How to: Scan for WiFi & Map with GPS (Garmin Nuvi)

In this tutorial, I will be showing you how to connect your Garmin Nuvi to your PC, use its GPS capabilities to view any location in real-time, and combine this functionality with Network Stumbler to scan for WiFi networks and record their geographic location. Later, we will use this data to create a map of our findings.

Even though this guide is specific to the Garmin Nuvi, the same can be accomplished with many other GPS units! Connecting to the PC might require a different procedure, but the Network Stumbler steps will be similar if not exactly the same.

Background Information:

For those curious about why such a roundabout method of connection is used, read the following. It's not required to know for this guide but rather interesting I think.

As you might be aware, the most common and accepted standard for recording GPS data is known as NMEA 0183. Nearly all GPS units abide by this standard, and it is the only accepted format in most mapping software.

There are two problems…

1. The Garmin Nuvi uses a proprietary data format which is not NMEA 0183. This means most PC software can’t read the GPS data it exports.
2. NMEA 0183 data (in most cases) can only be transferred over a Serial interface. New laptops don’t have Serial Ports anymore and the Nuvi only has a Mini-USB plug.
   

So, this is why we will be using GpsGate, a Serial Port emulator and Garmin format converter.

Required Hardware and Software:

1. A Garmin GPS, I am using my Nuvi 760.
2. A Laptop / Netbook or any type of portable Windows PC.
3. A Mini-USB cable
4. Network Stumbler - version 0.40 Download
5. Franson GpsGate: version 2.6 (Trial) Download

Download and install both of these programs. Network Stumbler is 100% free and Franson offers a 2 week free trial of GpsGate. I ended up purchasing the “Express” version of GpsGate for $12.95, a small price to pay for what it delivers.

General Steps:
This is an overview, each step will explained in great detail.

1. Put Nuvi in GPS Mode
2. Install Nuvi as a GPS on Windows
3. Configure GpsGate
4. Configure Network Stumbler
5. Wardrive!

Putting the Nuvi into GPS Mode:

1. Power on the Nuvi as you normally would, but DO NOT plug in the USB cable yet!
2. Press and hold the Battery Icon for about 7 seconds.
   
3. A page with lots of information will appear, a type of Service Menu. Now connect the USB cable. (If you plug the Nuvi in to the computer before reaching this page, it will be read as a storage device instead of a GPS.)
4. Press “Exit”. The Nuvi reboot into GPS Mode and display the Logo screen.
   

Installing the Nuvi as a GPS:

1. Once connected via USB, Windows will run the “Found New Hardware Wizard”. If prompted about Windows Update just select “No, not this time” and continue.
2. On the next screen select “Install the software automatically”.
   
3. Let the Wizard search for and install the "Garmin USB GPS Driver". The process is automated and you will see similar pages to these.
   
   
   
4. At this point the Nuvi should be displaying the Garmin Logo and the driver should be successfully installed.
   
   

Configuring GpsGate:

1. Set the Nuvi aside but leave it plugged in.
2. Launch GpsGate, you will be greeted with a Setup Wizard.
   
3. Check only the first box, “Search for Garmin USB devices”. Make sure the Nuvi is still on and plugged in. Click Next.
4. GpsGate should discover the Nuvi and you will be prompted whether or not to use the found device. You do.
   
   
5. Now that the input has been set, you will be prompted to select an output. For this project, check only the middle box, “I want to share my GPS between several applications”.
   
6. On the next page, you will be presented with a list the Emulated COM Ports. Remember one of the Port Numbers as you will need it later.
   
7. GpsGate is now configured! Right click on the tray icon and select settings. A green icon and the message “Running OK!” signify a successful setup. X-out of GpsGate, it will be sent to the system tray and continue to run in the background.
   
   

Configuring Network Stumbler:

1. Launch Network Stumbler. Since WiFi scanning is enabled by default, you will be bombarded with a barrage of sounds and flashing icons. Take a few minutes to get acquainted with the interface. The play button starts / stops scanning and color represents signal strength. If your wireless card is supported (hopefully it is), networks should start showing up as they are discovered.
   
2. Head on up to the “View” menu, and select “Options”.
   
3. On the General tab, check the box under Scan Speed to “Auto adjust using GPS” and the first 3 boxes on the right.
   
   
4. On the “Display” tab, you can select your choice of units. I prefer degrees, minutes, seconds mode, (d°m’s”) but you might rather display the Latitude and Longitude as decimal values. For this choose “d.dddddd°”, the amount of Ds being the number of digits displayed.
   
5. On the “GPS” tab, make the following changes.

• Protocol: NMEA 0183
• Bits per Second: 9600
• Data Bits: 8
• Parity: None
• Port: The COM you set in GpsGate
• Stop Bits: 1
• Flow Control: None
  
  

That’s it for settings! If everything is set up correctly you should see a globe indicator in the bottom right corner of Network Stumbler with GPS coordinates as well.

Recap:

1. Power on the Nuvi, put in GPS mode and connect it to the laptop.
2. Fire up GpsGate and let it grab a satellite signal from the Nuvi.
3. Open Network Stumbler and set the COM Port to one emulated by GpsGate.
4. Drive around and hunt WiFi. Router/Access Point locations are being recorded too!

The best part of the whole operation is mapping the data. Once you are satisfied with the findings, save an *.ns1 file of your discovered networks.

Here is a site that accepts *.ns1 files and plots networks on Google Maps. http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map_input?form=wifi

I hope you find this guide informative as it took me about 2 days to write! Please leave feedback, either by comments or email! I would love to hear how things worked and maybe even see some of your maps. Happy hunting!

