Start tracking - more failures to get it right

[Kris Buelens]

I'm still struggling with getting a good track. (happily I didn't really needed a track, just trying to learn how to start and surely get good track in the end).

I did the following already twice, with the same disappointing result.

• Start GPSE, request a new track, press start.  I did this in open space.
• Hoping to help getting a good fixing at the start (or forcing myself not to start moving until it has a fix), I return from GPSE's tracking window and open Satellites.  It tells me "no fix" and after a while it got e.g. 16 satellites and told it had a fix.  Then I close satellites.

So I hoped my track would be OK and I started biking. 1 hour later, back home, I see in Android's status area that the tracking is active (as expected).  I go to the tracking window and -surprise- track duration is 5".

As told: I did it twice, same result.  Today's track isn't even available in the list of tracks.  But, the one of Dec 1st is still there.  The attached screenshot tells I stopped recording at 5": I surely didn't, and I'm sure the status message showed tracking was active.

My guess is that using "Satellites" caused the stop, but left "tracking" in status area.

hmm, now I'm puzzled even a bit more:  I see 2 tracks of Dec 1st, one with 2 trackpoints and one with 6.  So I changed my screenshot attachment: it  lists both tracks of Dec 1st and their message area of GPSE.

I also remember -for my test today at least- that when I went to GPSE's tracking window I clicked on the "stop" square, then on "return" and I was surprised to land in another GPSE tracking window.  My action with the Satellites seems to cause two tracks get created (but today, none of both is available in the list)

At the other hand I got an idea (what I tried to obtain manually).  Wouldn't it be nice if  the tracking window of GPSE would display clearly if it has a satellite fix.

[nhoe...@sinet.ca]

I may be seeing something similar.  After reading your post yesterday, I launched GPS Essentials at the start of my jog, used Satellites to get a fix (I did not check the accuracy), then started a track.  However, even after travelling over one km, the track appeared to be stuck.  It was quite cloudy and snowy, so I put it down to poor GPS accuracy.  However, the same thing happened today.  I had trouble getting a GPS lock with Satellites even though I could get a GPS fix through Google Maps (that seemed to job GPS Essentials).  I did a Force Close on GPS Essentials which seemed to help but only when GPS Essentials was in the foreground.  If GPS Essentials was running in the background, I did not see the GPS symbol show up in the action bar, even though the GPS Update Interval is 5 seconds and the Tracking Update Interval is 10 seconds,    When I brought GPS Essential to the foreground and tapped on the map in the Track window, I would see a Network location with 3000m accuracy, the GPS symbol would appear in the action bar, I would get a good GPS lock, the current location marker moved on the map, and finally a straight line track would show appear.   Location permission is "Allow all the time", and Allow background usage is set to "Optimized".  I have switched it to "Unrestricted" and will do more testing tomorrow.  I am running GPS Essentials 4.5.28 on a Pixel 7a running Android 15.

[Martin Lowry]

Kris,

Instead of going to the satellite page I use the add waypoint tab from an open stream. Watch until you get a fix then scroll across to add track and press start. Works fine for me.

Actually you may need to move around a little to get a good fix, say walk around in a 5-10m circle.

Also make sure your battery/power saver is OFF. That way your GPS receiver will stay active even when your phone cover is closed. With power saver ON my device switches off the receiver when I close the cover - even if GPSe is in track mode.

HTH

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[nhoe...@sinet.ca]

I reproduced the symptoms from yesterday and gathering a bit more information.  I verified a 6m accuracy GPS lock via Satellites.  I started a track which froze even though the Track window was in the foreground and I walked about 500m.  I tapped on the map to bring up a larger map where I had added Latitude, Longitude, Location Provider, and Accuracy displays.  It showed Location Provider=Network at 3000m accuracy, the GPS symbol appeared in the action bar, the Location Provider switched to GPS/8m accuracy, and the map displayed a straight line from the starting location to my current position.  As long as the GPS Essentials Map display was in the foreground, it would properly track my location.  If it was not in the foreground (another app in the foreground or phone powered off), it appeared GPS Essentials was not getting any GPS updates.  If I closed the Map display and returned to the Track display, my track would  stop recording.

