Android Phone for NexRad and Navigation

Dennis,

I just noticed that I got the update within the past hour.

I'm looking through the screens for the changes. I did find some beta links...

I can play some more with this. Riding will be tough as we got a lot of snow here in the Midwest! I need to get going on shoveling the driveway.

phat fingered on my smarty pants phone with Tapatalk

Two questions that I get very often are basically about what I call "screen real estate".

The goal is always to provide maximum mapping but still include adequate functionality.
.. that is all about the buttons in one way or another.

The most common question I get is "how come the buttons/FONTS take up so much room?"
The answer is that "you" (or someone?.. maybe the guy at the store?) changed your phones MENU-DISPLAY-FONTS settings.

..easy map is designed for NORMAL fonts so if you make your FONTS "Large" or "Huge" then the Button text gets overwhelmed with the FONT size.
(tip: if you need large FONTS for web browsing, change the ZOOM level in your browser to something bigger..
.. don't change the DISPLAY-FONTS to something other than normal unless you are vision handicapped
..because that makes EVERYTHING bigger and messes up many things on the phone.. including easy map)

Here is what it looks like if FONTS on your phone are set to "LARGE" from the "DISPLAY-FONTS" menu on the phone:
..notice the buttons are taking up WAY too much room?


here is what it should look like if FONTS are set to normal:
..notice the TEXT does not "inflate" the buttons and consume "real estate"?


The second most common question I get is:
When I look at easy map in "landscape" (sideways) the buttons take up too much room and there is hardly any map left..
well, we fixed that a long time ago (another suggestion from a board member here.. can't remember who though.. sorry)

Here is all you gotta do.
The original "fix" was for people who had a car mount and put the phone in sideways and then started easy map.
.. well the result was all buttons and hardly any map.. like this:


So the original fix was if you start easy map in landscape mode, NexRad buttons will be hidden and that worked..
.. but then the question came up, "what if easy map is already 'running', why do I have to restart it?"
So I revised the code again.. (I do that a lot .. lol ..)
.. now all you have to do is turn the phone sideways while you're still in the HOME screen.
... then if you turn it sideways and pick "START RADAR" most of the buttons are hidden and you get "more map".
... notice the green easy map "Message Bar" is still there.. that is because if you have emergency Weather Alerts turned on,
they will show up there.
It will look like this.. more map, less clutter:


(tech background.. I did try making it so all you had to do was turn sideways or vertical any time and the buttons would "change state" from normal to hidden..
.. but on the bike that proved to be too jumpy.. the orientation sensor was too sensitive and the screen kept jumping back and forth between buttons and no buttons)

hope that helps?

(tip: remember, you can access all these functions by voice command too ..
.. just tap DESTINATION and say "My Computer show commands" for a list of things you can have by just asking..
... when using voice commands to control the EMFB, always start with "My Computer".. followed by the command, otherwise DESTINATION "thinks" you want to "go someplace" vs "do something")

many thanks for the feedback
.. please keep it coming.. that's how easy map will keep improving..

enjoy..

Dennis
www.fogbog.com
EMFB on the GOOGLE PLAY STORE

Since this is a thread started by the creator, and the app is being sold, it has been moved to Vendors.

Dave
ADV Mod

Thank you, wouldn't have found it without your doing that.

Didn't read through the whole thread, so this might be redundant, but Google has an app called My Tracks, which will use the GPS to map where you go, save it as a track with stats for elevation changes and so forth, and then you can of course upload it and share it.

One nice thing about this is that you can put the phone in Airplane Mode and it still works, extending battery life, which is helpful sometimes, e.g. when hiking or without a way to recharge.

Suggestion is that it might be handy if your app did the same trick when needed. Or perhaps I'm missing a point.

.. regarding airplane mode.. it does..

I'm not sure exactly what your thoughts are.. but it seems maybe you missed the point.

EMFB is not about where you've been; it's about Navigation and Weather for where you might be going.
Google History automatically does what Google My Tracks does so I didn't think it was a good idea to try and reinvent that.

You can put EMFB in airplane mode, just turn on the GPS, pre-load as many 500 sq mile "blocks" as you need and now you have a basic GPS app on your phone that does not require provider signal..
EMFB keeps a list of the previous 50 (+25 extra) waypoints you've previously checked.

Unless I misunderstand what you need, you don't need "My Tracks" to do a "where and when and how high" history..
.. just turn on on "Google Location History"
more info here >>
http://support.google.com/gmm/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1650337
and google will keep track of you 24x7..

I've had it turned on for about 3 years now and can tell you (or anyone) "where and when" I've been for that entire time with just a few mouse clicks.

..or, yet another approach..
For a quickie view of elevation change along your intended route.. just go to Google Maps Mobile.. then MENU.. then SETTINGS.. then LABS and then "Directions Elevation".

Thank you for looking!

and.. sorry my post has been in the wrong place for the past year.. when I first came on board, I did not know where to put it..
.. see my first post on this thread.. it says:
"Please.. excuse my post if you think I should not be talking about it .. but I don't know how else to get the word out..
I will ask the admin to remove this if this is not appropriate here."

