Hello, I wish everyone a happy Christmas and a great new year.
I hope you have enjoyed the 16 new videos I have created in 2010. If you have missed any of my videos then have a look at my YouTube channel : Andy Savage's YouTube channel People must like my videos as I currently have 562 Subscribers around the planet! While is cold and dark outside why not warm yourself up with my summer video of Dovedale Stepping Stones.
Derby has seen a lot of changes in 2010, such as the Inner Ring Road with Lara Croft way opening. Friar Gate Bridge has been covered up in netting, Weve has lots of snow causing chaos for Christmas.
I also welcome the many NEW users of the internet around the world who may have got a computer for Christmas. If you are new to www.derbyphotos.co.uk then a great section to look at first is my Derby Then and Now section.
A video has just been made which features some of my time-lapse footage of Derby Quad being built. Its a video blog by unboundblogzine for alt.fiction.
The Derby Quad feature starts at 04:59 in this video here (My footage seen at 05:06) :
There are four parts to this videoblog, just follow the related videos at the end for the other three parts.
If you would like to make the most of all this snow we have then check out my Derby Sledging Guide, its packed with information to do with sledging in Derby. Including Local Weather Forcasts, Live local Webcams, Detailed Sledging Location Map, Smartphone mapping drop pins, Where to buy a sledge, Derby snow photographs, Videos of sledging in Derby. I have provided a link to is Snow Map based on people submitting Tweets via Twitter.
Click the photo to visit my Derby Sledge Guide...
Hope you find my guide of use, please let me know if YOU know of any good locations to go sledging in Derby that I have not yet added to my Derby Sledging map.
At the moment its snowing in Derby and has been all night, Not seen this much snow in years. People seem to like my Derbyshire webcams page during these times as it allows you to see for yourself if its actually snowing right now rather than trusting a weatherman to tell you!
So I have started to create a section for Staffordshire Webcams as this is the next county to the south west of Derbyshire so you can see how bad the snow is effecting them. One of the webcams I have added to this page is provided by www.leekonline.co.uk and is extreamly good as it allows many viewing options including almost live video streaming so you can actually see the snow coming down.
Here is a screen grab of how the snow was looking this morning in Leek:
The Snow in Leek on the 1st December 2010 :
If you know of any webcams in Staffordshire that I can add to my page then please contact me via my website or post a comment to this blog post and I will add it to the page so others can enjoy it. I'm sure there must be lots of webcams in Staffordshire but quite often they are not easy to find. In time I will probably be creating a few other webcam pages for the other surrounding counties of Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Leicestershire, Lancashire.
I wonder how long this snow is going to stop around for. Normally when it snows the temperature is much warmer than this time so it does not get chance to settle but this stuff has settled and there is so much of it. If you want to make the most of the snow then check out my Derby Sledging Guide.
Derby Evening Telegraph columnist Anton Rippon was signing copies of his latest book at Waterstone's bookshop in St Peter's Street last weekend, perhaps you were one of the lucky ones to get a signed copy.
The book – A Derby View – features a selection of his weekly columns from the newspaper over the past eight years. It also has photographs of Derby dating back many years. 192 pages, published by Wharncliffe Books ISBN-13: 978-1845631376
A Derby View by Anton Rippon :
Anton Rippon has published a few other local books in the past too. You can follow Antons blog on here. thanks Andy
Last week I had a nightmare incident when using a cash machine in Derby. Has anyone else ever had this problem, its not very nice. It just shows you how its important not to trust your life with these machines. Its kinda funny looking back on it now, I wish I had videoed the bloody thing doing what it did.
I have been using many cash machines (ATMs) for over 20 years all over the world (well USA, Jersey, Ireland and UK :)) and never had any problems with any of them until this.
The story:
Basically I put my debit card in, entered the PIN then pressed the button “Cash with advice slip”. After a few seconds it showed a message on screen “We are currently unable to print an advice slip, do you want to continue?”
So I pressed the YES button, then it asked how much money and I pressed the £50 button but it did not respond at all. I thought perhaps the button was faulty so pressed £50 a bit harder but still nothing.
Mmmm perhaps it can’t dispense £50 due to lack of certain back notes (even though it would normally tell you so). I pressed the £40 button but still nothing so then pressed the £10 button and still no response from it.
OK I thought this ATM is knackered so I pressed the Cancel button expecting it to eject my card so I could try another ATM, but to my horror the Cancel button was not doing anything either! Pressed Cancel a few more times, then to my surprise the ATM screen suddenly had a mouse pointer on it and a DOS popup window appeared which said “McAfee automatic update in progress”. What on earth is happening here looks like a virus scanner is updating which has stopped the actual operation of the cash machine, surely not?
Once it had done some updating of files that window vanished off screen and it said “Windows is shutting down” My God I whats going on. Windows running the ATM!!!
Then after bit it showed PC BIOS initialising messages and then Windows NT is starting up messages.
Obviously while all of this was going on, in the back of your mind you are thinking what’s going to happen to my card, Will I ever see it again?
