My Tracks

[Squidward]

Does anyone use the MyTracks app for running, etc.? I was excited to try it out, but yesterday I returned home after recording a track and was disappointed to find a series of three squiggly lines which seemed to indicate that I was both a) running back and forth in peoples back yards, on their homes' roofs and in and out of their swimming pools, and b)was teleporting myself, off the GPS grid, several blocks away.

An intriguing notion; but alas, in conflict with reality. Anyone have any tips on using the app, or any ideas on what I might have done wrong? It's a residential area in which I have a strong signal and have never had any issues with GPS. I had the phone in my pocket for most of the time (more about that later, I need to find a decent Droid armband or something if anyone knows of one) and noticed that one stretch seemed to be recorded (albeit inaccurately and in squiggly form) when I received a call and took the phone out of my pocket , so perhaps that has something to do with it?

Any ideas appreciated.

 

[bluenova]

I had the phone in my pocket for most of the time

You answered your own question. GPS requires a direct view of the sky and requires to be able to see at least 3 satellites to triangulate your position. Even heavy cloud cover can disrupt it. Also the GPS in mobile phones is generally not as powerful as stand-alone GPS units and therefore require a better signal from the satellites.

 

[Squidward]

Sounds like I asked a dumb question, apologies. I honestly didn't know the sensitivity was so great, seems to sort of render the app useless in realistic situations, no? Unless you attach your phone to an unlit olympic torch and hold it high to the cloudless sky, seems like youre not likely to get useable data

 

[mcosmi]

i have some ideas for you, seeing as i have tried every run-tracking app, and always go back to the AMAZING mytracks...this is what I do, and I seriously get such acurate maps on google maps that it log's when I cross from one side of the street to the other. First and foremost...make sure wifi is OFF!!! That screwes with mytracks something horrible. Then move the minimum time between points to highest....minimum accuracy is 200meters for me...but this is the one you might have to tweak a bit depending on where you are in the world and what kind of gps signal you have. play with these settings in here and you will find which works best. I hope that you dont just have a poor signal in your area, because seriously, this is one of my favorite apps on my nexus one.

 

[bluenova]

Sounds like I asked a dumb question, apologies. I honestly didn't know the sensitivity was so great, seems to sort of render the app useless in realistic situations, no? Unless you attach your phone to an unlit olympic torch and hold it high to the cloudless sky, seems like youre not likely to get useable data

The only dumb questions are the ones you don't ask

mcosmi has some good advice. Also you say you are running in a built-up area. Are there tall buildings on both sides of the street? As these will also block the signal from the satellites meaning the phone will only see the ones directly above you. The more satellites the device can see the better the accuracy.

 

[Eugene]

Turn off the location by networks in the phone settings, I've found that it causes a lot of false locations as the signal switches between cell towers and fools the aGPS. once I turned that off my GPS is very accurate even when my pocket.

 

[mcosmi]

true true...sometimes, even outside in manhattan i get funky readings on my gps, but it always snaps-to fairly quickly. Another thing you might wanna try if you are getting wacky readings, is turn off the gps and then turn it on to re-grab the signal. goodluck.

 

[PridgNYC]

Nobody seems to have asked the obvious question. Are you sure that your satellite GPS was turned on? If sGPS is not on, the phone will use the cell tower aGPS which is not very accurate, and will result in the odd track you saw. You should see a little satellite icon in the status bar if the more accurate sGPS is active.

 

[RogueRose]

Hey there! I just downloaded this app and I haven't used this yet but I am looking forward to using it.

I horseback ride and do some distance riding so I am looking forward to see how it works with this. I will be having it on my pocket...I guess I could get a holster for it - do they make holsters for droids?

My question is that the battery life on the droids have never been great, especially when using a lot of aps - if this is a 'live track' so to speak, does it really drain the battery? Horse rides usually last 2-3 hrs sometimes even longer.....

 

[lexluthor]

You answered your own question. GPS requires a direct view of the sky and requires to be able to see at least 3 satellites to triangulate your position. Even heavy cloud cover can disrupt it. Also the GPS in mobile phones is generally not as powerful as stand-alone GPS units and therefore require a better signal from the satellites.

