How to: Scan for WiFi Networks and Map them with a Garmin Nuvi (GPS)

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 0813. 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 0813. This means most PC software can’t read the GPS data it exports.
2. NMEA 0813 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 0813
• 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 on the right. 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

Freestylin'

Here is a small little stunt my friend and I tried this weekend. Not much but we had fun haha

New Content Coming!

Hey everybody, just wanted to let you know the site is not dead. I have been working on a lot of things lately, and am about to update just about everything really soon.

• New Keygen Music DONE!
  
• Updated COD Stats Program, now with COD5: World at War Support! DONE!
  
• Vocab Level D & H Answers, DONE!
• New Wireless HUB Method DONE!
  
• And more!

Don't forget to vote on the right side column for your favorite Techno/Trance song! I'm curious to see what you think.

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!

COD4 / COD5: Stats Program

A while ago, I started writing a program that would give you a whole bunch of averages and info based upon your Call of Duty 4 Online stats. A friend started tossing ideas my way, and we ended up with something like this.

Now with the release of Call of Duty 5, a new version needed to be made and is finally done!

It's pretty self explanatory, just enter your stats and click "Calculate", that's it! You will receive a multitude of info I guarantee you didn't know before! Feel free to post comments with bugs or suggestions, and enjoy!

UPDATE: March 3rd, 2009
Version 2.1
Download ~ 381KB

COD4: Escape Ambush, Escape Backlot, and Escape Crossfire

How to Get out of Ambush...

1. Get a buddy to go prone in that corner over there.
2. Start from the side and jump onto his head. This might take a few tries.
3. Start jumping as your buddy stands up.
4. Don't stop hitting jump and holding the forward until you are over the wall.

That's it enjoy!

To get out of Backlot...

1. Get a friend to jump onto the railing, then up onto the ledge.
2. As he crouches, jump from about 1/2 of the way up the railing onto his head. This will probably take a few tries, don't stop hitting jump or holding forward until you are up onto the next ledge.
3. Now, go prone and keep wiggling towards the right until you zoop through the invisible wall. This can get kind of frustrating, keep at it you will make it.
4. Stand up and carefully step forward until you are able to reenter the building on the left.

That's all there is to it, Enjoy!

Scraping the Sky in Crossfire...

1. Make sure you have RPG's and go up to the 2nd floor of that building.
2. Jump onto the peak of the chair, and then around of the corner of the wall snaking back onto the bricks shown.
3. Adjust your position until you can jump onto the pieces of sheet rock with the exposed re-bar.
4. Now, goto the top left corner of the rock and jump to make sure you aren't under the higher level. Equip the RPG's and aim the launcher at the small wall down on the ground level.
5. Fire, and as soon as you zoom in, jump upwards and hold back on the stick.

If all goes well you will be on top of the building, and be free to explore! Note that this glitch is very hard to do. Try not to get frustrated, although I really couldn't help it haha, Enjoy!

How To: Use your Laptop as a Wireless Hub

UPDATED: February 15th, 2009

In this tutorial, I will be showing you how to use your Laptop as a Wireless Hub for your Original Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Gamecube, Wii, or any other device that has an Ethernet port. This will allow you to connect to, for example: Xbox Live without the need to buy the $100 official wireless adapter!

Things you will need:

Method 1:
(If you have a crossover cable and only ONE game console to connect to.)

1. A Laptop with both a Wireless Card and an open Ethernet port.
   
2. A CAT5e Crossover Ethernet Cable. (Not your standard cable! I found one on eBay for less than $5.)

Method 2:
(If you don't have a crossover cable and/or have MORE THAN ONE game console to connect to.)

1. A Laptop with both a Wireless Card and an open Ethernet port.
2. A Network Switch with at least 2 open ports. (Mine is a Netgear 5 port.)
   
3. 2 or more Standard Ethernet Cables
   

Ok let's begin...

• Click on Start, mouse over the "Connect to" menu and then select "Show all connections".
• Use control, shift, or a drag of the mouse to highlight both your wireless connection, and your Ethernet (wired) connection.
• Right click the two connections and then select "Bridge Connections".

• Minimize that and click Start again.
• Go to "Run" and type "cmd". (With or without quotes.)
• Type the following lines of code into the command prompt and hit enter.
  

1. netsh bridge set adapter 1 e
2. netsh bridge set adapter 2 e

This will enable "forced compatibility mode" and will allow you to surf the web while playing online.

-Method 1-

This method uses a direct connection from your laptop to the game system.