After it had finished booting Windows NT the screen changed to ”Sorry Temporarily out of service”. See my photo here:
So that’s the end of the card then, I went into the bank that the ATM was attached to and had to queue for ages only to be told that “we do not have access to the machine and any cards that are not ejected get automatically shredded by the machine. You will have to contact your own back to get a replacement card”.
After ringing up my bank and putting a block on the lost card (just in case) I had to ask for a replacement card to be sent. My bank also said that ATMs automatically shred cards that don’t get ejected out which sounds a bit odd.
So the moral of the story is make sure you have an emergency credit card just in case Windows throws a wobbler on your ATM and decides its going to eat your card for dinner!
Until this happened I did not realise that cash machines actually ran Windows operating system, scary isn’t it ! but I guess its cheaper to use an off the shelf operating system. Surely it was not really McAfee anti-virus software updating that killed the cash Machine? Why would you have antivirus software running on a ATM anyway its not like its got any user-accessible USB ports that people can get to infect it via!
Anyone who works at NCR able to give feedback on this?
This year in Derby there are two seperate Christmas light switch on ceremonies to go and see. If you are into 80's music and want to see some pop stars from the era then pop down to Westfield Derby to see Toyah Willcox and Carol Decker perform.
Derby Westfield Christmas lights switch-on 2010 Join Santa and 80s pop legends Toyah Willcox and Carol Decker as they help to turn on our Christmas lights. The fun starts at 2pm on Saturday 20th November on Level 2 near Eat Central as we turn back the clock to give you a big 80s party hosted by Ram FM's Steffen Le Touche. Dance along with Toyah and Carol as they sing hits from the decade and see performances from 2009's Christmas Choir Competition winners Alvaston Community Junior School choir, and a show-stopping performance from Duffield's Vision School of Dance.
Market Place Christmas lights switch-on Derby’s annual Christmas lights switch-on will have both the X and Fame Factor as X Factor 2010 acts, The Reason and Hustle will take to the stage alongside finalists from Ram FM & Derby LIVE's Fame Factor. Both groups made it through to the judges' houses stage of this year's X-Factor competition. Stars from Ram FM & Derby LIVE’s Fame Factor, including singing group The Nightingales, football freestyler, John Wetton and winner, Marcia Lynette Campbell will also perform. The festive parade, from The Spot down to the Market Place, will commence at 4.15pm
Its dificult to find out exactly when the lights will be swiched on but it may be possible to see both the Westfield lights and Derby's lights being switched on.
If you want more information then see these websites:
On Thursday 18th November 2010 there is a sale at Christies in London and one of the items for sale is a highly decorative table made in 1835 that used to be at Elvaston Castle. (or rather Elvaston Hall as it was then.)
If you have a few spare quid down the back of the Sofa then get your bids in to own a bit of Derbyshire History.
The estimated selling price for the table is £40,000 - £60,000 Sale 7881
Lot 204 The table has a rectangular top with re-entrant corners and a leaf and vine carved edge above a pierced Gothic base with tracery panels between foliate and spiral reeded uprights, the ends with pieced crocketted spires above a small architectural detail supporting a dog or talbot and flames, on castors. 31 in. (79 cm.) high; 75 in. (190 cm.) wide; 35½ in. (90 cm.) deep
A few people have contacted me to say they are restoring Friar Gate Bridge but this is NOT the case. The scaffolding that has recently been put up under Friar Gate bridge is in fact preperation work for some safety netting that is going to be put under the bridge.
I have just been given some absolutely amazing rare cine film footage of the Allenton and Osmaston areas of Derby during some snow in 1965. This was filmed by Dave Upton. www.daveuptonphotography.co.uk I would like to thank Dave for allowing me to share this footage with a greater audience. I really enjoy watching old local video like this, I could watch it for hours. I find it really interesting trying to work out the locations and all the little details that have been captured. If your not that old (like me) then you won't remember such things as Trolley buses and you probably think the "Spider bridge" at Allenton has always been there. Well here in this video you will see a different era to the one you may know.
The driving footage was filmed from an Austin 10 van Information about the locations in this video: 0:12 Here we see a shot of Osmaston Road (I think) 0:25 The Mitre Island (Where the Spider bridge is located today) 0:35 Closer view of the Mitre Island 0:42 Nice shot of the Mitre Hotel (built in 1930). You can also see Allenton Market in the background to the left of the pub. Google Streetview relates to about 0:45 in the video. 0:47 Driving along Osmaston Road from the Mitre Island. 1:04 On the left is a post box and red phone box, The post box is still there today and the red phone box has been replaced with a modern glass one. Google Streetview of post box and Phone box. On the right is the turning for Ascot Drive. 1:07 On the left is a Trolley Bus picking up passengers. 1:47 On the left is Abingdon Street. 1:56 On the left is Cotton Lane. ---------- The video footage is copyright www.daveuptonphotography.co.uk
Its that time of year again when our annual free Bonfire and Fireworks event takes place at Markeaton Park, Derby.There will be a Funfair on Markeaton Park from 2pm to 9pm. Ram FM’s Dino & Pete will be there from 5pm. The Derby Live Fame Factor winner, singer Marcia Lynette Campbell, will entertain the crowds before the bonfire and fireworks display.
