Logging a route with view ranger, any way to reduce battery life?

[SafetyThird]

I like to record the route I walk for future ref and, particularly on Dartmoor, to log all the tors I visit. I generally have my phone in flight mode, turning on every so often if I need to check for messages or send 'I'm ok' texts.

Generally I find I get about 1.5 days of use from the phone without charging when logging a route with view ranger which is a lot less than when the phone is just in flight mode and I open view ranger to check location/map etc.

Anyone else log routes like this and are there any tricks to reduce the battery drain? For short routes I take a small battery pack but I'm just looking to see if I can make things a little more efficient on longer trips I might take.

 

[WilliamC]

Probably not the solution you're after, but if you want to log your routes, a dedicated GPS unit will last a lot longer than a phone. We use a Garmin Etrex 30x and it will run for about 50 hours on 2 Lithium AA batteries.

 

[Foxster]

Don't know what phone you have but some Android phones like Sonys have a staged Stamina mode. Choosing the first stage reduces performance, brightness and such. Second stage turns most things (GPS, mobile data, etc) off when in standby, turning them back on only when you operate the phone. Can stretch the battery from a day to three.

Other obvious things are to turn the display brightness as low as you can manage and turn off bluetooth and wireless.

After that its down to the battery. You could get a phone with a bigger battery but a better idea is to take a bigger power bank. Weight has come down a little over the last couple of years but not dramatically. A good (i.e. accurately specced) 10Ah one will weigh around 175-200g.

 

[SafetyThird]

I've looked at a dedicated gps but, given that it's only big advantage is battery life, it's an expensive advantage. Also, the memory seems small when loading OS maps, whereas the phone has the entire 1:25k of the country on it so never need to worry about not having the right map.

I run the phone on flight mode while logging so phone, bluetooth and wifi are all automatically switched off, it's just the gps that's running to log position, screen is turned down and only on when actively looking at the map.

I'm on an iPhone 7+, which is about as big a phone and battery as you'll get, I think. I have bigger power banks that I can take, have several 10kAh blocks I used to use for work. Guess it's just what you put up with if you want to log a route in detail.

 

[WilliamC]

I've looked at a dedicated gps but, given that it's only big advantage is battery life, it's an expensive advantage. Also, the memory seems small when loading OS maps, whereas the phone has the entire 1:25k of the country on it so never need to worry about not having the right map.

I have a Garmin Etrex 30 whose "back" button has failed. This means that whatever screen you set it on you're stuck on until you turn it off and on again. So, for example, you could set it to the map screen and follow a route on it but you couldn't in the meantime check on your stats. It's fine though for logging your route. You can have it for the price of postage plus a pint if it's any use to you.

 

[Whiteburn]

Open the VR app, go into 'Setting'....'Track'......increase the minimum distance & minimum time.
If the initial setting were say 1m & 1sec you will obviously consume more power than 50m & 5mins.

Don't use my phone in Track mode very often as it does eat power when I plan to record a route I'll pack my Suunto Geko 201, 70g inc the 2*AAA cells, basic nav & track functions but it works...…….Suunto stopped making then many years ago & went onto to produce 'sexier' models, can still be picked up 2nd hand for ~£25.

 

[Foxster]

I'm on an iPhone 7+, which is about as big a phone and battery as you'll get, I think.

I think the lightest battery bank solution is probably a couple of (good quality/genuine) 3400mAh 18650 rechargeable batteries and one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Universal-...y+bank+cable&qid=1568709833&s=gateway&sr=8-10

That should give you a couple of charges at ~110g.

 

[SafetyThird]

Open the VR app, go into 'Setting'....'Track'......increase the minimum distance & minimum time.
If the initial setting were say 1m & 1sec you will obviously consume more power than 50m & 5mins.

Ah, thanks. In the track settings I don't have those options but in the gps settings you can switch from continuous to power save and specify the time interval for VR to get a gps fix, which should do the same thing. Have set it to 5 mins now and will see if that makes a difference next time I'm out.