• Connect the Crossover Cable from the game system to your laptop, and power on the console.
• As you may have noticed, crossover cables might be hard to distinguish from normal Ethernet cables. The one I have has "XOVER" imprinted next to the plug.

-Method 2-

This method uses a split connection, from your laptop, to the Network Switch, and then to the game system.

The Network Switch will automatically detect the input port and split it into many connections, basically turning one Ethernet connection into several.

If you have multiple game systems in one location, you can connect them all to the Network Switch and have them all function at once!

• First, connect one Ethernet Cable from your laptop to the Network Switch.
• Next, connect the other Ethernet Cable from the Network switch to your game system and turn it on.

In my setup, yellow connects to my laptop, and blue connects to the Xbox 360.

Regardless of what method you are using...

• Go back to "Network Connections" and hit F5 to refresh.
• The end result should look something like this.

There you go, your game console(s) should be able to access the Internet and you can now play online!

Troubleshooting:
If you can't connect there are a few things you can try.

1. Turn off the game system and power it back on.
2. Disable the "Network Bridge" by right clicking on it and selecting "Disable". Then double click on it to Enable it again. You should try this with the other connections too. ("Wireless Network Connection" and "Local Area Connection")
   
3. Make sure the cables are firmly connected to all devices.
4. Make sure the Network Switch is plugged into an AC outlet.
   
5. Restart the Laptop.

Good Luck!

Extreme Street Luging [VIDEO]

This is the kind of thing that happens when Xbox gets boring and it's a nice day outside. My friends and I duct-taped a skateboard to a plastic sled and went luging down Tiger Hill, reaching speeds above 40MPH... The bike rider equipped with a speedometer couldn't keep up with us at 40MPH so we know it was a bit faster than that!

Back in action with 2 news hills this time, Hickory Drive and Beacon Hill. Not quite the speed achieved last time but a much longer ride and a nice change of scenery.

Vocab Answers

ALL ANSWERS HAVE BEEN REMOVED.
I was greeted this afternoon with an email from Sadlier demanding the immediate removal of all copyrighted material and referring links. So I basically had two options... Either stick it out and face fines of up to $150,000, or remove the links from my blog. As much as I loved (some) of the comments and praise, that kind of money isn't quite pocket change and I'm afraid I can no longer provide the answers. :(

Below is a copy to the notice I received. Be smart guys, if you have saved copies of the answers don't re-post them online. You may be faced with a similar fate!

Copyright Notice:
obogobo 6-8-09

Keygen Music

Update: April 26th, 2009

I'm not sure how many people know what a Keygen is, so just trust me on the fact that the have great music. I searched through tons of different Keygens looking for some quality beats, and picked out 53 of my songs. Enjoy the tunes!

Just FYI, each file has been encoded as Mp3 with LAME at V2 and is ID3 tagged with the title (song name), artist (keygen group), and album (keygen program).

The tracks can be streamed via playlist:
KeygenPlaylist.m3u

And can also be downloaded individually below:
64kintrorCy2r.mp3
Accent OFFICE Password Recovery 2.5.0.48crk.mp3
against the time.mp3
agent 08.mp3
Agression keygen.mp3
ARKANOID.mp3
bar-tabac.mp3
blizzard.mp3
BombJack.mp3
BRD Keygen 2.mp3
BrD.mp3
Caffe Underground.mp3
captain beezay.mp3
Chipex.mp3
chip-it-16.mp3
Complicaions.mp3
complications ii.mp3
dadam6.mp3
Dance with me.mp3
Dancing man.mp3
dazzler.mp3
dead feelings.mp3
Death.mp3
Friendship.mp3
fruktfats pop.mp3
gatecrashing.mp3
intentional.mp3
japan5c.mp3
KiNG of THE RiNGS.mp3
knockerboys.mp3
Kwazy Webbit Hole.mp3
La crotte qui parle.mp3
Lackerad Keramik.mp3
LAMBADA.mp3
Mental delivrance.mp3
Monday.mp3
Moonflight.mp3
nuotiopiiri.mp3
popcorn.mp3
Race me.mp3
Rainbow.mp3
SHORTY.mp3
sice is like a bunny.mp3
space walk.mp3
Split second talk.mp3
stop the watch!.mp3
STRANGETRIS.mp3
the travel to orion!.mp3
Tits that fits.mp3
Toilet Story.mp3
tune1.mp3
twinbee.mp3
We're makin an intro.mp3