Markeaton Park Bonfire and Fireworks. Sunday 7th November 2010 The Bonfire will be lit at 5.45pm
The Fireworks from 6pm.
Note that Markeaton Lane will be CLOSED from 3pm to 9pm, best not to come by car if possible!
If you own a smart Phone (iPhone, HTC etc) then here is a drop pin marker you can use to find the main pedestrian entrance : Smart phone drop pin click here. This will open your mapping application which you can then use to plan your walking route into the park!
Map location for Markeaton Park Bonfire and Fireworks including parking location.
I meant to post this back in April but seem to forget so here it is. This is a 360 x 180 degree interactive photograph taken near the newly opened Mackworth Library in Mackworth, Derby. The new Mackworth Library, funded by the Big Lottery, opened on Thursday 25th March 2010 at 3pm. It was opened by Paul Pegg, chairman of Mackworth Estate Community Association. At the opening there was a song from Reigate School Choir, and a free commemorative mug for the first six people to join the library. When Mackworth Estate was planned out in the 1950s, it showed a library on Knightsbridge Recreation Ground but its only now that such a library has been built. The library is located at the end of the shopping arcade on Prince Charles Avenue on the corner with Mornington Crescent. Mackworth library is the second of three new libraries to be opened as part of a £2.7m project in the city. Last year Allenton Library opened and in june a new one opened in Chellaston.
Wait for it to load in and you can then drag the view around with the mouse (just like Google Streetview).
Any Derby photographers out there that love this bridge had better make sure you take your photos sooner rather than later as safety netting is to be put up beneath Friar Gate bridge amid concerns that parts of the bridge could come loose !
It is proposed that "debris containment netting" is installed that will stop pedestrians and motorists getting hit by bits of iron work.
I just hope that funding can be found to restore this iconic bridge before its too late to save it. If you have not yet signed my online petition to get the bridge restored then please do so...
I photographed this 360 degree VR photograph back in August this year. Its a post box on Corporation Street in Manchester. It was made in Derby by a Victorian Iron Founder from Derby called Andrew Handyside.
The box has a plaque on the front of it which reads "This postbox remained standing almost undamaged on June 15th 1996 when this area was devestated by a bomb. The box was removed during the rebuilding of the city centre and was returned to the original site on November 22nd 1999".
The image below is interactive, once its fully loaded in you can control the view with your mouse.
If you would like to learn more about the Derby company Andrew Handyside then watch this space as I have spent the last three months putting hundreds of hours of research into this company. Even though I am from Derby and into local History I feel that this company seems to have been forgotten about and yet their creations are all around the world today. Keep an eye out for my Handyside project as I promote it in the following months.
Autumn is on its way so I thought I would post a video that I made a couple of years ago now. I filmed it in Markeaton Park in Derby. I should really go and make another one of these using my new camera equipment and using better video editing that I now use. Anyway sit back and enjoy my relaxing video in this popular Derby park :
The current themed event has just closed on the World Wide Panorama website and the theme for this event was "Crossroads" so for my entry I created a 360x180 degree VR photograph at the major crossroads in Derby where Warwick Avenue meets Burton Road and Manor Road. If you live in Derby you will know only too well that this juntion has rather a lot of traffic using it so my plan was to take my panorama in the middle of the night to show a different view of it. I'm sure you will agree I've certainly captured it at peace.!
If you live in Derby then I dare say you can't have missed the heavy fog this morning. It had the effect of revealing all of the spider webs which looked amazing. Here are a couple of photographs I took of one of them using my Canon Ixus 430 set to Macro mode with the flash on.
Anyone with this scanner should find this post of use. I have owned an Epson Perfection 1200U Flatbed scanner since about 2000, a great quality scanner. I recently upgraded my main PC to Windows 7 64 bit after sticking with Windows XP for many years. When I went to the Epson support website to get the latest drivers I was annoyed to find that the Epson Perfection 1200U is NOT supported for Windows7 at all. None of the drivers would work with it. I did not want to have to buy another scanner as there was nothing wrong with this one.
After much searching I found an answer and it worked perfectly, I have been using it for a few days without any problems. Thankfully someone has altered a driver for another Epson scanner then repacked it for the Epson Perfection 1200U.
3) Extract the setup files and run setup. 4) Once it has installed the driver connect the flatbed scanner to the USB port. It should say it found the driver ok and the device is ready to use. 5) Double click the "EPSON Scan" icon on your desktop and it should show this panel (I changed the view to Professional Mode using the top right button)
6) Give it a go! All the functions seem to work ok. To recap this is the Windows 7 64 bit driver for an Epson Perfection 1200U flatbed scanner.
