Ultra rugged Kyocera phones,GPS smartphones ..my guide

Go brand name from brick and mortar. When I looked into it a few years back, there were multiple problems with counterfeits coming from Amazon dealers that would perform just like the one you've been describing.

the phone firmware for the Sim , not the sim

Ok, thanks ohgood. Is that something the cricket store can do or can I do it somehow ?

I just called my carrier and told them I couldn't change apns

ok thanks. I'll give that a try

Got my tablet gps installed. So far its great! I still have my 396 hooked up just incase I run into issue, once confident I’ll just use the tablet. I like the lower mounting position since it makes it easy to see while standing and stil clear seated. The tablet has more detail and easier to read while showing more milage in the screen. The other great benefit to me is how easy it is to build detailed route with the osmand app.


In the below pic you see the mounting with a short ram arm, when I got home I used a longer arm and got the tablet flatter and allowed it to be just a tic above the tank bag so it clears on lock to lock turns.





the below two pics show the difference in GPS views. If I zoomed out any more on the garmin my road disappears and I still couldn’t see the main paved road ahead. using the Garmin I am constantly zooming out to get an overall view and then zooming back in to see the roads I’m on and the small roads I may want to explore. With the tablet I no longer have to do that.

Hi John, nice setup. What kind of tablet is that and what is its size if you don't mind me asking.

that's a Samsung tab A 8" they were on sale for 99$ but have gone back up. A friend had this one he wasn't using so I got it. so far it's working well, which isn't saying much cause i haven't really done a trip yet.

https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/t...-a-8-0-2019-32gb-silver-wi-fi-sm-t290nzsaxar/

I've done several week long BDR type trips with my 7" Samsung Tab A tablet. No problems. Funny, it seems to be much brighter than my Samsung phone.

I too bought a Samsung Active Tab2 tablet with the intention of mounting it on my VStrom and Multistrada but haven't done so yet.

Mine is an LG LK-460 from FB Marketplace. $35

I'm making my way through this thread but I wondered if I might get some advice on a good setup for my bike- a KTM 1290 Super Duke GT.

My main goal is good maps around town (Los Angeles) where I can usually use Google Maps, Apple Maps etc. but also for longer distance touring, where creating routes ahead of time would be very nice.

Typically I have used whatever my current phone is on an X mount. Right now I have an iPhone 11, but I recently discovered that maybe riding with it on the bars will eventually wreck the OIS of the camera. How serious is this? Obviously, with this bike dirt is not an issue.

Otherwise, since the phone is still pretty expensive, I would love to set up a smart phone that could live on the bike in some sort of mount that looks like it's built in to defer thieves from wanting to take it. An added bonus, that i can't imagine working is if it could be switched to turn off an on with the bike like a GPS. I have an old Iphone 6 I think somewhere and can see if it works, and I also have an old Ipad mini which I think may be too big for my needs.

The Kyocera Duraforce seems great but maybe overkill for what I need.

Whatever I set up (other than my main phone) I would like to use without paying for cell service, so Wifi and GPS only.

So I would love to hear some suggestions for a decent smart phone and a phone mount that would allow the phone to more or less permanently live on the bike (if that's possible at all)

Basically just would love something that works like a traditional GPS system, but those seem so clunky and over priced these days.

Has anyone had issues with the contacts not working on the back of the KDP? Mine seem to be not connected. I've customised a cradle and tested the connectivity, but the phone doesn't respond. It'll be a shame if I can't use this charging method. Alternatively, I'll go the route of the magnetic micro-usb.

My contacts work fine.

Have you double-checked polarity? Double-checked alignment? Checked the phone with just energized bare wires in your hand?

Smaller pins are more forgiving of misalignment and should still carry the small current needed.

Sorry to ask such obvious questions. It's just that the contacts on mine work fine.

Thanks. I appreciate your comments and will keep trying. I read in an earlier post that the contact on the right (as you look at the back of the phone) is +positive.
I'm just taking my phone apart to have a look. I can see that the contacts at the back of the pins on the PCB are slightly 'springy' so maybe they're not making contact properly. I'll update my findings!

@jcw64 You're correct on polarity. The positive is on the left as I look at the pins on the mount. That would put it on the right looking at the back of the phone. Both of those rely on having the phone's USB micro B port closer to my body (i.e. phone right-side-up). I just now tested this so it's not an old memory.

Well, mine simply won't work. I went as far as to solder a USB plug lead directly to the pins on the PCB, and nothing.
I bought the phone secondhand at a very reasonable price from a guy on eBay who sells them in the US, so maybe it had this fault. I don't know. I'm pretty much resigned now to fitting a micro-usb magnetic connector.

Have you tested it with a wireless charger by chance?

I don't have one. The battery has the induction coil stuck to it, so I guess it should work. I was avoiding that method though, as I heard it makes the phone hot and also doesn't fast charge. The charger pads are pretty bulky too, from what I've seen.

Understood.
I have the Verizon-variation of the Kyocera Duraforce Pro and I use an affordable Harbor Freight wireless charger on my desk at home (I realize you probably don't have H.F. in London )
It does not really get any warmer than any other phone being charged by other means, in my opinion, and it charges fast enough for me, but I use my phone for daily carry, not on a bike.
The charger-disk about 1/4 inch thick.