ fills up to the max with data I dump it all to XChange on the laptop and erase the GPZ. Now I have some data on the laptop and some on the home PC. How do I get it all onto the main PC? An export/import function makes that easy. And of course makes it easy to use with other programs or Google Earth.

I honestly do not see people really getting fully on board with this until an export/import function is implemented. Since this could serve both the CTX and GPZ user base a simple hack via a script might be worth a few bucks to the person that develops it.

[Norvic]

If anyone writes such a script I`ll be amongst the first rush to buy it. The fellow who developed Oziexplorer has looked at it and shook his head. A GPS with screen on a gold detector will be standard once users realise the usefulness of this.

[Steve Herschbach]

Hello Dave,

I have pretty well cracked both the GPZ7000 and the XChange databases using the tips I provided at the links above. Both as you note are a SQLite database but in slightly different formats. I am writing a script to export XChange data to Google Earth kml format which is fairly easy, and another to export directly from the GPZ7000 itself. That way data already in XChange can be exported, and, once that is done, data exported directly from the GPZ without even using XChange.

I enjoy scripting, which I used to do a lot, so it is a fun little project. I am considering making the scripts available but what works for me can be pretty basic. Making something that works for others is quite a bit more work though as it requires a lot more polish to make sure others can't screw things up. Lucky for you to have a son to do it for you!

The other nice thing is once in kml format it is easy to convert to use in almost any mapping software. I just bought OziExplorer to experiment with importing into it. Importing into Garmin Basecamp was very easy.

The problem with scripting is it can get addictive. I was fussing with the code last night customizing the find point information in Google Earth to modify the icons and pop up balloons that display the information on nugget depth and weight. I ended staying up way past my bedtime.

I will be writing about using the Zed GPS system a lot in the next month. I am comfortable enough with it now I stopped using my Garmin. I agree - I like the Zed GPS system and having it has become a key part of how I prospect now.

[Norvic]

Way to go Steve and Dave, if your looking for a someone to test your script, I am here, and I`ll pay for such. As I`ve said from the outset the GPS and map software is way up there with the detector in prospecting tools. The paper map is being replaced, although not completely, it is good to lay out the paper on a table but not in the field.

 

 To import and export data simply direct from Xchange or the GPZ into our moving map software on our PCs or notebooks as we can with our handheld GPS`s or droid phone`s, will be a big step in the right direction. A GPZ with a droid screen (as per smart phones) would be a great next step for detector manufacturers. This will come I feel surely as prospectors become experienced with moving map software. We as customers dictate the features of the products we purchase.

 

Not only will this be for gold detectors but for coin detectors also, my son is starting to use the GPS on his CTX as he searches out the old settlement sites in the "big smoke" where he lives. He is finding this and Google Earth powerful productive tools.

 

Whilst I`m no expert, am self taught, I have used Oziexplorer for many years I am here should you require assistance with Ozi.

[jasong]

Now that we know the 7000 can be updated it seems like the easiest solution would be for ML to simply provide a patch to allow a user to opt to save GPS data in KML format, which is something I suggested a few times back in March too. 

 

Not only does it streamline the process, but it potentially allows for importing of geometries back into the 7000 GPS. Or...potentially image overlays as well. I might actually use it if that were the case, as it is now I still have to velcro my phone to the top of my screen to see where all my outlines are at and there is no reason for me to use 2 GPS units.

 

Right now I look at the GPS as an afterthought more suited for coin or relic hunting where you don't need to map out and locate geologic structures or topography or map thousands of different waypoints. It's ok for low-res gridding or basic navigation as I prospect, but it's not a prospecting oriented feature is what I'm trying to say, it has the same limited functionality of even the most basic GPS apps and no further, but the machine is built for 1 purpose: prospecting; so the GPS should have the functionality a prospector requires and a good first start would to be allow import/export in KML format as well as implementing some basic geometry rendering.

 

I'm not saying this to anyone in particular, more to ML. Anytime I send emails to them wether it's the AUS or US branch I just get boilerplate responses from someone who clearly does not understand what I am trying to communicate, so it seems like this medium is a more effective way to communicate ideas to them.

[Steve Herschbach]

You gotta start somewhere and they did. There is certainly room for improvement and no doubt there will be. But Minelab moves slowly when they move at all so my advice to folks is to not be holding their breath. Remember this is not new, it is a carryover from the CTX 3030 and so when you look at it from that perspective there has been no real attempt made at upgrading the GPS capability for a long time.

There is nothing we can do about the GPZ side of things ourselves but somebody out there could easily develop a replacement for XChange that would work for all CTX and GPZ owners. When you add CTX users there are a lot of people out there who might pay a few bucks for a decent replacement. I am nowhere near being a programmer and I think I could do it if I put in the effort. For a genuine programmer it should be a trivial project.