Adding the Epson Perfection 1200U into Paint Shop Photo Pro X3: 1) Once you have followed my instructions above run PSP 2) Goto the File menu - Import - TWAIN Source and select "WIA-EPSON Perfection 1200 1.0(32-32)" and click Select button. You can now scan documents directly into PSP using the Scan button in PSP.
If you enjoy my time-lapse videos then check out my latest upload which I captured last Saturday while on a short break in Sheffield. It features people moving around the beautiful Peace Gardens.
If you are using a smartphone to view this blog then click HERE to place a marker on your Maps app. I hope you enjoy it. Andy
This post may be of use to those people that use Sony Vegas 9 Pro for making videos in HD 720p mode for YouTube. I have done some screen grabs of the settings I use in this program. This is using Sony Vegas Pro version 9.0E running on Windows 7
Here are the settings I use : From scratch, assuming you have some HD footage loaded and ready.... Goto File dropdown menu and select "Render as". Change "Save as type:" to Windows Media Video V11 (*.wmv) Change the templace to 5Mbps HD 720-25p video.
Project Settings panel. The template must match the source media that you are using, if its video clips then you click on the yellow folder icon to the far right of the "Template:" field and select one of the video files. Select Best for Full-resolution rendering quality.
Custom Settings panel - Audio These settings give great consistant results.
Custom Settings panel - VideoThese are the settings for a standard 25FPS video.
Custom Settings panel -Bit Rate Personally I find that 9Mbps gives good results.
These settings are for producing YouTube videos that are 1280 x 720 pixels at 25 Frames Per Second. If I am using .mp4 video footage from my Toshiba Cameo Pro video camera then I use a frame rate of 29.
Sheffield is a city just 35 minutes away from Derby by Train.
Sheffield currently has a big wheel located on Fargate, seeing as Derby are not having one this year why not have a ride on their wheel. The Wheel of Sheffield costs £6.50 for Adults/£4.50 for Children and the 60m high ride lasts for about 13 minutes. You can book it online using the web address above.
There is a special train ticket that you can get that I've not heard of before but the savings you can make are pretty good. Normally two return train tickets Derby to Sheffield would cost £34.80 (or £26 if you manage to catch one of the few cheaper journeys available) But if you ask for a Derbyshire Wayfarer all day travel ticket then it will only cost you £15.10 !. Not only that but for £15.10 you can actually take three children as well. Not only that but you can use the Derbyshire Wayfarer on all buses in Derbyshire. Not only that but you can also make unlimited journeys all day on both train and bus. As you can see the Derbyshire Wayfarer is outstanding value and well worth it. For a single person the Derbyshire Wayfarer ticket costs £8.90 (includes one child) so even that's cheaper than buying a normal return train ticket. (Derby to Sheffield=£8.70 + Sheffield to Derby=£8.70 Total=£17.40). You save £8.50
It consists of a single normal train ticket that is stuck onto a blue "Derbyshire Wayfarer" card, you only get one ticket regardless of how many are travelling on it, its just the price paid that indicates how many it covers. Of course you cant put the ticket through the automatic ticket barrier at Derby Railway Station because of the card its stuck on so you simply show the ticket to the guard and they let you though.
In the month of August there is a free daily tour of the town hall which takes place at 2pm each day. Just meet in the reception of the hall to go on the tour. The tour lasts about an hour and is very interesting if you are into history. Sheffield Town Hall was officially opened on 21st May, 1897 by Queen Victoria, you can see a photograph of the opening day in a display case in the reception of the Town Hall, during the tour they will tell you about the key she turned to open the doors. There are plenty of places to visit such as the Crucible Theatre, The Winter Gardens, Sheffield Museum.
At some point in the next week or so I will be posting a video of Sheffield that I took of some of the sights and a tour of the Town Hall.
If you have not been to Sheffield before or have not visited for a few years then why not take a trip there.
I created this video back in 2008 but now I have a blog it seems like a good place to show it off, I was asked to create this video to help promote one of the more unusual exhibits that was in Derby Museum.
The owner of the "King of Rome" was from a Derby family of Pigeon fanciers, Charlie Hudson was born in the 1870s, in 1913 his short-distance racing pigeon won a race from Italy to Derby which made it a much sort after bird. Charlie lived at 56 Brook Street in the West end of Derby, next time you drive down that road spare a thought for him.
My video is about this bird.
The video - The King of Rome, famous racing Pigeon from Derby
I also have a High Resolution version of this video on my Vimeo channel here :
Here is my latest video, this one is a very fast driving time-lapse video of Derby to Manchester at an equivalent average driving speed of 678mph!
This video was recorded on Friday 30th July 2010. The first frame was captured at 10:01am in Derby and the last image was captured at 2:24pm.in Manchester. There were three breaks in the journey, the first at Leek, the second at Maccesfield and the third at Stockport.
My Derby to Manchester Driving video:
Locations seen in the video. Because of the very high speed of this timelapse video, the timecodes I have provided are only accurate to a second. Seeing as the video is being played at 25 frames per second, the distance covered in just 1 second of playback is great so landmarks will pass you very quickly.