Dennis

I found a bug.. in the ADDITIONAL WEATHER section...

So to fix that ..
... and with some very recently added "tools" for the API, I can probably add some better support for the "back key" pressed...

.. look for 5.23 in a day or two...

thanks,
Dennis

I put v5.23 up on the Google Play Store today..

minor update
>> bug fix for the "Additional Weather" function
>> smaller web buttons, means bigger NexRad maps
>> much improved handling of the "back key pressed" from any screen

please report any issues asap

thanks,
Dennis
www.fogbog.com

more new stuff...

If you have time.. check out the LONG TAP HOURLY and LONG TAP 7-DAY FORECAST
(aka "Destination Forecast").

I added BIG zoom buttons and the Satellite cloud cover when zoomed way out
(goes away when zoomed in).



Again, thanks to everyone for all the good feedback.. that's what keeps it evolving.

Dennis
www.fogbog.com

what the heck..
.. once you have clouds, then adding traffic is easy..

if you zoom in below the clouds..
.. you'll be able to see a TRAFFIC Layer...
(this is starting to look like flying! .. lol .. )



Dennis
www.fogbog.com

Dennis,

First, how could you not buy an app from a company called FOGBOG? At least I couldn't resist

Slight glitch, when I go into weather mode the Andy-roid m/c symbol appears at my location, but does not move. If I stop the follow me radar, then restart the Andy-roid symbol shows in my new current location, but again stays put and does not move. This happened earlier this week, and also after the newest version downloaded to my phone last night.

I have an older Droid X running 2.3.4 so perhaps it is an equipment problem on my end. Any thoughts?

And a different question, earlier you described creating a Google Maps "track"; displaying the maps (via Destination) and selecting a Google MyMaps layer with the track. That works very well for me, great tip! What I would really like to do is have have that per-created Google Track showing while the Radar display going also . Is there a way to do that?

Thanks for the app, looking forward to using this spring.

first off.. thank you!
.. let me think about the other routing stuff.

but first the NexRad issue..
For this version, I created two methods for "Follow Me" NexRad.

1) is "Classic 5" (safe mode) to insure compatibility with all phones..
.. in that mode, AndyRoid does not move.. it just updates every 3 minutes and will move if you have moved..
.. but in between the 3 minute updates, he's stationary.
(just like ALL previous versions of EMFB 5.x)

the other "mode" is
2) "Preview 6".. basically, this is the code I want to use in the NEXT release but I want to pretest here in v5 to see if it's going to work for all phones.

So, are you in "Classic 5" or "Preview 6" mode?
.. the default is "safe mode" (Classic 5) if you've not changed it.
(MENU-NEXRAD OPTIONS to change it)..
..once you change it, it will remember your preference when you restart so you only have to do it once.

To "test "Preview 6" mode.. "drag" Andy off center an inch or so.. and then wait about 5 seconds.. he should recenter automatically..
.. that's what he will do when you're out riding
.. he will always show "you" in the center.

If you ARE already in Preview 6 mode and he won't automatically recenter.. ??
..then it's not going to work on your phone.
(that would be the first report so far and that makes me glad I provided the fall back "safe mode".)

let me know?

thanks,
Dennis
www.fogbog.com
(fogbog= For Old Guys By Old Guys)

That was one of the "goals" I had for this season's changes.

But if you've been here and reading along, you know that in the past few months, Goggle threw me a few curve balls regarding "quotas", "depreciating api v2", and Google Play Store "security".

So instead of working on all the fun stuff that I had planned, I spent half the winter rebuilding most of the EMFB "core" functionality to comply with Googles recent changes.
Now that is finished but riding season is about to begin and that's when I usually trade my "computer hat" for my cross county riding helmet.
(I plan to spend the summer ..ahhhh.. "testing" EMFB.. )
I don't plan on making any further MAJOR changes again until next fall.
But, never say never as it's always hard for me not to keep "tweaking" the application when I think of something I just HAVE to have or someone comes up with a GREAT suggestion.

in the meantime..
There is a work around for your current question:
"Google Track showing while the Radar display going"

First close all open apps to free up memory.
Then open Google MAPS and then go to MENU-LAYERS and MY MAPS.. pick the map you've previously created on your PC.
You should see your route and your current location.
Then open EMFB and go to WEATHER-START RADAR
(for "real time updates" make sure you're in "Preview 6" mode as mentioned in my previous post).

On the newer phones, just tap the "task" boxes (that little square inside a square symbol) and you can toggle back and forth between your custom route and your current position with the EMFB NexRad WEATHER overlay.

On the older phones, you don't have that little "task" box but you can do the same thing by "tap and holding" the HOME key. That brings up a list of open applications and you can "toggle" from MAP to EMFB in a similar manner.

hope that helps?
let me know?

thanks for asking..
Dennis

Eat your heart out "skynet".. easy map just got smarter..

I've always planned to get around to it...
... another place with opportunity for improvement is in "WEATHER - ADDITIONAL WEATHER".

