I know there is a way to import bike routs into YAAC. ?I friend this this for a few years to help with our event but unfortunately he is gone. ?I have the bike route maps in a .png file but I do not know how to import them into YACC to use them as an overlay. ?

If anyone can help thank you because the event is next week an I need the bike routs.?

Tim?
KM4ESU

The View->Raster Maps menu choice allows you to overlap raster image files (hopefully translucent or transparent images) over the YAAC street maps and station/object information. However, you have to manually "pin" the raster image corners to the appropriate parts of the background map so YAAC will stretch and rescale the raster image to stay in scale and position with the rest of the map layers as you later pan and zoom the YAAC map window (as YAAC does automatically with the US National Weather Service radar images because they are GeoTIFF images that provide the pinning information in the image file itself).

I would suggest rather using GPX or KML files to store your bike route (often downloadable from MapMyRide.com) and load them into the View->Draw Layer overlay in YAAC. This is much easier, because those are vector map files that are automatically lined up with the vector OpenStreetMap background in YAAC, and you can change the color/stripe style/width of the route lines with the other editing functions of the Draw Layer.

As an example, I am providing a KML file for the 2014 Multiple Sclerosis City-to-Shore 150 bike ride (in southern New Jersey). This was created from the cue sheet spreadsheet files the Society provided that year, as reprocessed by the ms150utils accessory included in the YAAC source code distribution (not a YAAC plugin, but a separate program used to convert the cue sheets into a KML file and a set of UiView .pos files for all the signifIcant points on the route). However, I usually find that I have to tweak the utility's source code each year to account for subtle format changes in the cue sheets.

Hope this helps.

Andrew, KA2DDO
author of YAAC
________________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Tim Huffaker <thuffaker@...>
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2021 6:11 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [yaac-users] Bike route map overlay

I know there is a way to import bike routs into YAAC. I friend this this for a few years to help with our event but unfortunately he is gone. I have the bike route maps in a .png file but I do not know how to import them into YACC to use them as an overlay.

If anyone can help thank you because the event is next week an I need the bike routs.

Tim
KM4ESU

On Fri, Sep 10, 2021 at 03:39 PM, Andrew P. wrote:

GPX or KML files

Andrew,

thank you I have a .kml file for one of the routes. I can move that to the RPI that has YAAC and import the via usb. Will YAAC see it and import it if I put it on the desktop?

Thank you
Tim?

KM4ESU

You have to tell YAAC to load the KML file by manually picking File->Load->Drawing. Once it's loaded, you can use the View->Draw Layer to bring up the editing toolbar.

________________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Tim Huffaker <thuffaker@...>
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2021 7:01 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [yaac-users] Bike route map overlay

On Fri, Sep 10, 2021 at 03:39 PM, Andrew P. wrote:
GPX or KML files

Andrew,

thank you I have a .kml file for one of the routes. I can move that to the RPI that has YAAC and import the via usb. Will YAAC see it and import it if I put it on the desktop?

Thank you
Tim

KM4ESU

Andrew,

Perfect I will do just that and have all routs we ?have 4 to content with this year. ?

Tim?
KM4ESU

After you import the KML or GPX files, you can tweak the colors, stripe widths, transparency, etc., of the routes, and save the customized collection as another KML that will include the stripe customizations.

I find this very useful for another bike event I do that have seven different routes for different course lengths, such that each longer course is drawn in a different color.

________________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Tim Huffaker <thuffaker@...>
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2021 7:31 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [yaac-users] Bike route map overlay

Andrew,

Perfect I will do just that and have all routs we have 4 to content with this year.

Tim
KM4ESU

I have a question on how to save the routs I imported on the YAAC map. ?Then I do not have to import them again. ?

Thank you,
Tim KM4ESU

YAAC will not automatically reload drawings on start-up. However, you can save your combined collection of routes (with stripe customizations) as a single .kml file to save time if you have to restart YAAC and reload the routes, thereby not requiring the possible multiple route imports and customizations to be re-applied.

Here is an example of an event I work with 7 different routes, saved as a single file. Unfortunately, I had to hand-draw the individual routes, so there are some inaccuracies if you zoom in close, but it was good enough for running the event.