Techno, Trance - Top 12 ~Part 2~ [VIDEO]

Round 2! My next 12 favorite Techno / Trance songs are available for listening below, and for voting below. Enjoy and please leave feedback!

Track List:
(0:09) Flutlicht - The Fall
(1:06) Tune Up! - Ravers Fantasy
(1:58) DJ Toxic - It's Killing Me
(3:03) Nightcore - Me and my Lover
(4:04) Nexus - Next
(5:03) Scott Brown - Roll the Track
(5:59) Dreamnation - Daggmask
(6:32) DJ Joker Project Nasca - Grand Shake
(7:26) DJ Merlin and C-Bass - The Human Spirit
(8:21) Frontliner - Muzyk
(9:12) Lee Haslam - The Future
(10:06) DJ Dave 202 Presents Impaxx - Feel

Techno, Trance - Top 12 ~Part 1~ [VIDEO]

Here are some of my favorite Techno, Trance songs. Help decide the greatest Techno / Trance by casting your vote!

Track List:
(0:10) Comiccon - Komodo (Dda remix edit)
(1:08) Pakito - You Wanna Rock
(1:56) Discotronic - Tricky Disco (A1 Original Mix)
(2:40) DJ Panda - It's a Dream '98 (radio cut)
(3:35) Earthbound - One nation - Trance nation
(4:16) Rocco - Everybody 2006
(5:16) 666 - Supadupafly
(6:11) Greg City - Make Some Noise (DJ Neros remix edit)
(7:11) Cosmic Gate - Exploration of Space
(8:12) East Clubbers - Happy
(9:10) Tube Tonic & DJ Shandar - Brainstorm (Original Mix)
(10:04) DJ Phil - Ich Vermisse Dich

How to: Build an iPod Charger for your Car

Here is a very quick and easy way to charge your iPod, or any other generic USB device on the go, and save money too.

Materials you will need,

1. An adapter for your car's 12 Volt DC socket. I’m using a car charger from an old LG phone. Any type will do, just make sure the output voltage is about 5 volts, plus or minus at most 0.25 volts (4.75 - 5.25).
2. A Female type USB adapter, mine is cut off from a USB Cable Extender. If you don't a USB Cable Extender, you can still make a charger but will have to sacrifice an iPod Cable.
   
3. An iPod USB Cable
4. Wire Strippers
   
5. Duct Tape, Zip Ties, Shrink Wrap, or whatever you have that can hold wires together.
6. (Optional) A volt meter to see how much juice you are getting out of the finished product.

This process should only take about 10 minutes. Here we go.

Using whatever car charger you found, cut the proprietary end off. This being the end that doesn't get plugged into the car.

Next, use wire strippers remove the insulation and expose the red and black wires. There might white and green wires too, but they are not necessary for charging and can be cut off.

Do the same with the male USB end of either your estension cable, or iPod wire. This is the end that you would plug into your computer. Both wires should look like the picture above.

Now, remove the insulation from both sets of red and black wires. When the insides are exposed, twist red to red and black to black, connecting the USB cable to the car adapter.

In order to prevent a short circuit, wrap tape separately around both twisted pairs. There should be two spereate sets of connected wires, your red pair, and black pair.

Leaving exposed wires to touch could damage not only the Mp3 player, but the cars’ battery as well.

To secure the connection, use a zip tie, rubber band, piece of tape, or anything you like to fasten the wires together.

Now, plug the iPod or other device's cable into your adapter and go test it in the car!

One thing to note:

• Don't use an adapter that is under or over powered. This will most likely damage the device. Use the volt meter to make sure your cable is in the acceptable range.
  

Enjoy your tunes!

How to: Record ANY Audio Passed Through Your Sound Card

In this tutorial, I will be showing you how to capture any sound/audio that is played through your computer's speakers. Yes, this theoretically means you could record songs from music websites such as last.fm, purevolume.com, or rhapsody.com, but I am not advocating that!

Hah, ok let's begin!

Things you will need:
Any working sound card with the drivers installed,
And a free program called Audacity.

The first thing you will need to do is download Audacity and install it on your computer. I am using version 1.2.6.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Once you have Audacity installed and running, click the drop down bar in the top right corner and select “Stereo Mix”. Then crank the volume up to full, 1.0. This will set your sound card to capture audio directly as it is played, and record it in real time. The resulting sound is much better than an input from a microphone or other line in device would be, as it is grabbing the raw waves.

Now that Audacity is set to intercept audio streams, you will probably want it to record in Stereo instead of the default, Mono. To enable dual channel recording, click “Edit” on the top menu, and then the “Preferences” item. On the “Audio I/O” tab, select “2 (Stereo)” as the channel setting.

If you want to export the audio as an MP3 track, you will need to download and locate the “LAME MP3 Codec” It can be found here, and when unzipped, the “lame_enc.dll” file should be placed in the “Audacity/Plug-ins” folder. Then just click find library on the “File Formats” tab and navigate to the Plug-Ins directory. 128 Kbps is the preferred bit rate for audio quality vs. file size.

Now you are all set up to hijack some audio. Just click the record button and Audacity will start doing its thing! Any audio played in the background will be captured by Audacity and graphed as separate left and right channels below.

When you are done recording, you can select the beginning and end of the track with the cursor tool, and press delete to remove the silent areas. Also feel free to play around with some of audio effects and other goodies.

To save your work, go to File, “Export as MP3”

Have fun!