Hi,
It really seems that the G1 has a digital compass, but I couldn't see it documented and doesn't seem to be part of the specifications.
However I tested it a few times with GPS Toolbox and it seems to accurate to be based on GPS (also because I think GPS one would actually be "heading" and only generated if moving).
Anyone has any thought ?
Nick
Of course the G1 has a compass. Yeah GPS doesn't know anything about orientation, only 3d position. Along with the accelerometers the phone can know it's exact position and oriention.
Fire up google maps and look, your position marker is a compass arrow. All it's search results etc all show orientation arrow also. Plus if you tap the "my location" circle icon a second time, maps itself goes into compass mode (as can street view). The compass is a base standard of android, just don't trust it if you have a charge cable plugged in
Thank you.
I had a look again at gsmarena and it says that it has a digital compass, which at the time the phone came out was not yet a standard feature (even if GPS was present)
I was SO sure that I had researched it some time ago and it didn't say anything about it .. my bad.
Thanks !
Related
I have installed GPS Tuner 5.4f (2 week trial) on the Diamond and it works with built-in GPS, so far.
But the Diamond allways shows focused to north. On compass screen I can move and rotate the Diamond on all directions without any reaction.
So ist there a problem with GPS Tuner or can't the Diamond - a GPS handy - handle the compass?
Thx & regards,
Purzel
The compass is not moving because static navigation is enabled, so unless your moving at least 3mph the compass will not move. Same with any GPS navigation software.
At the moment nobody knows how to turn off static navigation, it's a really stupid feature.
Try driving or running then the compass will move
Radeon123 said:
Tso unless your moving at least 3mph the compass will not move.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are kidding me, right? *lol*
So I have to run around the trees in the wood next weekend to say my family where to go at next...
Regards,
Purzel
Radeon123 said:
The compass is not moving because static navigation is enabled, so unless your moving at least 3mph the compass will not move. Same with any GPS navigation software.
At the moment nobody knows how to turn off static navigation, it's a really stupid feature.
Try driving or running then the compass will move
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So there actually is a digital compass inside?
Edit: sorry, didn't know what static navigation means. Now I do. Unfortunate, because I really wished there was a digital compass inside .
How does the phone know which way it is pointing? You have to move so it can figure it out. GPS systems that point north when static have a built in electronic compass. These phones don't. You can see this when people set of following a gps arrow and they almost walk in a circle before they head off in the right direction.
By the way, Memory Map is an awsome bit of sofware for navigating using the phone. I use it as a back up to my paper map and compass whilst out and about.
How did you get the GPS to work, tried the auto search for the GPS device and GPS Tuner says that he can´t find any device. Manually set to COM4 no luck either.
You'll find that if you walk about five or so metres it will begin to register a speed and accurate heading... does in all my GPS apps. I use Pathaway and Fugawi for on foot navigation and it's a great alternative to paper map and compass.
Without an actual magnetic compass on board, there is no such thing as a GPS receiver capable of showing accurate heading without meaningful movement. The static navigation feature is really very useful as it stops the thing dancing all over the place when you're stood still... below this movement threshold, the small scale erratic nature of the outputs at or near rest are pretty much unusable.
I've read complaints of GPS and G-Sensors being out of whack, but didn't see anything on forum about compass calibration.
I noticed on my i9000 yesterday that while tracking myself on Google maps, that the compass should me pointing about 20 degrees to the right of the direction I was actually driving. In aviation, we call that crabbing, and it's normal based on wind, but not in a car.
I turned the direction my phone was pointing and the heading on the vehicle in the map started tracking properly. I guess my phone needs a little compass calibration.
Any idea where to this from? I'll dig around in the debug settings when I get some time, but hoping others might have found it already.
Thanks.
there are some free compass apps on android market that will display an actuall compass on your screen - and those will have a calibration tool you use when setting the compass up
No need for a special command.
Just turn the device 180 degrees and backwards two or three times in any program which uses the compass and it will be calibrated.
I'm a pilot too and I actually purchased a magnetic compass for my car and noticed the same thing. Haven't tested the phone's compass in my car though.
Are you forgetting some planes have Compass Deviation Cards to compensate for errors caused by the aircraft itself perhaps? Remember, cars have a significant amount of electronics, and a magnet in the alternator that can affect the direction of the compass (the magnetic flux created by the car is actually what triggers traffic light changes, so it probably isn't miniscule).