Andrew, KA2DDO
author of YAAC
________________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Tim Huffaker <thuffaker@...>
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2021 12:12 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [yaac-users] Bike route map overlay

I have a question on how to save the routs I imported on the YAAC map. Then I do not have to import them again.

Thank you,
Tim KM4ESU

Hi Andrew,

Thank you and do I use save "Objects and items" in the file menu?

Tim?
KM4ESU

No, you will have to use the Save button (the one with the floppy disk icon) on the Draw toolbar to save the drawing overlay into a KML. The File->Load->Drawing menu choice is just to provide a shortcut upon restarts. Note that all the Draw toolbar buttons have tooltips to tell you what they mean.

________________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Tim Huffaker <thuffaker@...>
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2021 12:33 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [yaac-users] Bike route map overlay

Hi Andrew,

Thank you and do I use save "Objects and items" in the file menu?

Tim
KM4ESU

Andrew,

Thank you an I have one last question. ?How can I add rest stops from an address a google map location. ?

Thank you,
Tim?

KM4ESU

I usually do those as APRS Objects that have Private scope (i.e., not transmitted on the radio or Internet, but only kept on your local system). Such local objects can be saved to a UIView .pos file by YAAC, so, if YAAC should go down for any reason, they can be reloaded (similar to the drawing file reload). Also, you can change expert-mode configuration settings so that local Objects are persisted over YAAC restarts, so you don't have to worry about reloading the .pos file.

To originally create the Objects (before you put them in the file), you can just right-click on the map where you want the Object and select the Create Object entry on the popup menu (you may want to zoom in before right-clicking so as to be able to place the Object precisely). Fill in the necessary information (symbol type, Object name, etc.), set the scope to Private, and save the Object. Then do the next one until you are done. Then click File->Save->Objects and Items to records the objects to a .pos file. I typically use the picnic table symbol (\;) or restrooms symbol (\r) for rest stops, and the ICS symbol (green and white flag) (/c) for Net Control. I did suggest to Bob Bruninga that a APRS 1.2 extended symbol code and overlay be designated for the Finish Line, but no such luck; you might try the Grid Square symbols (/G or /q) as an approximation of a checkered flag. On the other hand, the end of the route stripe kind of indicates where the finish line is (assuming you don't have a circular course, which many events do).

Attached is a sample .pos file that goes with the .kml file I sent you earlier.

Andrew, KA2DDO
author of YAAC

________________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Tim Huffaker <thuffaker@...>
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2021 3:41 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [yaac-users] Bike route map overlay

Andrew,

Thank you an I have one last question. How can I add rest stops from an address a google map location.

Thank you,
Tim

KM4ESU

I just wanted to share a thank you to you for helping to getting me to understand how to map overlays and the stops. We had the AYCE bike event yesterday but with part for the tropical depression hitting us to add some fun. ?With 3 digipeaters and one Igate helping us to see all sags and had a very good event with no issues. ?The folks putting it on were quite happy and impressed with the map showing the sag locations. ?Many came by to see the map and were impressed. ?I had two instances of YAAC running one showing the bottom of the course and one showing the top. ?I did this to not have to pan with a raspberry pi. ?

Thank you,
Tim?
KM4ESU?

I'm glad everything worked for you, Tim.

At least next time, you'll be able to call up the NWS weather radar (with the fixes in build 164), but you could at least would have been able to see all your local APRS weather stations should you have a need for that.

Re: rubberneckers looking at the map: that seems to be a common issue. :-) To deal with them, I've gotten in the habit of taking a 40-inch flat screen TV into the field as my computer monitor for displaying the map, and using the Double-Sized Icon option for the important stations/objects on the map (SAGs and rest stops). I'm not sure if a Pi has enough horsepower to generate a 4K UHD screen image at top resolution, though I haven't tried it.

You might be able to speed up the map re-rendering on the sluggish Pi's by filtering the map data on download to eliminate irrelevant data types (like business types not relevant to bicycle event operations, etc.). With smaller map files, the map would re-render more quickly upon a pan or zoom. SD cards are relatively cheap, so you could keep those cards specific for your bicycle event so as to not be limited in map data for other operations.