 

[SafetyThird]

I think the lightest battery bank solution is probably a couple of (good quality/genuine) 3400mAh 18650 rechargeable batteries and one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Universal-Magnetic-UC-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B01LWWSDFO/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=18650 battery bank cable&qid=1568709833&s=gateway&sr=8-10

That should give you a couple of charges at ~110g.

I have one of those but it's for charging batteries from USB, not the other way round I believe. I use it to recharge my headlamp battery from my power bank when on a long trip or a winter trip.

 

[Foxster]

Umm, nope. Its for charging any USB device from 18650 (and other batteries).

I have one of those but it's for charging batteries from USB, not the other way round I believe. I use it to recharge my headlamp battery from my power bank when on a long trip or a winter trip.

Sorry, you are quite right. That was the first I saw on Amazon.

This type does charging of batteries and reverses to charge phones etc: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BFRK3F7/ref=psdc_431408031_t1_B01LWWSDFO

The one I use doesn't seem to be available now.

 

[Whiteburn]

Ah, thanks. In the track settings I don't have those options but in the gps settings you can switch from continuous to power save and specify the time interval for VR to get a gps fix, which should do the same thing. Have set it to 5 mins now and will see if that makes a difference next time I'm out.

Tried recording some tracks last week with different track settings...….it didn't seem to save any power consumption.
I guess the only difference it makes is the number of track points stored not how much time the gps is active.

 

[bazpoint]

I like to record the route I walk for future ref and, particularly on Dartmoor, to log all the tors I visit. I generally have my phone in flight mode, turning on every so often if I need to check for messages or send 'I'm ok' texts.

Generally I find I get about 1.5 days of use from the phone without charging when logging a route with view ranger which is a lot less than when the phone is just in flight mode and I open view ranger to check location/map etc.

Anyone else log routes like this and are there any tricks to reduce the battery drain? For short routes I take a small battery pack but I'm just looking to see if I can make things a little more efficient on longer trips I might take.

Hello (long time lurker, first time poster)... if you're mostly concerned with logging your route, and are happy to continue to use your phone for navigational needs, then maybe consider a GPS watch? A Suunto Ambit 3 Peak will happily record a full day of walking (probably 2) to a good degree of accuracy (30 second intervals) on a single charge. Plus it's only a 500Mah battery, so you can recharge it multiple times from a small power bank if required. I have a Ambit 3 Vertical which only has half the battery life of the Peak but I still find it good enough for me. They're an investment of course, but potentially less than a full GPS unit (and much lighter of course), plus the Ambits have been superseded by newer models now so can be picked up at a decent discount. You can do navigation on them too, but I've never bothered with that.

 

[SafetyThird]

That's an interesting idea but does mean another device and another charger. I have a Garmin 610 running watch and, sitting in the back of a drawer somewhere, a series 2 Apple Watch which was handy when I worked in the city but now I live on a farm, it's not a great deal of use. Either would probably do the logging job but it's another thing to add to the gear to take. Something to look into for longer journeys perhaps.

 

[Hd8ekownio24ugh5]

I have this one ST. Lippie PB.
https://m.fasttech.com/products/1424/10009006/9625595-authentic-xiaomi-mi-zmi-mobile-power-bank-3-6v.
70 gms odd. Will charge all devices with double tap function. But one more bit of kit...

 

[Michael_x]

Long ago I had a small gps tracker. An iblue A+.

It could log to its internal memory without being connected to anything while tucked away in my bag.

Rechargeable lithium battery via usb and download gpx data via usb. Battery life over 24 hours. No display, a led showed it was functioning. Just a slider on-off switch and a button. Very light. Cost aroubd £25 on ebay. Sadly misplaced.

I used to use it for photography. Carry it with me and then use software later to add exif geotags to digital photos.

Sadly what I had is no longer available. Prices have shot up on newer models or maybe mine was unusually cheap. I gather similar devices can be bought from "spy" shops.

A web search produced https://gpswebshop.com/products/can...aypoints-ultra-low-power-consumption-15g-only I've not done much checking just pointing to this as an example of a tech item that might meet your needs.

Another option you might research https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00AH4627O/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A2MF18AYTPXT9V&psc=1 which at £25 is cheap.