Btw, not sure crabbing is the correct term here (normally crabbing is isolated to wind I think). Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm still PPL).
Not sure about google maps, but I have noticed my hardware GPS (Navman's and that other rubbish which will be collectors items soon) actually use track, rather than heading.
distortedloop said:
I've read complaints of GPS and G-Sensors being out of whack, but didn't see anything on forum about compass calibration.
I noticed on my i9000 yesterday that while tracking myself on Google maps, that the compass should me pointing about 20 degrees to the right of the direction I was actually driving. In aviation, we call that crabbing, and it's normal based on wind, but not in a car.
I turned the direction my phone was pointing and the heading on the vehicle in the map started tracking properly. I guess my phone needs a little compass calibration.
Any idea where to this from? I'll dig around in the debug settings when I get some time, but hoping others might have found it already.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
compass
I have a galaxy s and so does my daughter we both have a compass app from android market installed on our phones , both phones will not display the correct direction i have also tried a friends galaxy and his is exactly the same .
I have a xperia X10 and that displays correct directions with the same compass installed so i can only assume it is the phone at fault , i love the phone but this is annoying and i wonder if it is related to the gps problems this phone appears to have ?.
good old fashioned magnetic compasses don't work in my car, regardless of where i install them
it will always point EAST, very annoying, good thing it doesn't affect my GPS or my SGS i've yet to test the compass mode inside the car.
As i've taken it for granted no compass will work inside my car, as it has speakers every where and metals all around.
before there was such thing as a GPS, i used to be a good old scout and used maps + compasses to find my ways when driving in unknown streets
andrewluecke said:
I'm a pilot too and I actually purchased a magnetic compass for my car and noticed the same thing. Haven't tested the phone's compass in my car though.
Are you forgetting some planes have Compass Deviation Cards to compensate for errors caused by the aircraft itself perhaps? Remember, cars have a significant amount of electronics, and a magnet in the alternator that can affect the direction of the compass (the magnetic flux created by the car is actually what triggers traffic light changes, so it probably isn't miniscule).
Btw, not sure crabbing is the correct term here (normally crabbing is isolated to wind I think). Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm still PPL).
Not sure about google maps, but I have noticed my hardware GPS (Navman's and that other rubbish which will be collectors items soon) actually use track, rather than heading.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
andrewluecke said:
).
Btw, not sure crabbing is the correct term here (normally crabbing is isolated to wind I think). Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm still PPL)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you're correct about crabbing...it's the term I learned for landing with a cross-wind and yawing into the wind to maintain your track to the runway. It's just what came to mind looking at the vehicle indicator and the roadway, it looked like a plane landing on a runway and that's what popped to mind.
Thanks to everyone else about the compass app in the market, I'll check it out.
Probably best to grab a real compass and compare to your phones one.. Then you'll know for sure.
But for GPS apps, track makes more sense because especially whilst driving, the phone has no way of knowing if it is pointed towards the front of your car.
(Btw, for non-pilots, when I say track, I refer to the direction you are actually going, rather than where you are pointed towards).
I'm a electronic engineer, A compass actually show where the magnetic field is more effective as North (and South) but what does make the differ is electronic compasses are more sensetive and may effected by a little change in magnetic field (for example holding a little ironic screw around it) so it may show wrong direction based on your country (and sometimes region). so the manufactors calibrate it on an avarage in order to make it working all around the world. but if it is not satisfying go to a service center they calibrate it for you!
(if you're geeky one you can do it on service menu yourself but it takes time to do a good calibration!)
mdh_heydari said:
I'm a electronic engineer, A compass actually show where the magnetic field is more effective as North (and South) but what does make the differ is electronic compasses are more sensetive and may effected by a little change in magnetic field (for example holding a little ironic screw around it) so it may show wrong direction based on your country (and sometimes region). so the manufactors calibrate it on an avarage in order to make it working all around the world. but if it is not satisfying go to a service center they calibrate it for you!
(if you're geeky one you can do it on service menu yourself but it takes time to do a good calibration!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HI, mdh_heydari
ok, but how to calibrate? even if it is time consuming and difficult. What is the procedure in SGS I9000?
sircm4x said:
HI, mdh_heydari
ok, but how to calibrate? even if it is time consuming and difficult. What is the procedure in SGS I9000?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are 2 ways, the best one is some little fixes in android kernel and the other one is making mods for famous navigation softwares like Google Maps.
