Posts tagged add-ons
Two New Depiction Add-ons Available Now!
Apr 17th
Created as accompaniments to the Recreation Add-on software both Add-ons are related to recreation. The Aquatic Recreation Add-on software comes with new point elements, which allow you to quickly map locations like kayak/canoe launches and diving points. You can easily draw vehicle ferry routes yourself or import them from a file. Of course areas can also be imported as swimming areas or drawn with the user drawn shape – freeform polygon tool. One element has a behavior; the Lighthouse. This element additionally requires an interaction (included) to simulate a potential line-of-site zone for safely traveling the waters. Use the Aquatic Recreation Add-on to create a simple map of your visit, or to plan and track the operations of a marina.
The Winter Recreation Add-on software also includes new point elements allowing you to map locations like warming huts and back country access points. Import various modes of transportation line data, such as snowshoe and cross-country ski trails or quickly draw them yourself; including elements based on the North American Trail Rating System for colorizing difficulty. Of course areas can also be imported as terrain parks and tubing hills or drawn with the user drawn shape – freeform polygon tool. Two elements have behavior; the first is the Avalauncher Site. This element additionally requires an interaction (included) to simulate a potential target zone for conducting avalanche control operations. The Snowmaking Equipment element can be used to show the intended coverage from a snowgun or general area of snowmaking operations by entering properties for a simple arc calculation (direction, distance, and angle). Use the Winter Recreation Add-on to create a simple map of your visit, or to plan the year round operations of a resort. Both of these add-on are now available for $12.95 each in the Depiction Store.
APRS Live now available!
Jun 22nd
We’re excited to announce today our first third party add-on–APRS Live. APRS Live is an add-on for Depiction that enables amateur radio users take real time data received by a radio using the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS), and bring it in to Depiction, combining it with all the maps, data, simulations and imagery you have combined there. Because the APRS data is all being received by radio, this can all be done offline!
Here are a few key paragraphs from our news release this morning:
“Depiction is a powerful tool for the integration of multiple types of data, including images, spreadsheets and GIS files,” noted the add-on’s creator, Brian Smucker. “The ability to receive APRS data in real time via radio, and to visualize it using the advanced tools that Depiction provides is a powerful new capability. Now hams can do things that used to only be available to big corporations and large government agencies.”
APRS Live is the first Depiction add-on built by a third party. “We are very excited about APRS Live, both because it provides our customers with exciting new capabilities, and because it is the beginning of what we expect to be a wide range of third-party products that work with Depiction,” said Depiction, Inc. President and founder Mike Geertsen.
APRS is a digital communications protocol for exchanging data between multiple radio stations across a region, including position information, telemetry, weather data, short text messages and more. APRS is used by amateur radio users for position tracking, gaining situational awareness during emergencies, coordinating large-scale public service events such as bike races and marathons and more.
The add-on allows APRS packet information received by a radio and transmitted to a computer using a terminal node controller (TNC) connected to a serial port to be displayed within Depiction as simulation elements. For example, search and rescue workers can be tracked alongside a simulation of an eight-foot storm surge, or bike race volunteers can be tracked along race maps. APRS Live also enables the sending of short APRS messages from within Depiction.
APRS Live data within Depiction
Two ways to use Depiction over RF
Apr 13th
There are two very cool recent developments that enable Amateur Radio users to send and receive data to and from copies of Depiction, without touching the Internet
First, the APRS Live add-on, which allows APRS packet information received over RF via your radio and TNC to be displayed in Depiction, is now in its second beta and will be released in May. The add-on, built by a third-party developer, will cost $39.95, but you can pre-order it today for only $34.95. Click here to download the brochure (pdf) and learn more. If you are currently enrolled in the beta for APRS Live, there is no need to pre-order, but please do spread the word!
Second, Depiction user Gary Takis has put together a document that outlines the steps for using Depiction’s Live Reports feature with the global Winlink2000 (WL2K) system and the Paclink interface client program, allowing users to send and receive map elements and alerts without Internet access. Click here to download Gary’s document (pdf).