[Martin Lowry]

Kris,

Instead of going to the satellite page I use the add waypoint tab from an open stream. Watch until you get a fix then scroll across to add track and press start. Works fine for me.

Actually you may need to move around a little to get a good fix, say walk around in a 5-10m circle.

Also make sure your battery/power saver is OFF. That way your GPS receiver will stay active even when your phone cover is closed. With power saver ON my device switches off the receiver when I close the cover - even if GPSe is in track mode.

HTH

PS: Spam filter originally binned this message which I first sent on 7th Dec.

[Kris Buelens]

I never played with waypoints.  You say  "I use the add waypoint tab from an open stream"  I have no idea what to do exactly, where does one start?  From Tracks?, from Waypoint?  And then?

Kris Buelens,
     --- VM/VSE consultant, Belgium ---
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Op wo 11 dec 2024 om 02:28 schreef Martin Lowry <mrtn...@gmail.com>:

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[Martin Lowry]

Hi Kris,

Not sure what GPSe looks like on a phone (I use a tablet) but possibly a page of icons? Press the one labelled Streams that looks like a blue and yellow butterfly. It opens another page with a "+" sign in an orange circle at bottom right. Press that - another screen appears, select "Empty", add a name, and click create at the bottom. Now you have new empty stream with global map and another "+". Press that. The page that appears should be the "Add Elements" screen with the WAYPOINT tab open. You'll see at top left whether you have a GPS fix or not, wait for it to change from network to gps with a good accuracy. Then you can select the TRACK tab and START. If you've got power saver OFF all should work correctly.

HTH

Cheers!

Martin

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gpsessentials/CAHyxym%2Bcto5PxuB1CXdz04Ere5KAFzRU_WfWbbXki7WdHhXekQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Kris Buelens]

I see your path to it now, apparently the same on a smartphone, but I missed your details.

I never started logging a track from the "Tracks" icon, not from "Waypoint"

(I think I solved the problems with power saving).

Thanks, I'll give it a try next time.

Kris Buelens,
     --- VM/VSE consultant, Belgium ---
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Op wo 11 dec 2024 om 19:43 schreef Martin Lowry <mrtn...@gmail.com>:

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[Kris Buelens]

It failed for me yesterday: I waited till I had a fix.  Clicked in the +  circle.  Then went to the tacks tab under still in the waypoints section of GPS Essentials, and clicked on Start.  Started biking and back home: no track.  Android's status area had the tracking icon all the time.

I only have this (skipped the <?xml tag)

<metadata><name>Waypoints</name><desc /><time>2024-12-16T15:27:56.909Z</time></metadata>
<trk><name>Tracking android:ecb89d991f160f13</name><desc>Tracking recently started 11/12/2024 07:25</desc>
<number>7</number><trkseg /></trk>
<trk><name>Tracking android:ecb89d991f160f13</name><desc>Tracking recently started 16/12/2024 16:27</desc>
<number>7</number>
<trkseg>
<trkpt lat="50.787735" lon="4.6234994"><ele>75.0</ele><extensions><x:speed>0.0</x:speed></extensions><time>2024-12-16T15:28:00.000Z</time></trkpt>
</trkseg></trk></gpx>

Question: do I have to return to the main GPS E screen (with the Tracks, Camera, Satellites etc icons) and there select the Tracks icon and open a track? (just as I worked in the past?)

Kris Buelens,
     --- VM/VSE consultant, Belgium ---
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Op do 12 dec 2024 om 14:12 schreef Kris Buelens <kris.b...@gmail.com>:

[Martin Lowry]

Hi Kris,

On Tue, 17 Dec 2024 at 19:25, Kris Buelens <kris.b...@gmail.com> wrote:

It failed for me yesterday: I waited till I had a fix.  Clicked in the +  circle.  Then went to the tacks tab under still in the waypoints section of GPS Essentials, and clicked on Start.  Started biking and back home: no track.  Android's status area had the tracking icon all the time.

