Welcome to the Radiotrack's documentation. See also the QGIS plugin page.
- Import and export CSV files
- Create map layers showing the measures (points and bearings)
- Indicate errors in the data
- Automatic map updates when changing the data
- Filter measures based on individuals and dates
- Highlight triangulations
- Alerts given with QGIS' message bar
- Detailed information is logged into QGIS' standard window
This plugin was developed to help viewing and correcting manual telemetric data. The first users were measuring signals from a radioemitter on a bat at night. With the direction and the strength of the signal, they could guess where the bat was.
The data is stored in CSV files and consists of latitude-longitude coordinates, an azimuth and the strength of the signal. When filling those files, the users can do mistakes, thus making the data unusable. When importing a CSV file, the plugin indicates which data is erroneous and enables the user to correct it.
The plugin has a graphical user interface that is brought up by either using the Ctrl+Alt+B keyboard shortcut or by clicking on the black bat icon in the toolbar. Alternatively, you can reach the plugin through QGIS' "Plugins" menu, by selecting "Radiotrack", and "Open/close Radiotrack".
After importing a file, two map layers are created: one drawing dots where measures were taken, and one drawing lines indicating in which direction the measured signal comes from. If the data contains errors, some dots or lines won't be drawn until the errors are corrected.
The table can be edited to correct the errors. Once everything is fine, you can export the data as a CSV file. Filters are here to help you find and select the most useful data.
The following image shows the plugin on its main tab with numbers marking the useful parts.
The plugin has different tabs, indicated by [1]. This documentation is in the "Documentation" tab. The main tab ("Data") was selected for the screenshot.
The table, indicated by [2], shows the data you are working with. If you have pink lines, it means that they contain errors. Errors are shown in red. These cells contain data that can't be understood. You can select a cell and type to input valid data. When hitting the Enter key or leaving the cell, its content will be checked. If it is valid, the red goes away, and the pink too if the line no longer contains errors. Also, the map will be updated. This is actually true for the "datetime", "lat", "lon" and "azi" columns. The other columns are not checked and can contain anything.
Greens rows indicate measures taken at the same time for the same radioemitter. It is a visual help for finding the most meaningful data. You may sort by datetime by clicking on "datetime" at the top of the table if your measures aren't already sorted in order to see packs of green lines.
There are three buttons below the table, marked by [3]. The "Import" button lets you select a CSV file so you can start working with its data.
The button "Export" will let you save your edited data as a CSV file. Note that only the selected lines are exported.
The button "Clear" will remove the table and the two layers, as if you didn't even use the plugin yet.
The "Project" field indicated by [4] is used to remind you which file you imported. However, if you edit the table, its content will no longer match the file's data, so don't forget to export your table.
The second tab enables you to decide which and how data are displayed.
Filters let you see only data you want. The irrelevant measures are hidden in the table and on the map. You'll need to change the filters for them to reappear. You can also click on the "Reset filters" button to erase your filters and show all the data again.
This field lets you select a radioemitter's identifier so its measures only will be shown. The option "All" won't hide anything.
This filter is made of two datetimes. Only measures taken between these two times (included) will be shown. After importing or resetting the filters, the "From" field will contain the oldest time from your table, and the "To" one will contain the most recent time.
You can click on numbers you wish to change, and type the new ones. However, if you use the up or down arrows (from your keyboard or the fields) in the "From" field, 1 will be added or substracted to the current number in both fields. You can use that, for example, to define a range of 1 hour and 15 minutes, put your cursor on the hour of the "From" field, and browse through a long series of measures with the arrows.
Those are extra filters to hide measures that are not valid or interesting. For example, checking "Valid position" will hide the measures where the "lat" and/or "lon" cells are red.
A few tweaks are available for the plugin.
This parameter controls the length of the lines on the map.
Changes how the dates and times are displayed in the plugin.
Changes the Coordinate Reference System of your data. The default one, EPSG:4326, is the current standard for GPS coordinates. However, if you want to use a different system, you can set your CRS in the bottom right corner of QGIS and select the "Project CRS" option in this plugin.
| Shortcut | Effect |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Alt + B | Open/Close the plugin |
| Ctrl + Alt + I | Import a new file * |
| Ctrl + Alt + X | Export selected items * |
| Ctrl + Alt + C | Clear the loaded data * |
| Ctrl + Page Down | Go to the next tab |
| Ctrl + Page Up | Go to previous tab |
| F2 | Edit cell |
*: only available on the "Data" tab
The plugin works with CSV files. Most spreadsheet software can export to this format.
The first line of the spreadsheet must be a header. Instead of containing data, its cells hold the name of the columns' data. The plugin requires the following header (and columns), in that order:
- id: a name or number identifying the radioemitter that was measured (not "All").
- datetime: time when the signal was measured. Example: 2018-01-23 03:48:00.
- lat: latitude (North) of the antenna when measuring.
- lon: longitude (East) of the antenna when measuring.
- azi: azimuth, angle in [0, 360[ indicating where the signal came from.
- possible additional columns such as comments you want to associate with the data.
- Bello Fernando
- Boisson Romain
- Cabodi Alexis
- Canon Louis-Claude
- Jeannin Emile
- Moyikoulou Chris-Féri
- Wetzel Anthony