BigFJR
Well-known member
Sold! Started using this app and really like it. Thanks for the info everyone!
Bubble GPS Spot Tracker (Spotwalla) w $0 subscription/fees
- Thread starter Top_Speed1
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mikerider
Well-known member
Thanks. But even internal SDCard is limited, unliked external SDCard which be up to 64 GB now 
gixxerjasen
Well-known member
It's not permanently storing them and not using that much space. How big is your internal SD card? I haven't ever had to worry about my internal SD card in the last two phones I've had over the last three years.
Top_Speed1
Panama Canal Crosser
I've been using this app all summer now with excellent results. No hiccups evah! (using my Samsung Galaxy S4). GREAT APP, really glad I tried it and started this thread for others to pickup on. Mucho Thanks to the developers!
-KJ
-KJ
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Hollywoodgt
Well-known member
Dang thinks I have this app...was just playing with it. Pretty cool have to see how the auto track works.Great for safety and to let friends and family see your position.......but could be a bit of a big brother is watching you if you forget to turn it off. Ya honey I'm at the hotel ..ready to hit the hay...Oh looks to me your at Twin Peaks Bar oh ohFred - Check out Motion-X GPS for the iPhone. I've been using it for years to keep SWMBO happy. I have it set to email her coordinates every 15 minutes. Keeps her happy. I think it's only $2,99 and has loads of other functionality.Yeah, me too. I just got sideways-graded from an old crack-berry bold 9300 to an iPhone 4 (non-S) by my frugal stingy assed company. I would love to have sat or even cell tracking capability while on the bike for gratis. Paying a subscription fee has kept me out of the spot users category.
Not that I'd use it all that much. I'm not (yet) a cross country venturer, though this kind of thing might very well be the kind of assurance to SWMBO that would move me into that category.
I hear there is a whole lotta good **** happening west of Eerie PA.
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Wolf_in_Cheapclothing
Well-known member
On a related note, Bubbler also has a specific app for the Big Money Rally this year which comes free with the entry in the rally. Sign up is here: https://bigmoneyrally.com/2014/
Top_Speed1
Panama Canal Crosser
Just for giggles, I tried the "update in Wi-Fi mode only" last night. Seemed to buffer the spots and actually held them until I turned-on my Wi-Fi (had it off).
This mode is handy as said if your traveling outside your Country and don't want to accumulate data usage b/c of the bubbler. I will be using it when In Canada in this mode, otherwise of course I'm unchecking the box.
Settings / Communications / "tick box" Only Communicate over Wi-Fi
Airplane mode on your phone is another solution, but then it won't upload your spots upon a Wi-Fi connection.
*By the bye... at 5 min pings, the buffer will last you 125 hrs. -or- 5.2 never-stop spotting full-on days. Need more? (not me!) but you could opt for 10 min pings and double this figure.*
This mode is handy as said if your traveling outside your Country and don't want to accumulate data usage b/c of the bubbler. I will be using it when In Canada in this mode, otherwise of course I'm unchecking the box.
Settings / Communications / "tick box" Only Communicate over Wi-Fi
Airplane mode on your phone is another solution, but then it won't upload your spots upon a Wi-Fi connection.
*By the bye... at 5 min pings, the buffer will last you 125 hrs. -or- 5.2 never-stop spotting full-on days. Need more? (not me!) but you could opt for 10 min pings and double this figure.*
RossKean
Well-known member
I have been playing a bit with this app and I am impressed. Does anyone know for the Spotwalla program if you allow it to display speed for the "bubbles" is it the instantaneous speed for the time the sample was taken or some sort of average between the last two spots (calculated by distance/time)? It will also display elevation if you tick it to show speed. Haven't played with it too much for those settings but the elevation, in particular, could be interesting. My Zumo allows elevation display over a trip track but its nice to have it with the Spotwalla map.
Top_Speed1
Panama Canal Crosser
I have never plotted with the speed, but I always thought it would be the registered GPS speed at the time of writing the bubble. Maybe Mr. Jonas can chime in on this one to verify...
mikerider
Well-known member
Where is this 'speed' option?
nankoweap
Well-known member
He can. Let me see if he's around... Yep... Here he is...
With the exception of the DeLorme InReach device which provides speed data from the device itself, SpotWalla calculates speed from one location to the next using a simple time/distance equation. The time is accurate, but distance is straight-line distance between two points. For this reason speed data is an approximation and cannot and should not be deemed accurate. It is a good indication of movement. Nothing more.