Time - Information 00:30 This journey starts in Derby on the A38 heading down to Markeaton Island 00:33 Left at island onto A52 to Ashbourne 00:35 Here is the turn off for Mackworth Estate 00:44 Kirk Langley, Derbyshire 00:52 Brailsford, Derbyshire 01:05 Yeldersley, Derbyshire 01:11 Ashbourne round-a-bout, carry on A52 down the hill 01:16 2nd exit carry on along A52 01:18 1st exit carry on along A52 01:20 Mayfield, Staffordshire. Up the steep Swinscoe Hill 01:26 Swinscoe, Staffordshire 01:32 Calton Moor, Staffordshire. The A52 becomes the A523 here. 01:38 Waterhouses, Staffordshire 01:44 Winkhill, Staffordshire 01:51 Bottom House, Staffordshire 01:57 Bradnop, Staffordshire 02:06 Leek, Staffordshire 02:11 Stop in car park at Leek 02:14 Back on journey on the A523 North 02:30 Rushton, Cheshire 02:40 Bosley, Cheshire 02:43 The A54 crossroads 02:48 Oakgrove, Cheshire 02:51 Macclesfield, Cheshire 03:04 The Silk Road A523/B5470 round-a-bout 03:05 Stop at Tesco due to road works on Silk Road 03:15 Back at The Silk Road A523/B5470 round-a-bout 03:16 Up Hibel Road A537 to top and back down again 03:18 Left onto Beech Lane/Manchester Road A538 03:23 Tytherington, Macclesfield 03:27 1st exit back on the A523 03:35 Adlington, Cheshire 03:39 Poynton 03:49 Hazel Grove, Stockport 04:04 Great Moor 04:18 Stockport 04:24 park in Leisure centre car park for a break 04:29 Waiting to turn left back onto A523, now raining. 04:37 Left back onto A523 04:38 On the left is the chimney of the Hat Museum ! 04:49 Heaton Chapel 04:53 McVities factory on left. You can smell those Ginger Nuts. 04:56 Levenshulme 05:05 Longsight 05:11 Left onto Plymouth Grove 05:20 Right onto Oxford Road 05:28 Left onto Great Bridgewater Street 05:53 Right onto Deansgate 05:41 On left is Hog's Head pub (amazing value food here) 05:45 Left onto Bridge Street 05:48 right onto Chapel Street 05:50 Arrive at Hotel. End
Total filming time 154 mins (9240 seconds) 8026/9240= Photograph taken every 868ms
Want to know which roads I travelled on then please use my map here, It is very accurate if you zoom in or best still use the link below the map so you get a full web page map you can control Detailed Driving route Map:
I'm sure you can't have missed last weeks news about Dovedale Stepping Stones. Derbyshire County Council and the National Trust had placed new stones on top of the existing ones to make them more "accessible" for visitors.
The story even made it into the National Newpapers, as you can read here.
The stones they have added onto the exisiting ones to make them a lot higher, see how it looks now HERE.
A Facebook page has been set up to request that the stepping stones be returned to the way they were before, Join the Facebook group and post your comments on here :
Iphone Map locators for Dovedale. If you are viewing this blog on an iPhone then you can click the link below to launch the iPhone Maps application with a push pin location that you can use to located the stones.
Once you have clicked on the link above and your Map application has loaded up, simple tap the Directions button at the bottom of the iPhone. It will be prefilled in with Current location for the start and Dovedale Car Park for the end so all you have to do is tap the Route button and it will show the driving route you need.
For a large map showing all the details such as the walking paths etc click the link here: Dovedale Stepping Stones Map.
Something which I find annoying on the iPhone is when viewing an embeded custom google map in Safari, if you click on the link below the embeded map it launches the Maps application and loses all of the markings and pointers that were on the embeded map.
I have found a way to create a link on a web page that when veiwed in Safari on your iPhone it will launch the Maps application and put a drop pin onto the map which you can then use to get directions to or view streetview on your iPhone.
To see this in action you need to be veiwing this blog post on your iPhone. I imagine this will also work on an iPad, perhaps someone can let me know if thats the case.
Drop pin on iPhone Maps via html example. Click the link below and it will close Safari and open up the Maps app and show a drop pin on it.
Hopefully you should have seen that the Maps App was launched and a red Drop Pin was placed in the middle of the River Derwent. If you want the html code for this simply click the link on a computer (rather than on an iPhone)
If you are wondering how on earth to find precise Lat/Long coordinates for your drop pins then I suggest using the Google API Polyline Encoder tool, its not really designed for this purpose but I often use this tool because its very quick, easy to use and very accurate.
How to use the tool to find Latitude and Longitude positions. 1) First type in a place you want to find in the field marked "Center map at:", this will get you a map of the area. You don't need to be really accurate at this stage.
2) Click the Hybrid button for high accuracy positioning of your pointer. 3) Drag the map view around to get it so you can see what you want to see, Zoom in to help accuare placement. 4) Click on the map where you want a mark placing. As soon as you click you will notice that a green marker will appear on the map and the Latitude and Longitude fields show accurate position data. 5) You can move the green marker around by simpy clicking on it and dragging it to where you want it. the Latitude and Longitude data will update as you move it around. Its as simple as that, you are in full control of the marker.