Andrew, KA2DDO
author of YAAC
________________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Tim Huffaker
Sent: Sunday, September 19, 2021 11:54 AM
Subject: Re: [yaac-users] Bike route map overlay

I just wanted to share a thank you to you for helping to getting me to understand how to map overlays and the stops. We had the AYCE bike event yesterday but with part for the tropical depression hitting us to add some fun. With 3 digipeaters and one Igate helping us to see all sags and had a very good event with no issues. The folks putting it on were quite happy and impressed with the map showing the sag locations. Many came by to see the map and were impressed. I had two instances of YAAC running one showing the bottom of the course and one showing the top. I did this to not have to pan with a raspberry pi.

Thank you,
Tim
KM4ESU

Hi Andrew,

Its that time of year again and I have my maps on the YAAC map via draw looking good. ?I did have two questions. 1. can you change the color of the drawing input for each drawing. ?I cannot seem to find a way to do that. ?2. Can you put labels on the map for rest stops that would help.?

Thank you,
Tim KM4ESU

Yes to both.

1. Go to View->Draw Toolbar. Click the Select tool (arrow) button, then click on your route line so it starts flashing red. Then click the line properties button (three horizontal lines), and you can pick from its submenus what you want to adjust about the appearance of the line (such as color, stripe width, stripe style, transparency [how easily can you see through the line to the underlying map]). Then turn off the drawing toolbar (or click another drawn line to change its properties). Before you close the toolbar, I recommend clicking the Text toolbar button (so YAAC stops selecting your last drawn line [known bug]), then you can save the drawing with the Save (floppy disk) toolbar button; I recommend using KML format, as it will save all the adjustable properties.

2. Create APRS Objects at the desired location of the rest stops, finish line, etc., using the desired APRS icons and an appropriate name (must fit in 9 characters to comply with APRS protocol specification). Note that you can create Private scope Objects, which will not be transmitted over radio or APRS-IS connection, if you do not wish to share those Objects with other stations (only Local and Global scope Objects get transmitted). To ensure you don't lose the objects if YAAC is shut down for any reason, go to the expert-mode Configuration dialog (File->Configure->Expert Mode), click the Behavior tab, and ensure the "Restore locally originated objects when YAAC restarts" checkbox is checked. Alternatively, you can use the Draw toolbar to create text boxes on the map at the rest stop locations, but I personally think the APRS Object style looks better and is easier to place, and they can be transmitted if you do want other operators to be able to see the stop locations on their mobile APRS radios (i.e., Kenwood D710 control head with bearing to the heard Object).

Hope this helps.

Andrew, KA2DDO
author of YAAC
________________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Tim Huffaker
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2022 11:13 AM

Hi Andrew,

Its that time of year again and I have my maps on the YAAC map via draw looking good. I did have two questions. 1. can you change the color of the drawing input for each drawing. I cannot seem to find a way to do that. 2. Can you put labels on the map for rest stops that would help.

Thank you,
Tim KM4ESU

Everything work as you said and YAAC preformed well for it’s years ride. It was another year of many people being amazed with seeing the SAG vehicles on the course. ?They liked it so much there want more next year like to easily mark riders stuck on the side asking for SAG pickup on the map. ?

Thank you again for a wonderful mapping program to help with our bike events.?

Tim?
KM4ESU

--

开云体育

Marking disabled riders would be easy. Right-click on the map at the appropriate location, and Create an Object (possibly named "R" plus the rider number?) with the appropriate icon. You could even make these Local instead of Private Objects so SAGs with APRS-capable radios (like the Kenwood TM-D710) could home in on the rider's reported position as transmitted from Net Control. When they are reported picked-up, delete their Object.

Andrew,

If I may ask another question. ?I kept getting request to search an address on the map. ?Several times during the event I got an address to pick up a stranded rider. ?Although we got there it would be nice to input the address and it shows up on the YAAC map. ?Then everyone can see the location see when a sag gets there to help?

Tim?
KM4ESU