Tracemyworld

Instructions for Linux users

Using the TMW-1000 under linux requires a fairly recent kernel or a patch to a kernel module.
We'll assume you have a recent one, since patching the module and recompiling may be quite difficult for unexperienced users.

1. First of all, plug the device in, switch it on and wait for about 15 seconds. Then, check whether you have a device called: /dev/ttyACM0.
   You can do this by simply issuing this command: ls /dev/ttyACM0
   The output should not contain the response: "No such file or directory". If everything is ok, skip the following instructions and jump to the next step.
   If the device doesn't exist, try manually loading the required module, with the command (issued as root or with sudo): modprobe cdc-acm
   The device should now be listed under /dev.
   Still no luck? Try with a different number, for example: ls /dev/ttyACM1
   If you don't have the device at this point, maybe your kernel is too old. You should update it following your distribution directions and try again.
2. Check if your linux user account has enough permissions to access the logger.
   The command: ls -al /dev/ttyACM0
   shows the device group owner; for instance:
   crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 166, 0 5 gen 02:46 /dev/ttyACM0
   means that the device belongs to the "dialout" group with write permissions.
   In this case, you should add your linux account to the "dialout" group, with the command: adduser youruser dialout
   If the output of the "ls -al /dev/ttyACM0" command is somehow different, and similar to:
   crw------- 1 root root 166, 0 etc...etc...
   you should change the device file group or make it accessible by executing:
   chmod 666 /dev/ttyACM0
   
3. Install gpsbabel. This can be done in a number of different ways, depending on your linux variant.
   On debian systems (such as ubuntu), simply run: aptitude install gpsbabel (or apt-get install gpsbabel).
   If you have a SuSe, you can find gpsbabel under YaST.
   If you are totally lost because you can't install gpsbabel, you may want to visit their website:
         http://www.gpsbabel.org.
4. Once the logger has been found by your kernel and gpsbabel is installed, just type:
   gpsbabel -t -w -i mtk,erase -f /dev/ttyACM0 -o gpx -F mylog.gpx
   
   The former command downloads the content of the logger into a file called "mylog.gpx", erasing the memory in the process. If you don't want to clear the memory of the logger, simply omit the ",erase" part:
   gpsbabel -t -w -i mtk -f /dev/ttyACM0 -o gpx -F mylog.gpx
   
   The gpx file can now be uploaded on the tracemyworld website!