Gomer Pylot Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 In case anyone is interested, the coordinates for most GOM blocks and platforms, as well as onshore hospitals, customer heliports, ASOS/AWOS stations, and more, is available in MobileDB format for the Palm at memoware.com. There is a separate file for each lease area, which contains center of block coords for all blocks, and coords for all platforms in each block. Having this info available is the reason I bought a Palm in the first place. I used to carry a book about 2 inches thick, printed in 8-point type, that had most of this stuff, but I can carry it all in my pocket, plus a flight planning program that will give me everything I need to know about any flight to any block, plus a ton of other stuff. I couldn't do without my Palm, and this data is essential. FWIW, the platform info is available on the MMS website, in a somewhat unusable format, but you can extract what you need if you work at it a little. The center of block numbers aren't available anywhere else that I know of, though. It's very handy when heading out 200NM to find a rig or ship moving, or when all you get is a block number and told to go find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relyon Posted December 10, 2006 Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 Thanks for the info! Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witch Posted December 10, 2006 Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 (edited) Hey Gomer, I ordered a Palm Tungstun E andsaw the memoware.com site and I'm a little confused on how the whole thing is supposed to work. Does one download the individual links, or is there a link that has all of the coordinates? Also, are you "Anonamous", the author of those coordinates? If so, how does one do programing like that? Do you know of other sites that offer similar software? Thanks. Later Edited December 10, 2006 by Witch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomer Pylot Posted December 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 You have to download each area individually. If you fly in the GOM, you know the area names, and the areas you need. There are two files, though, which have everything for all areas starting with A through M or thereabouts, and another for everything through Z, if you want that. I've found it's far easier to search for the block or platform you need if you have individual files, and the search is also much faster. I'm anonymous, but that didn't take much programming. I do some programming, but that just involved a LOT of typing over the years, plus some rudimentary programming calculations to automate the empty block coordinates in the areas. I originally had it in WordStar, then Word, then Excel, just file type conversions. That took a little programming until Microsoft made exporting as .csv easy. MobileDB imports .csv files, so all I had to do was start the MobileDB desktop, import the files, and save them. I doubt if I even have any of the old file conversion programs I wrote in C, lo these many years ago. BTW, if anybody wants this data in other formats, I can send it to you. Let me know the format you need. There is a freeware Palm database program called pilot-db, which I once used, but MobileDB works better for me, although it isn't free. Pilot-db choked on large files, which is why I had to split the database into 2 files in the first place. It may be better now, it's been a few years since I tried it. I also have the platform data in Copilot waypoint format if anybody is interested. Copilot alone is worth buying a Palm. It's by far the best flight planning program I've tried, and it's free. There are a number of waypoint and aircraft files on the net, including S76 & 412. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witch Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Oh Yeah! I got the CoPilot and it is totally rad. Entering data for my specific bird was a bit of a challenge. I like it! Later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomer Pylot Posted December 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 Don't bother with the GOM data unless you're going to be flying here. Copilot comes with US airports by default, and you'll need that much more than offshore platforms. You can get just the area you need from Paul Tomblin's waypoint generator at http://navaid.com/CoPilot/, and keep a little more empty room on your Palm. Also see Paul's main Copilot page at http://www.xcski.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk Driver Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 Hey Gomer, what "Palm" do you suggest for a first time buyer? I hope to start a career in the GOM soon and this sounds like it will help out a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomer Pylot Posted January 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 The E2, I guess. There isn't a lot of choice these days. The Z22 is too basic, without an SD card slot, and with a low resolution screen. Don't waste your money. I have a Tungsten T3, which is probably the best model made but no longer sold. The TX is about the next up the line, with both bluetooth and wifi, and the NVFS file system and 128MB memory. It has a slower processor than the T3, though, and isn't completely compatible with all programs. It should work well with Copilot, though. Take a look at palm.com and decide what might work best for you. You'll almost certainly have to buy online, because almost every brick & mortar store in the country has abandoned PDA sales - Palm, PPC, and everything else. It's all smartphones now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witch Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 I went and got the Tungstun E myself. I like it. Go to Overstock dot com and get one that has a blem. It costs a lot less-about $60-and works just as well. The "Tungstun E" logo wore off quickly, so now it's just a blank. Still works great, especially all those pirated MP3's. Later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomer Pylot Posted January 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 What are you using for those mp3s? Aeroplayer or Pocket Tunes? Or the freebie TCMPC? Aeroplayer is free also, if you convert the mp3s to .ogg files, which has the additional advantage of giving smaller files for the same quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Autorotator Posted April 30, 2007 Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 The E2, I guess. There isn't a lot of choice these days. The Z22 is too basic, without an SD card slot, and with a low resolution screen. Don't waste your money. I have a Tungsten T3, which is probably the best model made but no longer sold. The TX is about the next up the line, with both bluetooth and wifi, and the NVFS file system and 128MB memory. It has a slower processor than the T3, though, and isn't completely compatible with all programs. It should work well with Copilot, though. Take a look at palm.com and decide what might work best for you. You'll almost certainly have to buy online, because almost every brick & mortar store in the country has abandoned PDA sales - Palm, PPC, and everything else. It's all smartphones now. Are the smartphones able to do the same aplications that you use it for as the palm? I'm just curious because right now I have a blackberry and kind of like the idea of having a phone that does darn near everything you want to do. Not sure if the blackberry does what you would need it to do but if there was a phone out there that does, that is probably what I would prefer. Just so you know, I'm working as a corporate pilot now but am thinking of making the switch over to one of the GOM majors, and not asking the question just to waist your time. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomer Pylot Posted May 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 The Palm smartphones (Treos) will do all that, but all a Blackberry does is email, AFAIK. It's not really a smartphone, just a push email device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Autorotator Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 The Palm smartphones (Treos) will do all that, but all a Blackberry does is email, AFAIK. It's not really a smartphone, just a push email device. Thanks GP. Also wanted to let you know that I've read alot of replies, and threads started by you and I really appreciate what you do for this community. Thanks alot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fastlane Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 I agree Auto. If Gomer's in on it, I read it. Read this one too, obviously. Even though I am SOOOOOO far away from needing one, if you type in "Tungsten T3" on ebay, there's a bunch out there. Looked to be some really good deals too. Just my $.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Autorotator Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 I agree Auto. If Gomer's in on it, I read it. Read this one too, obviously. Even though I am SOOOOOO far away from needing one, if you type in "Tungsten T3" on ebay, there's a bunch out there. Looked to be some really good deals too. Just my $.02 Right on! Thanks Fastlane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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