NAME

       mtkbabel - Tool for managing GPS data loggers based on the MTK chip

SYNOPSIS

       mtkbabel [-abcdEfhiIlmopRrstvwx]

DESCRIPTION

       mtkbabel  is  a  command line program to operate GPS data loggers based on the MediaTek MTK chip.  It was
       tested on the i-Blue 747, Qstarz BT-Q1000 and on the Holux M-241, it should  work  also  with  other  GPS
       devices based on the same chip.

       The main features are:
        - Command line interface
        - Save data log in GPX and raw binary format
        - If required retrieve all the data, also the old one being overlapped
        - Change logging criteria: time, distance, speed
        - Change log format
        - START/STOP logging
        - Set OVERLAP or STOP method on memory full
        - Erase the internal memory

USAGE

       In order to use mtkbabel, please follow these instructions:

       1. Attach the GPS data logger device to your computer via USB.

       2.  Now  you  have to switch the GPS device (at least the i-Blue 747) into LOG or NAV mode, otherwise the
       device will not be powered on, and no connection will be possible. Beware that in  NAV  mode  the  device
       goes into sleep mode if not connected to any Bluetooth device.

       3.  In order to use mtkbabel you have to either be root (not recommended) and/or you must have read/write
       permissions for the USB device file, usually /dev/ttyUSB0.  This device  usually  has  permissions  'crw-
       rw---- 1 root dialout', so you can either add your user to the dialout group (in this example) by doing

          $ adduser USERNAME dialout

       or (not recommended) make the device world-readable/-writable by doing:

          $ chmod 666 /dev/ttyUSB0

       Another  option  is  to  write  a  udev  rules  file  to change the owner and permissions of /dev/ttyUSB0
       according to your requirements.

       4. You can now run mtkbabel. For example, if you want to download the track log and the list of waypoints
       you captured on the device, run:

          $ mtkbabel -s 115200 -l off -f foo -w -t

       The  default  speed of 115200 baud should work in most cases and you can omit it, for the Holux M-241 you
       must use 38400 instead.  This will turn off the autolog function, which is  always  turned  on  when  you
       switch  on  the  device.  The  track  log  will  be  in  the  file foo_trk.gpx, the waypoints in the file
       foo_wpt.gpx (both in GPX format). The file foo.bin will contain the binary log file. Downloading the data
       from the GPS device can take several minutes, depending on how much data has to be transferred.

       In order to delete all data from the GPS device, run:

          $ mtkbabel -s 115200 -E

OPTIONS

       -a     Read all the log memory (overlapped data).

       -b filename.bin
              Do  not  read  data  from  a  GPS  device, but rather read a previously saved .bin file. Ignore -f
              option.

       -c     Create a GPX file with both tracks and waypoints.

       -d debug_level
              Debug level: 0..7.

       -E     Erase data log memory.

       -f     Base name for saved files (.bin and .gpx). If you, for  example,  use  -f  gpslog,  mtkbabel  will
              create files which are called gpslog.gpx, gpslog_trk.gpx, gpslog_wpt.gpx and gpslog.bin.

       -h     Show a help text and exit.

       -i     Ignore some error conditions and try to extract as much data as possible from GPS.

       -I     Same as -i, but also write bad records into the GPX file.

       -l {on|off}
              Turn logging ON/OFF.

       -m {stop|overlap}
              Set STOP/OVERLAP recording method on memory full.

       -o log_format
              Enable  or  disable  log  fields  (FIELD1,-FIELD2,...),  available  fields:  UTC, VALID, LATITUDE,
              LONGITUDE, HEIGHT, SPEED, HEADING, DSTA, DAGE, PDOP, HDOP, VDOP, NSAT,  SID,  ELEVATION,  AZIMUTH,
              SNR, RCR, MILLISECOND, DISTANCE.

       -p port
              Communication port, default: /dev/ttyUSB0.

       -R     Recover from disabled log: erase data and reset recording criteria.

       -r time:distance:speed
              Set  logging  criteria  (zero  to  disable):  every 0.10-9999999.90 seconds, every 0.10-9999999.90
              meters, over 0.10-9999999.90 km/h. Not all the devices support such wide ranges,  more  reasonable
              values are 1-999 seconds, 10-9999 meters and 10-999 km/h.

       -s speed
              Serial port speed, default 115200 baud.

       -t     Create a GPX file with tracks.

       -v     Show version information and exit.

       -w     Create a GPX file with waypoints.

       -x     Force  reading  Holux format. This is required to read-back the binary data produced by some Holux
              devices, which do not embed into the data itself the Holux identifier string.

BUGS

       Please report any bugs to Niccolo Rigacci <niccolo@rigacci.org>.

LICENCE

       mtkbabel is covered by the GNU General Public License (GPL), version 2 or later.

AUTHORS

       Niccolo Rigacci <niccolo@rigacci.org>

       This manual page was written by Uwe Hermann <uwe@hermann-uwe.de>.  It is licensed under the terms of  the
       GNU GPL (version 2 or later).

                                                  July 30, 2011                                      MTKBABEL(1)