For an app like Bubbler and devices like the SPOTs to accurately determine speed, it would have to sample the GPS a helluva lot more than it does now. Battery life would suffer. I'm unsure how DeLorme is calculating speed, but I'm assuming they sample the GPS data at a higher rate than a SPOT and provide the data in their KML because they feel it's relatively accurate.
Top_Speed1
Panama Canal Crosser
Guess the speed is out for me then. Thanks Jason for your professional input!
nankoweap
Well-known member
Removed to protect the dolts among us. Namely, me.
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JTBubbler
Member
Well, as usual, Mr Nankoweap was correct both times. (Except for the part about me being a prick at least)
Here's the deal. Bubbler GPS used to send speed data to SpotWalla. It was inadvertantly pulled in a recent release, so what you see now is the calculation Jason referred to which is straight line time between 2 points done on the SpotWalla side.
I have just released the fix to the beta group and speed should become widely available in the next few days providing approval from that group.
Speed is able to be calculated directly from the gps on the device, provided the device supports it properly (most do so far). Those of you who have a garmin gps can see the speed displayed there, it's a very similar process. Bubbler GPS does not do point to point speed estimation, but the actual speed at the time the gps location is established and provides that speed in MPH, KPH and Knots. We take two points in rapid succession and determine the accuracy of the points, then the speed is measured over a distance of what is usually a matter of several feet/meter. It's been a very accurate feature in the past, and I look forward to it once again being a feature that you can use.
Here's the deal. Bubbler GPS used to send speed data to SpotWalla. It was inadvertantly pulled in a recent release, so what you see now is the calculation Jason referred to which is straight line time between 2 points done on the SpotWalla side.
I have just released the fix to the beta group and speed should become widely available in the next few days providing approval from that group.
Speed is able to be calculated directly from the gps on the device, provided the device supports it properly (most do so far). Those of you who have a garmin gps can see the speed displayed there, it's a very similar process. Bubbler GPS does not do point to point speed estimation, but the actual speed at the time the gps location is established and provides that speed in MPH, KPH and Knots. We take two points in rapid succession and determine the accuracy of the points, then the speed is measured over a distance of what is usually a matter of several feet/meter. It's been a very accurate feature in the past, and I look forward to it once again being a feature that you can use.
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RossKean
Well-known member
It makes sense and is what I thought was happening (i.e. straight-line distance over time). I did a ride that had some turns/changes of direction and although I was riding at the speed limit (or a bit over), the Spotwalla reported speed was much lower. I assume that the elevation reported in Spotwalla (along with speed) is an instantaneous elevation taken from the device at the time the data point is recorded.
One question about instantaneous speed being added back to Bubbler - Is it an option to upload this data or not? Just wondering if the electronic record of speed/location could be used against you in case of speeding prosecution. (I doubt it would be an issue and many GPS systems log a "trip-track" that records this information anyway.)
Since Bubbler (and Spotwalla) see the trip as a series of points, I assume that neither would provide an accurate measurement of total distance of a trip - they can only add up a series of "as the crow flies" segments between spots. Even with 5 minute intervals, any turns in the route will cause an underestimate of total distance unless you are riding across the Canadian prairies!
I'm not trying to suggest that this is in any way necessary! I love the Spotwalla and Bubbler applications as they are!!! My odometer and GPS perform the total distance thing quite nicely. It might, however, be interesting if Spotwalla could interact with Google maps (or other app) in such a way to "plot" the actual route on the roads - using the "spots" as waypoints. I understand that this might be difficult with Google Maps because of the limit (20 or so) to the number of waypoints that can be used in the application. (Maybe MS S&T) With this, you could get a more accurate determination of actual distance and could answer the perennial question of "Where the hell was I?" down to the resolution imposed by the sampling frequency. Just a thought...
One question about instantaneous speed being added back to Bubbler - Is it an option to upload this data or not? Just wondering if the electronic record of speed/location could be used against you in case of speeding prosecution. (I doubt it would be an issue and many GPS systems log a "trip-track" that records this information anyway.)
Since Bubbler (and Spotwalla) see the trip as a series of points, I assume that neither would provide an accurate measurement of total distance of a trip - they can only add up a series of "as the crow flies" segments between spots. Even with 5 minute intervals, any turns in the route will cause an underestimate of total distance unless you are riding across the Canadian prairies!
I'm not trying to suggest that this is in any way necessary! I love the Spotwalla and Bubbler applications as they are!!! My odometer and GPS perform the total distance thing quite nicely. It might, however, be interesting if Spotwalla could interact with Google maps (or other app) in such a way to "plot" the actual route on the roads - using the "spots" as waypoints. I understand that this might be difficult with Google Maps because of the limit (20 or so) to the number of waypoints that can be used in the application. (Maybe MS S&T) With this, you could get a more accurate determination of actual distance and could answer the perennial question of "Where the hell was I?" down to the resolution imposed by the sampling frequency. Just a thought...
