Unable to download GNIS
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#7 Unable to download GNIS
I get the following error message popup after entering an address in and it attempts to download the data:
"Error reading http://geonames.usgs.gov/docs/strategaz/MI_Deci.zip (An error occurred during negotiation)"
I have used both the 0.19 and 0.20alpha releases with the same error each time. I have tried different addresses in different states, and it fails for those states as well, with the error message changing only the state abbreviation.
Trying to go to the URL manually gives me:
"Not Found
The requested URL /docs/strategaz/MI_Deci.zip was not found on this server."
I've been banging my head against this exact same issue. Apparently the usgs has discontinued the XX_DECI.zip files (probably due to a desire to move to the new FIPS rules?), and now provides approximately the same information in the XX_Features.zip files. From what I can see the format is a little different, so somebody's going to have to work on the parsing...
Useful links:
Only official source of info on the DECI format that I can find:
http://geonames.usgs.gov/stategaz/00README.html
Official new format:
http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/states_fileformat.htm
http://geonames.usgs.gov/docs/stategaz/MI_Features.zip
Obviously, you are more than welcome to submit a patch to fix this. :)
However, speaking as the only person actively contributing to Roadnav right now (anyone else is more than welcome), the next release of Roadnav will most likely drop all map support except OpenStreetMap, since they have already imported much of the other freely available map sources (GNIS, Tiger, etc) and have a lot more data that we don't support at the moment. Of course, right now OpenStreetMap support really sucks, so its going to take some time. I was hoping for an October release date, but given my schedule it may continue to be pushed back for some time.
I've found an old source of DECI files, and have figured out a workaround. Mostly I installed a web server on my local machine (lighttpd), set up the lighttpd.conf to point to my directory holding the zips, and set the roadnav preferences for the DECI files to http://localhost/
I can post the zip files somewhere, if somebody has some server space. It's only ~60M or so.
Now, this only allows me to actually get directions. The directions that roadnav actually gives me is a little goofy, but I believe that's the fault of the Tiger data set. (roads being marked as highways part of the time, and not elsewhere, that kind of stuff) Not much that virtuald can do to fix that.
Anyway, if anybody has some place to put these files permanently, or wants them emailed to them, just ask.
jared_c
Yeah, the problems with the Tiger data set is another motivator for moving to OSM-only. I've been told (haven't actually looked) that the Tiger data also doesn't notate where roads actually meet, so Roadnav tries to guess by looking at the coordinates. Probably another source of error.