jAzEl is a free calculator for java enabled handheld devices that provides antenna aiming coordinates (Azimuth and Elevation), magnetic variation (declination) and estimated Polarisation skew based on the user's Lat/Lon location input. It is stand-alone, meaning it doesn't send/fetch information over the internet.


More:

It's compiled Java for mobile (Java ME, formerly known to as J2ME), and should work with any Java enabled device that is CLDC1.1/MIDP2.0, or higher (nearly everything these days).  Check your phone specs Here, and scroll down to the J2ME section.

Computes magnetic declination based on WMM 2005 world magnetic model. In itself, a useful tool.

The bad:

I have no idea what it will look like an any given device..  even within
devices from the same manufacturer - it displays differently, depending on the
generation of Java it has. Maybe it will use the phone's theme for fonts and
colors, or maybe it won't. Maybe it will show adjacent screen items on the same line, or maybe not. 

Standard "Round Earth" calculations. does not compensate for inclined-orbit
satellites, nor the fact that the earth is not a perfect sphere.

NOTE: JAzEl, In it's current state, does not support JSR-239 (i18n). Therefore, the program may have problems in locales that use a COMMA for a decimalpoint on the input textFields. This is only an issue if the device is JSR-239, such as Nokia N70 (S60 platform), and set for a locale that uses the "," as decimalpoint.


Installation:

New version! v0.0.49 is the latest stable version, and has the ability to store the user's last *valid* upon exit. v0.1.1 is a stable program, but is not yet fully verified for accuracy of the city database, which currently includes +165 countries. Europe and Asia locations have been verified. North and South America are not included yet.

Please remember, this software is for CLDC1.1/MIDP2.0 (or higher) devices. It is NOT for desktop Java - unless you have a mobile environment emulator, like sun's wtk2.x.x.

Method one: Download the jazelXX.jar file to your PC, then copy it to your mobile device by cable, bluetooth, memorycard, etc.. After it is transferred to the device, find the file with the file manager on the device, and select it. Your device will verify the JAR's integrity, then should ask if and where you want to install it. After installation, the program can be executed from wherever you chose to install it. Example: "Applications".

jazel49.jar - Latest stable 0.0.49 without city database (23772 Bytes).
jazel01.jar - Work-in-progress 0.1.1 with city database (68701 Bytes).


Method two is OTA, or "Over The Air". For this, your device needs to have internet access, put the URL of the jazelXX.jad file into your phone's web-browser. This can be either from a menu option of "go to", "go to url" or something similar.

http://www.nexred.com/pub/jazel49.jad

http://www.nexred.com/pub/jazel01.jad

Your phone will download the tiny .JAD descriptor, show you the information, and request what you want to do next - depending on the browser/device. Options would be to install it, downoad it, or do nothing.

Please let me know how it works on your device, because it's not guaranteed to work on everything - even devices claiming to be CLDC1.1/MIDP2.0. Different implementations of JavaME have different requirements (jad attributes, digital signage, etc).


Development:

Currently working on a version for the US, using a zip-code lookup.. It works, but is slooooow because the array is so big. So for the moment, use a GPS for your location data.

Various device-specific "higher-end" device packages are in the works. Internationalization, GPS connectivity, and better database browsing are some improvements being worked on. I would develop specific versions for the Blackberry and Nokia/Ericsson symbian devices - but as long as their SDK's are not suitable for Linux, we (well, they) will have to wait. A nice JavaSE version , more like the hAzEl spreadsheet, is coming because that is where mobile computing is likely going.

If you are interested in the source code, or assisting in testing and development - please email me: jack[at]nexred.com.