GPS Tracking using YAAC - LBCC-SpaceClub/HAB-Summer-2015 GitHub Wiki

We looked at several ways to map the incoming GPS positions, but it came down to solving several challenges together:

1. Must be able to cache the rather large maps we need.

2. Must be able to display roads and other points of interest well, even while zoomed in or out.

3. (preference) Should be open source software.

4. (optional) Distinguish our tracker from other trackers.

5. (optional) Display our chase vehicle(s) on the map for easy coordination between teams.

After rolling our own, and trying Xastir, we settled on YAAC (Yet Another APRS Client). We found that YAAC did the best job displaying roads at various levels of zoom. It's also open source, so we can contribute if we find any bug fixes or want to try making improvements.

Map files for virtually anywhere in the world can be downloaded from Geofabrik, a mapping company in Germany. Thanks, Geofabrik! We found the .osm files worked best with YAAC.