I only have this (skipped the <?xml tag)

<metadata><name>Waypoints</name><desc /><time>2024-12-16T15:27:56.909Z</time></metadata>
<trk><name>Tracking android:ecb89d991f160f13</name><desc>Tracking recently started 11/12/2024 07:25</desc>
<number>7</number><trkseg /></trk>
<trk><name>Tracking android:ecb89d991f160f13</name><desc>Tracking recently started 16/12/2024 16:27</desc>
<number>7</number>
<trkseg>
<trkpt lat="50.787735" lon="4.6234994"><ele>75.0</ele><extensions><x:speed>0.0</x:speed></extensions><time>2024-12-16T15:28:00.000Z</time></trkpt>
</trkseg></trk></gpx>

Sorry, don't know what to suggest now.

 

Question: do I have to return to the main GPS E screen (with the Tracks, Camera, Satellites etc icons) and there select the Tracks icon and open a track? (just as I worked in the past?)

No. It should work just the same from the Tracks tab.

Regards,

Martin

[Kris Buelens]

I performed another test yesterday

- Start with the Waypoint stuff.  Watch for the satellites, start moving.

After a while: no track visible on the map displayed in the Waypoint stuff, only a flag on the point of the map where I started it up.

- leave these Waypoint things alone (active thus), and start a track the usual way (from GPS E's start screen select Tracks)

  After a short while, I start moving

Half an hour later: no tracks visible anywhere.  As if I stood still. The "tracking active" signal in Android's status area was "on" all the time.

Kris Buelens,
     --- VM/VSE consultant, Belgium ---
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Op wo 18 dec 2024 om 12:44 schreef Martin Lowry <mrtn...@gmail.com>:

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[Jheroen Dorenbosch]

Probably of no great help to your problem, but tracks work fine for hours for me. Android Samsung S10. Power saving has to be off.

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[nhoe...@sinet.ca]

Tracks are working properly again with GPS Essentials 4.5.29.

[mic...@mictale.com]

Can you please disclose the app version you are using? There is 4.5.28 in production and 4.5.29 on the Beta channel right now. There is a good chance that this is fixed in 4.5.29.

Regards, Michael
mictale.com/ms
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> On Dec 26, 2024, at 3:07 PM, 'nhoe...@sinet.ca' via GPS Essentials <gpsess...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> Tracks are working properly again with GPS Essentials 4.5.29.
>

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[Kris Buelens]

Somewhere in between my reactions here, I bought myself a new Samsung phone (not related to the problem).  I never could get GPS Essentials to start logging, not a single time.  I deleted the App and reinstalled it but no luck either, I do have 4.5.28.  Today I just did a short test after reinstall, very short, screen was on all the time.  At the same time, I started the "GPS logger" app, and that created a track indeed, so satellite signals surely were OK.  GPS essentials has access to the location services: when I tap on Satellites I see many and it told me it got a fix.  When I issue "add Waypoint", that point is indeed shown on the map at the expected location.  Trae tracking active icon is shown in Android's status bar. But no track; the uploaded GPX file has 2 <wpt> tags indeed and 2 <trkpt> at the time.

Is this the kind of problem that is supposed to be solved in 4.2.29?