This post may be of use to some people wanting to create web content that will work on an iPhone map. If you found this of use then please leave a comment. The next thing I need to see how much more you can do with the iPhone Maps application.
This blogpost may be of use to some people. A few years a go I bought a cheap GPS Receiver off Ebay so I could use it on a laptop with AutoRoute. Here are details on how to connect, install and get it running on Windows 7 with Microsoft Autoroute 2010.
Here is a photograph of the EverMore GM-R700 GPS Receiver, as you can see it consists of a small unit (4cm x 5cm) that houses the GPS receiver and an RS232 to USB convertor with a flying USB lead on it.
EverMore GM-R700 GPS Receiver.
When you plug in the USB connection from the EverMore GPS Receiver into a laptop running Windows7 it will show this error.
You need to get the correct driver for this so visit the Silicon Labs website and download the latest driver from their driver page here:
Click the link in the first section "XP/Server 2003/Vista/7" - VCP Driver Kit.
As I am using Windows7 I downloaded the file "CP210x_VCP_Win_XP_S2K3_Vista_7.exe"
Install this driver software and then you should get this message above the status bar :
Make a note of the COM port that has been allocated to the GPS, in this example its COM4
You can now Run Microsoft AutoRoute 2010.
Click on the "GPS Task Pane" icon at the top (the red compass)
On the GPS pane panel thats now appeared on the left side, click on the "Configure GPS..." button and select COM4 and click the OK button.
Now click the Green play button, If you have ticked the "Provide navigation" box then it will show a safety warning screen just click on "I agree".
In the bottom left of the AutoRoute screen it will show
"GPS [Status: Searching for satellites Sats:0]"
Allow a few minutes for the unit to update its Almanac and Ephemeris data.
After a while the number of Sats should increase. As you can see in my example below (marked with a big red arrow) I can see 8 Satellites parked up here on Vernon Street in Derby.
You need to be able to see 3 sats before it can locate your position..
Screengrab of AutoRoute 2010 in use with my GPS.
For comparison here is a screen grab of the location map app on my iPhone 3GS, as you can see it maches up with where AutoRoute thinks I am parked. Of course its nice on the iPhone as you get a real satellite image of where you are.
iPhone Mapping App location.
One point worth noting is that make sure you fully boot Windows7 before you connect the GPS to the laptop otherwise Windows will misidentify the GPS as a Mouse and install a mouse driver for it causing the mouse pointer to fly around the screen out of control!
Hope someone out there finds this blogpost of use.
For reference :
The EverMore GM-R700 is a 16 Channel GPS unit with Standard NMEA-0183 at 4800 baud.
If you are on a o2 Pay as you go phone then you will be familiar with the "Hook a Duck" game known as o2 surprises. When you top up your phone with £10 or more they send you a text message with a special code that you type in to the o2 suprises website and it gives you two chances (three chances for £15 top up) to try and win a prize. BUT without fail the prizes you win are never anything like the ones it taunts you with at the top. Never won a Plasma Television, have you?
About to try and catch myself a good prize in the o2 Surprises game.
After my three goes I have won nothing of any use at all !
I am on o2 unlimited yet I often seem to win free text messeging or somthing as pointless.
If you play the damn Hook a duck game then have you ever won anything of use or are the good prizes unobtainable?. Post a reply if you have won a good prize.
This is the latest video in my “Derby Streets by car in HD” series, this one is a short car journey that encompasses all of the latest new roads and road changes relating to the Connecting Derby project on Derby Inner Ring Road. These Roads are either newly opened or one way roads that have become two way. Lara Croft Way is a newly constructed road where as the parts of Normanton Road and Burton Road were previously one way roads, these are now two way roads.
Lara Croft Way opened in two stages one direction on 11th May 2010 and the other way on 27th July 2010.
Because these are new roads they are not on Google Maps or Google Streetview.
However I have generated a detailed map showing the new roads and how they connect to form the new Derby inner ring road. I have also made a 360 degree interactive panoramic photograph near the traffic island at Lara Croft Way (a-la Google Streetview).
Also the driving video I have made here will allow you to see how it all connects together. This video was filmed at 7am on Wednesday 28th July 2010 which is why there is little traffic on the roads, giving a better view than queuing traffic!
Lara Croft Way Driving video
If you have a fast broadband connection and high-end PC then best to view in 720p HD and fullscreen. The driving Video Route Details. The drive starts on Burton Road (A5250) heading into Derby. On the right side you can see Mount Street which is where (up until 27/07/2010) you would rejoin the inner ring road in the clockwise direction. As you can see this section of Burton Road is now two way.
On the right we pass The Duke of York Pub.
We now arrive at the new Round-a-bout, this connects the following roads.