Where the GPZ shines for me is in being able to track my ground coverage on screen as I go to insure I leave no gaps. I can go back at any time later with old tracks loaded up and simply take up where I left off. Marking nugget finds has also paid off seeing patch patterns develop. It is just far easier to do it with the GPZ than with a separate GPS unit. I did not trust the thing and was using both my Garmin and the GPZ for some time, but now that I have the workflow down I finally gave up on the Garmin.

I am not trying to sell anyone else on this so please understand I fully accept whatever reasons people have for not using it and complaints about all the things it could do but does not. I get it. But for anyone interested I am really, really going to be doing up a set of articles on the finer details very soon. Been on the back burner all summer for obvious reasons.

[Steve Herschbach]

Just curious Jason, what do you mean by outlines? Property line? Previously recorded tracks or paths can be reloaded up in the GPZ and viewed. It would be fairly easy to import an artificially created path into the GPZ that would represent a property line.

[jasong]

Yeah I understand the getting it done perspective, no one would ever release an actual product if they kept doing incremental fixes before releasing it.

 

Right, property lines, outlines of areas I want to detect, structural features I map myself like veins and faults, patches of target formations exposed that I find via aerials, etc etc. Mostly just paths and polygons though when it comes down to it. That's a good idea if I'm understanding you correctly with the geometries. You are suggesting just reversing the conversion process with a KML file back into the ML format that contains paths or shapes drawn in another program like Google Earth?

 

BTW, I'm not a professional programmer by any means. I just learn what I need to write tools to automate jobs I need done, maybe similar to you? I've scripted in Python and JS but I can probably follow along with whatever  languageyou are writing in.

 

I'm heading out for the rest of the afternoon, but from what I recall when I was looking at doing a similar thing in March is that the GPZ has some kind of fairly low storage capability when it comes to points and paths which would limit fairly drastically the ability to import shapes. Though if you defined a bunch of shapes as discontinuous paths then you could have a huge number of shapes represnted by 1 path to get around that maybe? I have to admit I haven't even touched the GPS since that time so my memory is not serving well here. It'd be interesting to know if the storage limits are arbitrary and if so what the actual onboard storage capabilities are (in some goldfields I have multiple thousands of points, paths, and polygons) or if the firmware limits are there because of physical flash memory limitations. My pie in the sky hopeful idea for image overlays also has a problem and that is the screen resolution limitation.

 

I'm sure your article series will be very good and many people will discover how to use something they otherwise never would have.

[Steve Herschbach]

You got it Jason, I was thinking just plotting lines in Google earth than using the kml to import the same lines into the GPZ.

I am a computer nerd from when it all started, but I learned long ago investing much effort in learning stuff was lost effort as things change so quickly. So I just figure out what I need to do what I need when I need it, just like you. I use a very obscure and no longer supported program called GDIdb Pro http://www.gdidb.com that can tap into any database and output almost anything. I used it to tap into our in store system for price and inventory information, add details held in an access database, and combine it all into html that automatically loaded every day to create the old online store at AMDS. It built the entire website from scratch each morning and uploaded changed files, so price and inventory information always matched the in store system. It ended up being a very long and very complex script but I had a ball developing get it as it exceeded anything I could buy off the shelf. The main thing about GDIdb Pro is it is dirt cheap, simple, powerful, and very well documented. I own a licensed developer version that lets me create runtime executables but they would be needlessly complex. I was looking at alternatives last night and had pretty much decided Python would be easy enough to learn and use as a mainstream alternative but sheesh, like I need something else to do! I can do what I need to do for just me already - like I say and as you can understand producing something that works for others is definitely more work.

If you are interested the site above allows the shareware version to be downloaded. It has been superseded by modern languages but is ridiculously powerful for such a compact little program.

GDIdb Pro has some native connectivity but for SQLite it uses ODBC. So somebody like Norvic would need a PC. Then they would need to download and install the SQLite ODBC driver from http://www.ch-werner.de/sqliteodbc/ They would then have to install the GDIdb runtime and execute my script. Like I say, kind of clunky but it would work.

I have been thinking of starting a thread on hacking the GPZ/CTX but I am frankly concerned about somebody not using proper precautions hosing their GPZ so I am not going there yet. I want to see if I can purposefully wipe my GPZ and if it then reboots with all needed files or at least can be restored from a generic backup first. The last thing I want is Minelab getting service calls because people mess up the files. It would not be warranty either so best to be cautious. As usual I am juggling lots of stuff but I am "on it" now so will sort it out quickly.