Really?! I have a touch pro with a GPS and I keep it in my pocket while cycling and it tracks my location fine.

Will the Incredible not do that?

 

[Blindfutur3]

Really?! I have a touch pro with a GPS and I keep it in my pocket while cycling and it tracks my location fine.

Will the Incredible not do that?

I've had the same success with my Nexus One. Had my phone in my back pocket while out cycling at night. Tracked me very well, couldn't be happier with My Tracks

See for yourself

 

[RogueRose]

Okay I used this the other day for my horseback ride and for the most part it did a good job. However some parts along the trail it died out. Some parts we went on were wooded though - would this make it spotty? It was also in my pocket. AND the day was very overcast. For the most part though it followed the trail very correctly (I checked on the trail map) and very accurately - I was impressed. If it wasn't spotty and going in and out - it would have been spot on. So would you say the spottiness of the track would be because of the trees, the overcast, the pocket, or all of those factors? Should I consider getting a holster for it? It's just so much easier/cheaper than getting a REAL GPS thing...and when compared to my friend's GPS thing which costs $500 which she brought along - it did pretty well - minus it dying out in certain areas. Hers did not die out at all of course.

 

[bigal65]

So would you say the spottiness of the track would be because of the trees, the overcast, the pocket, or all of those factors?

Ive used mytraks here in the UK for a few months now. Only 1 time it started my mountain bike ride in the middle of the atlantic ocean. It soon found my correct location but the summery told me that my ride was 9000 miles long and my average speed was about 1200 mph!

As for the phones in built GPS, I used google maps for directions in the car and it picks up a very accurate signal every time - and thats through the car roof. Trees have never interupted my signal (do a lot of bike rides in heavily wooded areas, and the phone is always in the pocket on the back of my jersey.

Best thing for me about the app is I can upload my map to "my maps" and view it on my PC as soon as soon as I get through my front door.

Would be good if it would integrate directly to google earth so I can "fly" the route Ive just done in 3D. It takes me an extra 3 or 4 steps to do that at the minute.

 

[takeshi]

As for the phones in built GPS, I used google maps for directions in the car and it picks up a very accurate signal every time - and thats through the car roof.

...and glass.

 

[Eris Lover]

Any of you avid Google map users know where to get good info and tutorials on using all of the google map products in conjunction with each other?

 

[madptwgj]

speed logger is an interesting alternative to my track https://market.android.com/details?id=it.nando.speed.logger

 

[tcat007]

I use "Jogtracker". Seems very accurate and GPS works well with my Optimus-V. I was walking about 5' from a couple of ponds on a golf course, and it tracked very close. Very simple app.

 

[Rainalkar]

2011-10-25 07:25 - Google Maps

Hello, could you help me? I attached a link where you will see an example of my map, I have a few questions:
1. Why can't I see the line connecting all those markers?
2. How are the markers chosen? Can I just insert beginning and end, and, perhaps, only some that would represent halts longer then, for example, 1 minute?

3.
2011-10-25 07:25 - Google Maps
What is this blue line? It has nothing to do with where I went.

Thank you in advance

 

[Pitamakan]

I used MyTracks pretty extensively for a while, and found the maps it created to be generally excellent ... even with the phone in a pocket or backpack.

My complaint with the app was that its distance calculations were often wildly inconsistent ... I'd get different results on the same route from day to day. And almost always, the app told me that I'd gone farther than I actually had.

 

[Rainalkar]

By from what I can see on my map (10,37km), this is pretty accurate. I have a strange feeling that the issue is my computer regarding the connecting lines because now, when I refresh the page, I can for a blink glance some blue parts of an incomplete track, and then it disappears. Anyway, my questions still stand, would be great if you or the others could help.

 

[gutterboy2ca]

Love,Love,Love My Tracks, also my fav, most widely used App.Use it daily to record My Snowshoe trips through the woods.
The Prob i have is, i'd like to Bump that map over to my friends android so she can follow my route through her My Tracks.It appears very complicated to share other then via google Maps.must be the .gpx file.I even copied it off my phone in windows and placed in her My Tracks .gpx folder, but it will not show in the app that its there,any ideas? Has to be an easier way to share on the trail,so to speak.