dualsportmaps.com - Android App

You are not going to convince me that your GPS has better looking maps. I can display anything you can display. Your display MAY be bigger, but if you want to mount an Android tablet on your bars this software will run on it.

Your point about water is well taken. That is why I am thinking about a remote control which I discussed above. With that you can completely waterproof your phone.

I'm in, sounds like what I've been looking for...

I'm a suspenders and a belt kind of person. Subscribed.

Cool project... I'm in


One thing I've found with the battery life relating to GPS is that the GPS feature activated means the phone is sending and receiving signals. That could mean to the cell site as well as the GPS satellites.

If I want to limit battery drain I turn off the GPS feature. Using my phone I access that by going to settings - location. Then select or deselect wireless networks and/or GPS satellites.

You should also be able to revisit the map you downloaded in all the detail you had viewed previously. what you won't get is turn by turn updates unless you have the GPS and/or networks location features activated

I think the big battery drain is actually the screen, more than the GPS (when in active mapping mode). Same thing happens when my kids play Angry Birds. In 2 hours my phone could be down to 20% battery.

However, turning off GPS by default can extend the battery life on a daily basis.

In terms of waterproofness, maybe that's another product idea. Some sort of integrated waterproof housing with a 3200mah battery + gps module + power cable. At the right price I'd buy one.

http://www.droidxforums.com/forum/d...961-motorcycle-mounts-ram-mount-aqua-box.html

hey craftycoder, how hard is it to tap into the voice capabilities? It'd be great if you app could support simple voice commands via blutooth.

The GPS feature does not transmit. It only listens and amplifies. The phone radio does not need to have anything to do with the GPS. Some software that you have used may use both, but it is not a requirement. In this application it would make no sense because this app is really for use when you are in the wild. If you are on a freeway, where the radio would help, I suggest you use Google Navigation as I assume their billions of dollars can do better than I can offer in my spare time.

If the phone has location information the software can do what it does. If it does not then this project is of little value. If I can't make this work with real time GPS data lets assume that the project dies before anyone but myself sees it in action.

So far, real time GPS info has not been a problem for me and I can keep the screen and GPS all running indefinitely on .5 amps.

I'm thinking that the people who can't keep their phones charged are having two issues.

1. Their phone is squawking for a cell tower at maximum power but they are out of range. Solution: Put phone in airplane mode.

2. They don't have a OLED display which is much more efficient than older displays and consume much less power. Solution: Get a new device.

As is the plight of us Android people, everyone's hardware is different (unlike iPhones). Users experiences will vary widely based on the quality of their equipment and the timeliness of their carriers OS updates. I use a Nexus S and get all my updates directly from Google as soon as they are available. For me, these won't be an issue. I believe all the currently made Android phones that you see advertised (the fancier ones on market) will be as capable as my phone which thus far shows excellent performance and longevity.

I don't think I want to be in the business of waterproofing people's phones. I can only imagine the bitching if the thing gets wet. If I create a charger, GPS, and remote unit you will still need to figure out your own phone protection.

The idea of remote voice commands is interesting. I don't think it would be a problem to listen to what you have to say. I think the problem would be understanding what you want. I could set it up to require you to program all your own commands (pre-record what you want to say to zoom or scan). I worry that the noise associated with high speeds and motorcycles makes this a tough thing to actually implements successfully. I ride with a motocross helmet. It's loud in there!

Again, this is in my own experience, but I can have my phone in my dash cradle, plugged in and charging, playing MP3s through my car stereos aux input (not usb) and leave the screen on for 8+ hours and when I disconnect the phone, the battery is fully charged. If I do the exact same thing, but have google maps onscreen as well, the phone will die after a few hours and I have to let it charge back up for a bit before turning it back on. I'm sure it's not all just the GPS that's doing it, but having the screen and backlight on with the charger plugged in leaves the battery topped up, as soon as google maps (I'm hesitant to say "gps" only) is running, my phone starts draining faster than it can charge, assuming that it does continue to charge after starting google maps.

This is all just based on my own non-scientific observations. You statement of the phone draining quickly when the screen is on full time is absolutely true, but not my experience when it's plugged in and charging.

Google maps uses the cell radio to do triangulation because that is very accurate in an urban setting.

I'm subscribed!! I have a HTC EVO and it will charge using the GPS continuously and plugged into a power source. Was just on a trip in Texas and used it for hours at a time and my phone never died and was always fully charged after using the GPS. When I started using the GPS on the phone most time it only had 50% to 70% battery life remaining.

Thanks for working on an app like this for the Android phones!

I think you mean analyze instead of amplifies. Unless you're thinking about how the receiver amplifies the signal from the antenna and pushes it into the processor?

Most of the navigation software that I've seen on cell phones uses both. One program used the cell signal to update the location maps after the phone gave it the GPS signal. That wasn't nearly as fun because once out of the cell area you're left with a useless application.

