New GPS power control (was GPS update broken)

[zsero]

If you'll be using auto-power off feature of GPS, you can set for track recording interval 0 for time and distance and only set accuracy value to same as in GPS settings. This will cause that only points with this accuracy will be saved

Exactly what i thought, so ive just set it to 0,0,some huge accuracy number, and controlling the logging by the gps off thing.

Again, thanks for the feature

I thought you can set accuracy for 0 to disable it. Can someone confirm it?

[zsero]

I have just tested this functionality and it works perfectly! I bought the vector addition as a small donation for this project!

I don't understand the 15 second min limit for max search, my HTC Desire usually gets a warm fix under 3-5 seconds, so for me the 15 second limit is way too high. Can you set the limit to 1 second?

Also, I think the "cold start" fix should not be limited. I mean that's when you start Locus for the first time. Actually for me, I always had the best results with any GPS application if I did the "cold start" process in GPS Status and immediately switched to Locus or any other navigation software. So for me it's not needed but I can imagine people using Locus without GPS Status and they would get in trouble for the first fix.

For me, usually:
- First fix can take up to 2 minutes
- On-off fix happens in around 3 seconds

[InfX]

Something i would really wish to separate is the GPS power control while recording a track and GPS power control while using the application in general. For example, i only want a point recorder once a minute, yet, when i actually open the app activity and look at the map, i'd like it to run continuously.

[zsero]

Something i would really wish to separate is the GPS power control while recording a track and GPS power control while using the application in general. For example, i only want a point recorder once a minute, yet, when i actually open the app activity and look at the map, i'd like it to run continuously.

I think it's not possible to program the "look at the map" part :-)
- For me, I like that now if I'm looking at the map and searching for something then the GPS is off 95% of the time.
- On the other hand there are situations where you need to navigate corner by corner and you would like to keep the GPS refresh the position continuously.

So I think there are two different scenarios where only manual input could tell which one happens.

If menion is no crazy about our feature requests then then the perfect solution would be to have either:
- a GPS power control on/off button on the home screen
- a GPS power control option button: always on / 15 second / 90 second for example (ok, this need some more option and is quite complicated)

Also, I would love to see the option that this "GPS power control" button takes the place of the view-rotate button. I never used that button and I never understood why is it not replacable, like the top buttons.

But these are just ideas, I like that the system works really well even now.

Also, the simple on/off button could solve the "cold start" problem too. When you start the program for the first time you switch power control off, wait for the fix and switch power control on.

[Menion]

hmm are you using quick switch panel that can be added to right panel? I planned to add this "GPS auto-off" feature to this panel. It's logical solution I think ...

bottom rotate button .. hm I for example use it quite a lot, everytime I need to orientate in streets

[zsero]

hmm are you using quick switch panel that can be added to right panel? I planned to add this "GPS auto-off" feature to this panel. It's logical solution I think ...

bottom rotate button .. hm I for example use it quite a lot, everytime I need to orientate in streets

I don't use the right click panel, I have a very minimalistic GUI setup and I like the maximum screen place available.

Can you not just make the rotate button user selectable, like any other top or quick switch button? Someone prefers rotation but someone never uses it.

Also, here is my updated idea for the GUI settings:

GPS power control []
- GPS Update interval
- Max search time
- disable for 1st fix


For the fix accuracy and fix time I think maybe they are not needed as at least on my phone the GPS "remembers" recent positions and provides almost the same accuracy as if it was continuous. Yesterday I was playing with it and I found the best performance if I set the accuracy to some huge number (1000m).

[Gordonx42]

I'm having some problems with the new GPS power control. Currently and in the past I've set the interval to 120 seconds. With the old method for this, it worked flawlessly. Now, the GPS is no longer updating automatically every 120 seconds. I have to load the GPS screen, disable and then re-enable GPS in order to get a fix. I've seen this problem on 2 separate hikes.  Is something wrong or am I doing something wrong? Is it possible to go back to the old gps battery saving function?

[Menion]

hi,
  old function will not be reverted. It causes only troubles. Al least for many people. New method have to work, so if there is any problem, we need to fix it. You say you set 120 secs. Tu which parameter ... to "Off time"? And what values you have for other parameters?

[Gordonx42]

Here are my settings:

Enable GPS auto-off - checked
Off time - 120s
Min accuracy - 30m
Max time search - 120s

("enable at start" and "disable when hidden" are both unchecked)

I've tried adjusting the above settings and I still didn't get it working right. Are there log files or anything else I can provide to help?

Also, a track has been recording during this. Not sure if it matters.

Thanks!

[Menion]

log will not help here. So I'm not sure if you understand how system work, so I'll try to describe and you'll it ..

- you start GPS in locus
- it will start searching for GPS for some time (max time search).
- if GPS will get any location, it check accuracy and if accuracy will be better or equal of 30m, it will disable for some time (off time)
- if during "max time search", not "valid" location will occur, gps will disable itself for "off time". Same as for case it find location during "max time search" interval ...

so, clear?

and now, are you sure that this system do not work? Anyone with same experience?

EDIT: hmm, when I lay down phone on desk, it just correctly disable/enable GPS every two minutes ...

[Gordonx42]

Yes, I understand the functionality. The GPS is not automatically turning back on after my specified "off time" with my current "min accuracy" and "max time search" settings.

I will try and reset all my settings to the default and see if anything changes.

Some more info:
HTC Droid Incredible
CyanogenMod 7.1
often running in airplane mode while using Locus
Track recording settings: 20m, 5s, 100m max accuracy

[zsero]

Is your problem not the first initial fix? If you disable full screen in Locus, can you see the little GPS icon appearing and disappearing on the status bar?

For diagnosing, can you try doing the following:
1. Set the following settings in Locus:
Enable GPS at start: on
Off time: 30s
Min accuracy: 1000m
Max time search: 15s
2. Close Locus
3. Open GPS Status and get the first initial fix in GPS status. Wait a few seconds till your accuracy goes down to around 10-20 meters.
4. Close GPS Status and immediately start Locus
5. It should work

[Gordonx42]

Is your problem not the first initial fix?

I'm able to get the initial fix and a fix when I manually enable/disable GPS. EDIT: The fix is fast too, a few seconds.

After resetting the settings I'm seeing better results. My GPS is automatically updating, but often times my "Last GPS fix" is 10 minutes or greater (I've had "off time" set for 120, 60, and 30 seconds during the testing). I also increased my "max time search" to 180 seconds.

[Gordonx42]

It seems to be updating every 120 seconds correctly while I have the screen on. However, with the screen off its gone as long as 40 minutes without updating the location. (I have the "Disable when hidden" option unchecked).

[Menion]

ah so that's the problem, GPS is turning off for you when screen turn off. Do you have last version (new release yesterday) and also did this happen also when new GPS auto-off feature is disabled?