That link started out as "just" weather (long and short term forecast, winds, METARS, etc.)
but then I started adding some "biker news", "fuel prices" and one of my favorites: "Google Public Alerts" (GPA).
GPA is a GREAT one stop information source for all VERY current weather and other "earth" events (fires, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, asteroids etc).
But .. up until now, it was awkward to use from a smart phone because it defaults to the "global" level and, given the way Google has laid out the web page, it's very hard to enter your local information .

Don't misunderstand, I'm not unsympathetic to disasters elsewhere in the world,
but when I'm out riding cross country my primary interest is "local" disasters..
... that is, those that might affect me or perhaps suggest a change in route.

So "phase two" of v5.23 is to start working on "smarter" server side scripts.
(that means no new downloads for awhile).

You can see the the first change if you go to "WEATHER - ADDITIONAL WEATHER - Google Public Alerts".
Now, from easy map, instead of it opening at the global level, it should open at the "state" level based on your current location
(please, let me know if does not?).

For me, today, when I click on Google Public Alerts it opens in Florida (my current location) and it shows all the nearby areas affected by all the rains we've had this week.
When you open it from YOUR location, it should display the nearest information based on which state you're currently in.

This is not a tool meant to use while you're riding.
.. this is a planning tool.
I see this as most valuable when you start out in the morning and other long stops during the day (lunch?)..
.. or, maybe if you see smoke on the horizon or an asteroid pass overhead

Today, mine looks like this:



Please let me know if does not work as expected.
(phone GPS is on, right?).

Look for more new stuff coming like this..
If you see these next to the link @@ .. it means the page will try to be "geo-referenced" from your phone.

Stay tuned for more "phase two" server side stuff
(how about showing all gas stations within x miles of your current location? .. any other ideas?)

Thanks,
Dennis
www.fogbog.com

It's like magic!
I was indeed in Classic 5; shifting to Preview 6 made this work.

I am still able to do this in MAPS but not in WEATHER. Perhaps it is due to the Android implementation on my older DroidX --- in MAPS it appears that using the long press Home and selecting recent applications allows me to "shift" to EMFB without losing the track, if I go directly to EMFB the track overlay is lost from the Map display. As of now can't figure how to get the track to display with WEATHER radar.

Oh well!

whoo hooo!.. glad that's all it was..
And I'm really glad to hear that "Preview 6" mode works on your older phone.

Now I'm sure that when I actually do come out with the next version of EMFB
(next winter) I will be able to do away with the "safe" mode.
So far, the new Preview 6 code is working for everyone.
...

if you are trying to display both YOUR custom routes and MY NexRad weather on the same screen at the same time, well the short answer is it does not do it (yet).

That WAS one of the goals for this past winter but then I got sidetracked with all the other stuff that Goggle threw at me.
I've got some ideas about it but nothing is ready yet.

For now, the best I can do is toggle back and forth BETWEEN my custom route (or "Navigation" as in the picture below)
and the EMFB NexRad Weather display..
.. that works pretty good on a newer phone that has the "task manager" button
(the one that looks like a "square in a square" )

.. looks like this:



thanks for all your good questions.. they give me more "stuff" to think about...

Dennis
www.fogbog.com
and "Everything Android" for the new folks..
..
.

I know I've read it all comes from the "same tank"..
.. but I still prefer to purchase "Brand Name" over "no name".

In this order, I usually I look for:
Chevron ,Shell,Texaco,Exxon and BP.
... but they seem to be getting harder and harder to find.

Used to be Chevron and Texaco both added techron to their mix..
..not sure if they still do that.

Anyone else prefer the branded fuel over the no-name fuel?

Dennis

because they're getting harder to find around here,
I created an additional search page for it in the "additional weather" section
called Brand Fuel within 12 miles.
It shows your current location and nearest 20 gas stations within about 12 miles based on my preferred list.. then fills in with Kangaroo if nothing else is around.
.. looks like this:

It is Friday AM and main street is already "clogged"..
.. nice.. I don't care what the calendar says..
..NOW it must officially be "spring"




if you have easy map.. just go to Hourly or 7-Day and I've added "traffic" when you zoom in..

see you there!

Dennis

minor update..

What's in this version:
Mar 21st,2013 v5.23
Change log info:
http://fogbog.com/help/ChangeLog.htm
THERE HAVE NOT BEEN ANY CHANGE IN PERMISSIONS.

Please, if you have a question or concern, contact me first.
I answer all emails.
Minor update details:
>> geo-referencing for fuel, events and google alerts
>> Long tap HOURLY or 7-DAY now shows cloud cover & traffic
>> Faster NexRad updates (location now updates every 5 seconds.)
>> Tablet tested ok for the Nexus 4.2.2

Does not work in Canada because there are no public NexRad sites to access.

happy trails.. safe riding..
Dennis
www.fogbog.com

minor update..

added map of ethanol free gas stations

check WEATHER - ADDITIONAL WEATHER -- Geo-Ref Section

Dennis
www.fogbog.com

Do you have any hints on reducing power consumption in the Droid.

I have a USB charger hooked up, but I find that if the cord works loose or if I let the charge drop, it is very difficult to get the droid back up to full charge.