Burton Road (two way) Mercian Way (not yet open), the next section of the inner ring road. Green Lane (one way) Babington Lane (one way) Lara Croft Way (two way) Normanton Road (two way) At this round-a-bout I take the 4th exit onto Lara Croft Way, This is a brand new road which forms part of the final link of Derby Inner Ring Road. Lara Croft Way cuts through former streets such as Sacheverel Street and Wilmot Street. Lara Croft Way then connects to the existing round-a-bout on Osmaston Road.
The Osmaston Road round-a-bout connects the following roads: Lara Croft Way (two way) Osmaston Road A514 towards the Spot (two way) Bradshaw Way A601, (two way) Existing inner ring road. Osmaston Road A514 (two way) towards Allenton. Charnwood Street (one way) now closed off. Leopold Street (one way) now closed off. Lara Croft Way
At the Osmaston Road round-a-bout I take the 4th exit which takes me back up Lara Croft Way in the other direction. At this round-a-bout I take left into Normanton Road. This section of Normanton Road used to be one way, as you can see its now two way. On the left is Leopold Street which is the way you used to go to get onto the inner ring road, Leopold Street was closed off on Tuesday 11th May 2010 when Lara Croft Way opened up in one direction only.
At the Charnwood Street junction you would normally see inner ring road traffic coming from the left but Charnwood Street is now blocked off at the Osmaston Road end.
Here on Normanton Road I turn right into Southgate Retail Park (Lidl) and do a u-turn in the entrance and head back onto Normanton Road towards Derby centre.
Notice here on the left that the slip road leading to Mill Hill Lane has been closed off, instead Normanton Road has become two way. So as of July 27th the Mill Hill Lane/Mount Street/Burton Road/Normanton Road loop part of the Old Inner Ring road is now no longer needed.
You are now allowed to drive Down Normanton Road in the other direction.
At the round-a-bout I turn left onto Burton Road which is now two way. It feels very strange being able to drive down this bit of Burton Road in this direction after all the years of it being one way. Here we rejoin Burton Road where Mount Street used to join with it.
On the first day of these new roads opening I was stuck in horrendous queues of traffic but I think once the Derby City council have adjusted the traffic light sequences at Lara Croft Way then this new section of the inner ring road will help a lot. I look forward to seeing the remaining section of the inner ring road opening between Lara Croft Way and Ford Street, this will complete Derby Inner Ring Road
As of today, Tuesday 27th July 2010, Lara Croft Way was fully open in both directions. Here is a 360 degree VR photography I took of the new road. Just like a Google Streetview view but better, using complete Spherical VR photograph 360 x 180 degrees.
The view you can see in my photograph is the new round-a-bout at the top of Babington Lane. This traffic island joins Lara Croft Way, Burton Road, Mercian Way (opening later in 2010), Green Lane and Babington Lane.
Use the mouse to drag the view around... Lara Croft Way 360 degree V.R. Photograph.
If you would like to see a high resolution, fullscreen version of my VR photograph of Lara Croft Way then click the link here : High Resolution 360 degree view of Lara Croft Way, Derby. I have made it so it auto-resets the view, so if you zoom fully all the way in and release the mouse button then after 4 seconds it will zoom back out again.
As well as Lara Croft Way being opened up fully today, Burton Road between this round-a-bout and Mount Street became two-way. It felt very strange driving in front of The Duke of York pub "the wrong way" after all these years. Also Normaton Road between the new round-a-bout and Melbourne Street became two-way, thus meaning no more having to crive around Mill Hill Lane and Mount Street.
Unfortunately I think the traffic light timmings need some serious looking at because I tried the new route and it took 25 mins to get from Osmaston Road to Burton Road because the lights near Leopold street were only staying green for 10 seconds.
Lara Croft Way Map. Here is a detailed map showing the exact location of Lara Croft Way in Derby, Click on the link below the map if you want a larger version you can print out :
Did you know that you can get your digital photographs printed at Costco in Derby? This is better than any online printing service as you can collect them in person.
The prices are really cheap, the prints are high quality and you can upload your images from home and collect them the next day. They also do large print sizes such as 18" x 12", The quality is amazing on these poster prints. The prints are supplied in carboard envelopes.
Prices for Prints at Costco Photo Centre Derby (July 2010)
Size - Qty Copies - Price
6" x 4" 1-49 7p each
50-99 6p each
100-499 5p each
500+ 4p each
7" x 5" 1-49 12p each
50-149 10p each
150-499 9p each
500+ 9p each
8" x 6" 1+ 22p each
9" x 6" 1+ 22p each
10" x 8" 1+ £1.09 each
12" x 8" 1+ £1.09 each
You can either order your prints via their website (limited to 5 prints) or you can use the free Kiosk software which allows you to place orders up to 5,000 images! With the Kiosk software you do not need an internet connection whilst you are preparing the order, only when you finally send the order through. This easy to use software allows you to zoom, crop and rotate each print so you get just what you want.
Click on the light blue rectangle where it says "Easy Download Kiosk/Uploader Software" Download and install the Kiosk software. The downloaded .exe file is 24.5Mb so does not take long on a broadband connection.
