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Navigation - Maps, Compass, GPS How to find your way - traditional map, compass and road signs, or GPS and more
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  #1  
Old 27 Dec 2017
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Question about Phone navigation
Apparently battery life for an Android phone is quite short when riding with Google Maps navigation on an all day ride (rental bike). Is it advisable to just connect an external battery to your phone will riding? Or will that cause a problem. Thanks.
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Old 27 Dec 2017
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The connection to the phone is usually a miniUSB type - they are not robust, nor waterproof.

Another option is to use a spare battery. Replace the battery halfway through and you should be good to go. Recharge at night while you eat and sleep.

Then there is turning the phone off .. other than while you are using it.
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Old 27 Dec 2017
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Some navigation apps are very taxing on the battery of a device. It really depends on what the app is doing. On an iPhone, just using the GPS chip information really does not cause a major hit on the battery, but using something like Google Maps really does. Plugging up is certainly doable as long as you have a USB port on the bike.

If you use something like Motion-X GPS on the phone and download the maps you'll need before you leave, that is much less taxing on the battery. Another trick is to turn the screen brightness down as low as you reasonably can.
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Old 27 Dec 2017
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Minimise battery drain:
You might get reasonable location information from the cell phone towers, so you can turn the GPS chip off.
Alternatively if the phone is out of contact or near it (2 or less bars) then turning off the phone mode will help a lot (set 'aeroplane' mode on). If you then need to locate yourself you will have to turn on the GPS chip. Aeroplane mode more than doubles my phone battery life.

Local map on phone not over internet:
Use an app that uses a downloaded map - not one that relies on a connection to constantly download appropriate maps.

Location information only when you need it
Some apps will allow map display without location information - you can then pan with your fingers. That would reduce the battery consumption while still giving you a map. You do have to 'find yourself' on the map just like a paper map. If you are lost turn on the location (GPS and/or cell phone) information.
Last edited by Warin; 27 Dec 2017 at 07:52. Reason: headings
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  #5  
Old 27 Dec 2017
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I don't think I asked my question clearly
If you wanted to power your cell phone thru out the day while using turn by turn navigation with Google Maps, could you attach a power bank battery to ensure enough battery for the entire ride.
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Old 27 Dec 2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Forsellini View Post
If you wanted to power your cell phone thru out the day while using turn by turn navigation with Google Maps, could you attach a power bank battery to ensure enough battery for the entire ride.
Yep, powering the devices one way or the other is the way to go. Here is my setup. The first pic just shows the arrangement. I had the devices off because we knew where we were going. Second and third pics shows just one device running. I love how you can use these types of devices in different ways by just altering the apps. They have their limitations, but I just work around those.






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Old 27 Dec 2017
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Just use an off-line navigator
Mapsme, osmand, sygic and heaps more. Download the maps once and turn your data service off. Screen brightness is the major use of battery anyway so turning that down will help most
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  #8  
Old 27 Dec 2017
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If you are in direct hot sunlight the phone will overheat and switch off.
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Old 30 Dec 2017
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Thanks for the help
Now I only have one question: Does Maps.Me provide turn-by-turn navigation?
Thanks.
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Old 30 Dec 2017
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Originally Posted by Forsellini View Post
Now I only have one question: Does Maps.Me provide turn-by-turn navigation?
Thanks.
Must do, else it wouldn't be navigating for you.

Certainly, Maps.me can give you voice guidance, as can many other navigation apps:-
https://support.maps.me/hc/en-us/art...tions-settings

ps
My mob phone doesn't turn itself off in heat - it doesn't become more than warm to the touch, but when I do use it for navigation it tends to be with all other functions disabled (by using flight mode).
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Old 30 Dec 2017
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Originally Posted by Walkabout View Post
ps
My mob phone doesn't turn itself off in heat - it doesn't become more than warm to the touch, but when I do use it for navigation it tends to be with all other functions disabled (by using flight mode).
'Heat' is a relative term for humans. Temperatures over 30 C in the shade are common for some of us, so that might just be a little warmer than some have experience with. If you want your phone to work in the Sahara you may need to think some more about it turning itself off due to heat.
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Old 1 Jan 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Walkabout View Post
My mob phone doesn't turn itself off in heat - it doesn't become more than warm to the touch.
I'm talking about my experience in Spain and Morocco. It's not the convected heat from the air temperature, rather the radiant heat from the sun which can cause black items to reach temperatures of 55-65ºC.

Initially when you are navigating, the iPhone might show 'Temperature: iPhone needs to cool down,' shuts off the display but audible navigation still continues. If it gets hotter the iPhone comes up with an over-temperature warning then closes down to prevent internal damage.
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Old 1 Jan 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim Cullis View Post
I'm talking about my experience in Spain and Morocco. It's not the convected heat from the air temperature, rather the radiant heat from the sun which can cause black items to reach temperatures of 55-65ºC.

Initially when you are navigating, the iPhone might show 'Temperature: iPhone needs to cool down,' shuts off the display but audible navigation still continues. If it gets hotter the iPhone comes up with an over-temperature warning then closes down to prevent internal damage.
My experience as well. I was in Mesa, Arizona at a pool. The temp was 85ºF (29.5ºC). I sat my iPhone down on the edge of the pool screen facing up at around noon, and the phone overheated within 10-15 minutes.

My iOS devices also overheat when used on the bike when the temps reach about 99ºF (37.2ºC), which we also experienced while riding sections of the Arizona BDR.

As nice as today's devices are, they all have their limitations. Just keep calm and always carry a paper map.










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Old 11 Jan 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Forsellini View Post
Apparently battery life for an Android phone is quite short when riding with Google Maps navigation on an all day ride (rental bike). Is it advisable to just connect an external battery to your phone will riding? Or will that cause a problem. Thanks.


Maps me app is beter than google
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  #15  
Old 25 Jan 2018
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Custom map navigation
I have read various opinions about Map navigation and one question really hasn't been addressed. I've read that custom routes will be problematic with certain mapping apps. If you've created a custom route and saved it, which app is likely to do the turn by turn that you've created and NOT give you an alternative (more direct) route?
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