Yeah, it's been a bonus for me on the roads.

I appreciate your efforts. I'm following your website. Thanks

I meant amplify because I figured that was the only place where the circuit would be consuming meaningful amounts of power. I think you are correct though, it also likely consumes a non trivial amount of power analyzing the signal as well. Still, much less than the radio. If the radio is removed from location awareness process I don't expect power consumption to be an issue.

Most of y'all have a set of experiences in your mind about how these devices work. Your experience tells you that a map application uses the cell radio and GPS to determine location. Just trust me when I tell you it doesn't need to. It is trivial to query the hardware for location updates from any 1 of 3 sources on the phone. Network, GPS, and WIFI all offer clues. I will only be requesting info from GPS because that is the only likely candidate on the trail and it should keep power consumption down.

This is why those Apps generally consumer a lot of power. A lot is going on here that won't help us out on the trail.

subscribed! good luck on getting this project on it's feet.

Sounds like you're right on track craftycoder. Although your terminology is off a bit. For instance while your differential between the cell and the GPS is right on, the GPS is still using radio tech.

Global Positioning System


<table class="wikitable" border="1"><caption>GPS frequency overview</caption> <tbody><tr> <th>Band</th> <th>Frequency</th> <th>Description</th> </tr> <tr> <td>L1</td> <td>1575.42 MHz</td> <td>Coarse-acquisition (C/A) and encrypted precision P(Y) codes, plus the L1 civilian (L1C) and military (M) codes on future Block III satellites.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>L2</td> <td>1227.60 MHz</td> <td>P(Y) code, plus the L2C and military codes on the Block IIR-M and newer satellites.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>L3</td> <td>1381.05 MHz</td> <td>Used for nuclear detonation (NUDET) detection.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>L4</td> <td>1379.913 MHz</td> <td>Being studied for additional ionospheric correction.<sup class="Template-Fact" title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from April 2011" style="white-space: nowrap;">[citation needed]</sup></td> </tr> <tr> <td>L5</td> <td>1176.45 MHz</td> <td>Proposed for use as a civilian safety-of-life (SoL) signal.</td></tr></tbody></table>

Check this how it works link out. Pretty decent explanation.
GPS Calculations



As opposed to the radio frequencies of cell phones. Below are the ones used in the U.S.


Frequency bands used in the United States

<table class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"> <tbody><tr> <th>Current / Planned Technologies</th> <th>Band</th> <th>Frequency (MHz)</th> </tr> <tr> <td>SMR iDEN</td> <td>800</td> <td>806-824 and 851-869</td> </tr> <tr> <td>AMPS, GSM, IS-95 (CDMA), IS-136 (D-AMPS), 3G</td> <td>Cellular</td> <td>824-849 and 869-894</td> </tr> <tr> <td>GSM, IS-95 (CDMA), IS-136 (D-AMPS), 3G</td> <td>PCS</td> <td>1850–1910 and 1930–1990</td> </tr> <tr> <td>3G, 4G, MediaFlo, DVB-H</td> <td>700 MHz</td> <td>698-806</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Unknown</td> <td>1.4 GHz</td> <td>1392–1395 and 1432–1435</td> </tr> <tr> <td>3G, 4G</td> <td>AWS</td> <td>1710–1755 and 2110–2155</td> </tr> <tr> <td>4G</td> <td>BRS/EBS</td> <td>2496–2690</td></tr></tbody></table>

Hi Crafty,

This is good stuff. Keep on going!

When you request info from GPS only, how do you know it isn't using (or attempting to use) the cell phone or wifi signals to reduce the time the real GPS needs to home in? Is it a specific function call or call parameter?

Daniel

With most things computery, its all very specific. There isn't a "where am I method", there is a LocationChange listener and you tell it you use the network or the GPS.

I am just about finished getting the Vector OSM maps to render properly in perspective mode with the compass off 0 degrees. This is a big step in the right direction. I tested the map tiles in perspective mode following my driving (changing direction automatically such that the top of the map was my direction of travel) this afternoon and all looked nominal.

Wheww


if it weren't for programming guys like you I'd still be navigating by the stars!

Personally, I think the cartographers deserve most of the credit. I just love maps though. They make me feel like a kid, imagining getting into adventures in the foreign lands I'm looking at on the paper.

Here in SF there's so much fog we needed to invent an alternative.

Right with ya partner!



The hours and hours spent pouring over all kinds of maps when I was a kid gave me an appreciation for the work put into it.

Imagine the effort back in first days. Now with all of the advancements and building off the work of the old timers I suppose it's easy for some to just take it for granted.

Whenever I meet someone like that i suggest a week retreat into the wilderness... well what we have left... without any sort of modern convenience... well except for the soft tissues.. that would be just too much to ask of the ladies...

That is one of the few places I've not been in the lower 48