Here the GPX file created by GPS Essentials

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8' standalone='yes' ?>
<gpx version="1.1" creator="GPS-Essentials/Android/com.mictale.gpsessentials/4.5.28" xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1" xmlns:x="http://www.gpsessentials.com/ns/gpx-ext/1/0">
<metadata><name>Track-241231-112612</name><desc /><time>2024-12-31T10:28:18.612Z</time></metadata>
<wpt lat="50.811802" lon="4.5546813"><ele>145.00002</ele><time>2024-12-31T10:26:07.424Z</time></wpt>
<wpt lat="50.811726" lon="4.554802"><ele>141.0</ele><extensions><x:speed>0.12</x:speed></extensions><time>2024-12-31T10:27:45.589Z</time>
<name>Track Recording Stopped</name><desc>Recording stopped at 1'31" because the user stopped it after 26.3m (20.0m gain).</desc></wpt>
<trk><name>Tracking android:ffa2fc93b36105c2</name><desc>Tracking recently started 31/12/2024 11:26</desc><number>122</number>
<trkseg>
<trkpt lat="50.81192" lon="4.554583"><ele>121.0</ele><extensions><x:speed>1.4699999</x:speed></extensions><time>2024-12-31T10:26:14.000Z</time></trkpt>
<trkpt lat="50.811726" lon="4.554802"><ele>141.0</ele><extensions><x:speed>0.12</x:speed></extensions><time>2024-12-31T10:27:45.589Z</time></trkpt></trkseg></trk></gpx>

And here the body of what GPS logger saved

<trk><trkseg><trkpt lat="50.8116362" lon="4.5542417"><ele>144.00001525878906</ele><time>2024-12-31T10:28:50.692Z</time><src>network</src></trkpt>
<trkpt lat="50.81174138467759" lon="4.554717130959034"><ele>140.0</ele><time>2024-12-31T10:29:01.029Z</time><src>gps</src><sat>16</sat></trkpt>
<trkpt lat="50.811716322787106" lon="4.55478435382247"><ele>150.0</ele><time>2024-12-31T10:29:07.761Z</time><src>gps</src><sat>15</sat></trkpt>
<trkpt lat="50.81178061198443" lon="4.554912177845836"><ele>148.0</ele><time>2024-12-31T10:29:14.462Z</time><src>gps</src><sat>15</sat></trkpt>
<trkpt lat="50.81177742686123" lon="4.554930618032813"><ele>138.0</ele><time>2024-12-31T10:29:21.193Z</time><src>gps</src><sat>19</sat></trkpt>
<trkpt lat="50.8117770915851" lon="4.554840847849846"><ele>145.0</ele><time>2024-12-31T10:29:27.922Z</time><src>gps</src><sat>18</sat></trkpt>
<trkpt lat="50.81167604774237" lon="4.5548012014478445"><ele>153.0</ele><time>2024-12-31T10:29:34.678Z</time><src>gps</src><sat>15</sat></trkpt>
<trkpt lat="50.81167449709028" lon="4.554638843983412"><ele>150.0</ele><time>2024-12-31T10:29:41.459Z</time><src>gps</src><sat>15</sat></trkpt>
</trkseg></trk></gpx>

Kris Buelens,
     --- VM/VSE consultant, Belgium ---
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Op zo 29 dec 2024 om 23:43 schreef <mic...@mictale.com>:

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[SergChav]

Please use translator Spanish-English:

Yo tenia problemas para grabar mis rutas, iniciaba con distancia errónea, la ruta no seguía el camino, solo aparecía una gran línea recta entre el inicio y el final de mi ruta, y otros problemas, pero todo se arreglo mágicamente después de comprar GPSessentials y ahora graba mis rutas bastante bien en zona urbana y en plena montaña o carretera sin tener ni necesitar señal de la compañía celular (AT&T, Mobile, Telcel etc.), aquí van unos ejemplos recientes en SixFlags CdMex que se pueden ver muy bien en Google earth. Voy a intentar anexar el archivo por aquí: 

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[SergChav]

Este archivo abre mejor en Google Earth: 

[mic...@mictale.com]

Is the new device running a different version of Android?

Regards, Michael
mictale.com/ms
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[Kris Buelens]

Yes, my new phone Samsung A35 uses a recent Android 14 (I don't know if it is the last and best one, didn't search)

Old phone: Samsung A40, Android 11

Kris Buelens,
     --- VM/VSE consultant, Belgium ---
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Op wo 1 jan 2025 om 19:29 schreef <mic...@mictale.com>:

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