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nankoweap
Well-known member
Elevation data comes from Google's Elevation API unless the device's feed provides the information. The InReach device provides elevation information.
I could easily use Google Directions Service to plot a route between locations, but I'm reluctant to do it because it may not be accurate in all situations. For instance, city travel is much more difficult to reproduce even if the device reports once every 5 minutes. Out on the open highways, it becomes more accurate, but still subject to errors.
I could easily use Google Directions Service to plot a route between locations, but I'm reluctant to do it because it may not be accurate in all situations. For instance, city travel is much more difficult to reproduce even if the device reports once every 5 minutes. Out on the open highways, it becomes more accurate, but still subject to errors.
gixxerjasen
Well-known member
RossKean brings up an interesting feature. Maybe having an option in Bubbler to store the points for use by the user later would be interesting. Then we are back to needing to possibly store on the external card though. But it might be nice to have that data. I think there's other apps that can do this for you but might be nice to have it all in one app too.
Top_Speed1
Panama Canal Crosser
Define and refine. It's pretty damn cool to have the dev's right here interacting with us users. Much thanks!
I think Ross' ideas were good ones, I'm sure many more are out there but my only concern is keeping the app fast and clean as it is now. If too many (bells and whistles) will lag or make our devices convoluted, then I'm against these so called upgrades.
jus say'n... keep it perky and a low drain on our phones. While riding, my (12v plugged in) Galaxy S4 currently runs the Bubbler app, Slacker Radio or My Music (streaming in BT) both in the background, then Speedo and telemetry in foreground. Busy? maybe, but right now the S4 handles this quite easily, I'd like to keep it that way
I think Ross' ideas were good ones, I'm sure many more are out there but my only concern is keeping the app fast and clean as it is now. If too many (bells and whistles) will lag or make our devices convoluted, then I'm against these so called upgrades.
jus say'n... keep it perky and a low drain on our phones. While riding, my (12v plugged in) Galaxy S4 currently runs the Bubbler app, Slacker Radio or My Music (streaming in BT) both in the background, then Speedo and telemetry in foreground. Busy? maybe, but right now the S4 handles this quite easily, I'd like to keep it that way
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JTBubbler
Member
I'm always up for new thoughts and features, and appreciate them greatly.
2 general thoughts I'd like feedback on.
1. Does everyone know they can get their SpotWalla history as a gpx file (and other formats) directly from the devices page in SpotWalla? It's an incredibly useful feature in my opinion, that many people don't seem to know about.
2. One of my fears with storage is that people will forget they are storing, even if it is to the external card. I would hate to end up with a multi GB file sitting on your phone because you forgot to uncheck a box. Many of the Bubbler GPS users dropped a lot of points this summer. Also, since the export of the data was available form SpotWalla directly, the intent of Bubbler GPS is to not duplicate functionality which already exists in other easily accessible apps, unless it can be significantly enhanced or streamlined. I could give you point to point driving directions for example, and it works, but in the end, it was Google maps with less features. At least in my opinion
Further on the duplication of features, I played with showing a map locally on the phone using mapquest maps for the travels of the current day. In the end, it was just the same from a mobile perspective as viewing SpotWalla in your mobile web browser (minus all the cool SpotWalla features of course, just talking about the "map of today's travel")
2 general thoughts I'd like feedback on.
1. Does everyone know they can get their SpotWalla history as a gpx file (and other formats) directly from the devices page in SpotWalla? It's an incredibly useful feature in my opinion, that many people don't seem to know about.
2. One of my fears with storage is that people will forget they are storing, even if it is to the external card. I would hate to end up with a multi GB file sitting on your phone because you forgot to uncheck a box. Many of the Bubbler GPS users dropped a lot of points this summer. Also, since the export of the data was available form SpotWalla directly, the intent of Bubbler GPS is to not duplicate functionality which already exists in other easily accessible apps, unless it can be significantly enhanced or streamlined. I could give you point to point driving directions for example, and it works, but in the end, it was Google maps with less features. At least in my opinion
Further on the duplication of features, I played with showing a map locally on the phone using mapquest maps for the travels of the current day. In the end, it was just the same from a mobile perspective as viewing SpotWalla in your mobile web browser (minus all the cool SpotWalla features of course, just talking about the "map of today's travel")
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