If you are using Windows 7 then I have found that this software has to be run in compatibility mode as follows (Don't worry its easy to do this) Install the software then right-click on the "Costco Desktop Kiosk" icon on the desktop and on the menu that appears select Properties then click on the Compatibilty tab And tick the box next to Run this program in compatibilty mode for: And select "Windows XP (Service Pack 3)" Click Apply and OK. I don't have Windows Vista so not sure if you have to do the same with that Operating System.
When you run the Kiosk program for the first time it will download packages for each Costco UK location to update its self. You need to click on Settings and fill in your details such as address, e-mail and Costco membership number.
To add your images you click on the "Add Pictures" button, you can now select as many images as you want, when you click ok they should start to show up like my screen grab below. The Kiosk user interface is nice and easy to use. You have full control over each individual image.
you click on each thumbnail one by one and select what print size you want, in this example I have selected 6" x 4". You can also select the Quantity for each print.
In the top right of the Kiosk window you will see your image with a dotted box on it, this is the crop area. Because most digital cameras do not take phtographs in the right aspect ratio for a 6" x 4" print it will mean you have to loose the top and bottom of your image, this rubber box shows the area that is going to be cropped. You can move the corner handles of the box to choose what part of the image you want to remove, you can also use these controls to zoom in on part of your image.
Once you have confirmed your order and its uploaded all the image data, You will recieve and e-mail to say you have placed an order. You will get another e-mail when they start to work on your order and then a third e-mail to let you know when your prints are ready for collection from the Costco Derby Warehouse. Just print off this confirmation e-mail and take it to the Photo Centre to get your prints
You pay for the prints at the Photo Centre rather than the normal checkouts.
A bit of Background info on Costco.
Costco is one of the largest membership only warehouse club, Founded in USA in 1983. Today they have over 550 locations around the world. Over 20 of these are in the UK and we are lucky enough to have a Costco in Derby which opened a few years ago.
They sell a vast range of goods mostly in bulk and cheap. The Derby centre has a food court where you can buy hot food cheap such as a large Jacket Potato with as many fillings as you want for just £1.25 The Costco Derby photography department is located on the right hand side as you go through the entrance.
Where to find Costco Derby on a map
This Costco warehouse can be found on Wyvern Way, Derby, DE21 6RS
The entrance to Costco car park is off the round-a-bout between Burger King and Pizza Hut. It has a large car park with very wide parking bays so no problems opening car doors to get stuff in.
Monday to Friday Trade members 10:00am - 8:30pm Individual members 12:00 - 8:30pm Saturday 9:30am - 6:30pm Sunday 11:00am - 5:00pm Bank Holidays 10:00am - 6:00pm
Costco Derby is open 361 days a yeay, only closing for Christmas, New Years Day and Easter Sunday.
If your a keen photgrapher then hopefully you will find my blogpost of use. If you are a regular user of photobox or snapfish then this is a great alternative to those print services and you can go and collect the prints yourself so no postage to pay and you can even get prints on a Sunday.
Large prints are given to you in flat carboard envelopes rather than rolled up in tubes so you don't have to struggle to flatten out your prints before mounting them in a frame.
If you need your prints quicker then Costco also have PC Kiosks in the Photo Centre where you can plug in your USB flash drive and get your prints within minutes, these cost twice as much though.
Here is my latest video promoting the local area. I dare say that if you are from Derbyshire then Dovedale Stepping Stones will be somewhere that you will have visited at some time. Its a great place to visit, perfect if you are looking for somewhere to visit in Derbyshire while the weather is nice. This tranquil and beautiful place is a "must see" place.
This video came about because I actually visited Dovedale one Friday in order to take lots of Panoramic photographs, while there I took a few short video clips too. When back to Derby I looked at the videos and wished that I had recorded more footage. My answer to this problem was some clever software called Pano2Movie as it allowed me to create video-like pans and incorporate them into the real video footage. The first pan starts at 0:30, the sun rays which start at 0:45 I created using the "Light Rays" effect on the timeline in Sony Vegas 9 Pro to give the illusion of the Sun through the trees.
The sequence that starts at 4:17 shows what you can do using Pano2Movie as this kind of movement would not be possible with a video camera because I am panning to the ground while standing on stepping stones that are in the middle of the river Dove!
At 4:33 I used the FOV markers in Pano2Movie to zoom in, as you can see this made a very odd effect which makes it look like we are moving in mid air.
Anyway enough of the techincal stuff sit back and enjoy my video of Dovedale. This video is best viewed in 720p HD and fullscreen.
My video of Dovedale Stepping Stones.
My original source video that was uploaded to YouTube was 474Mb and took over two hours to upload!
Map of Dovedale Stepping Stones. If you have never visited Dovedale Stepping Stones then here is a detailed map of this area. I have marked the exact position of Dovedale Stepping Stones along with where you park etc.
If you want to take the map with you then click the link above so you have a large version you can print out. If you zoom out a bit you will see I have even marked on useful bits on the road to the car park.
on where you can save lots of money on some great gifts.
