Mapping Hacks

Build a Map of Local GSM Cells #61

Chapter 5, Mapping with Gadgets

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HACK

government ever decides to turn Selective Availability back on. One poten-

tial use for this technology, for example, might be to hook it into a car navi-

gation system and use a cellular uplink or opportunistic Wi-Fi connections

to obtain DGPS corrections. Of course, it would work a lot better if more

DGPS-over-IP servers were available in a wider variety of locations—a part

of the vision articulated by Wolfgang Rupprecht on his DGPS-over-IP home-

page. You can read more about it at http://www.wsrcc.com/wolfgang/gps/

dgps-ip.html and at his GPS Hacks page at http://www.wsrcc.com/wolfgang/

gps. Maybe you’ll be inspired to provide your own DGPS-over-IP server or

build your own DGPS backpack.

HACK

#61

Build a Map of Local GSM Cells Hack #61

Use GPS to make maps of cell-tower locations and start building cheap

location-based services.

Ever wanted to figure out where you are from the signals received by your

mobile phone? The telecommunications companies, the emergency service

providers, and, by extension, many “authorities” have access to this map of

where mobile phone users are, where they have been, and where they are

likely to be heading. Now you can build such a map for yourself and your

friends!

From most Nokia phones, including older models, you can get the cell ID of

the base tower you are connected to. Earlier models had ...