Hi! I hope to be usefull.
When I see the arrow in the google maps the position is always the same. Its possible that the compass can be the cause of gps error?? Its possible turn off the compass to try the gps alone??
Best regards and sorry my english.
ive also wondered about this. the arrow in mytracks spins around like crazy while moving. if gps programs use the compass to help tell the direction then thats gonna be a problem.
Does anyone know if we can test this in some way? I would gladly try any solution or help with alpha testing.
gps - compass or ...sensors?
hello I have noticed a strange behavior of the gps too..
I have done many tests with the program "GPS Test" (available free on Android Market) and I noticed that after the fix if the galaxy is moved, especially if changes from portrait to landscape ( or vice versa), the program loses the fix with the satellites (all indices of satellites in use turn gray), it never happens if i disables the landscape mode in the galaxy's settings or in the gps-test 's menu...
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the GPS is less sensitive for satellites but too sensitive to the position variations of the smartphone (horizontal / vertical during use) .. I do not know if it happens with all programs that use GPS, but I do not think this should happen.
Federico
charlicillo said:
Hi! I hope to be usefull.
When I see the arrow in the google maps the position is always the same. Its possible that the compass can be the cause of gps error?? Its possible turn off the compass to try the gps alone??
Best regards and sorry my english.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like earlier Garmin or Magellan gps, the compass should be used up to the point that the gps shows 5km/h (adjustable in some devices) because the signal of the gps is unstable and is not reliable for direction under that speed. Also...
reziel73 said:
hello I have noticed a strange behavior of the gps too..
I have done many tests with the program "GPS Test" (available free on Android Market) and I noticed that after the fix if the galaxy is moved, especially if changes from portrait to landscape ( or vice versa), the program loses the fix with the satellites (all indices of satellites in use turn gray), it never happens if i disables the landscape mode in the galaxy's settings or in the gps-test 's menu...
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the GPS is less sensitive for satellites but too sensitive to the position variations of the smartphone (horizontal / vertical during use) .. I do not know if it happens with all programs that use GPS, but I do not think this should happen.
Federico
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... like in some sirfstarIII gps, the receiver (gps) was adjusted so that it didn't show any movement (and speed) within a circle of 15m or 30m (also adjustable) to avoid showing movement (and direction) while you were stopped.
Another fact in this category of gps devices (single frequency, autonomous etc) is that they are much more accurate about speed (0.1km/h) than position (typically usually 5m, sometimes 2m-15m or more)
So if we don't know what the default settings for the SGS's gps are, we don't know what could really be the problem. Or do we?
Anyone who knows more about the gps hardware used in SGS could help...
It would indeed be interesting to try to disable the compass altogether and see what the effect on GPS is.
Perhaps I'll look at this. I'm not a big GPS user myself so proper testing would definitely not be me.
I am using "Maverick" from the market and it seems to be working properly....
thnks about all. Im sure that someday we'll have a operative gps. Keep investigating.
Regards.
I've only now discovered that the issues I've been having with certain apps are because the One has no magnetic compass sensor, only a digital compass. Is there any way to enhance the compass accuracy or otherwise calibrate it?
I ask, because when playing Ingress, my orientation is never even close to correct. I have to manually adjust the screen (while driving, ACK!??!) if I want to follow along with the route I'm driving, and of course the arrow is never pointed in the right direction which can make deploying resonators a little more confusing.
I'm also starting to get into geocaching, and without a working compass app, I have to carry another phone or an actual compass along with me. So spur of the moment geocaching can only happen if I happen to have one at the time.
And of course I'm sure everyone's heard about Sky Maps not working properly either, which is just a bummer.
Bumperoonie, Surely someone out there has similar problems or the knowledge to tackle this... anybody?
It was working fine on my morning drive. Stopped at my location, dropped off my errand, and as i was about to start my next drive my location can be seen as a blue dot on waze, but can't seem to "lock in" (turn into the small car) that allows you to follow the map, reroute, whatsoever.
Tried it with google maps thinking the issue is with waze, but the results are the same.
Searched for a fix and downloaded a GPS test app. It said "no fix". It can detect my location but can't seem to fix for whatever reason.
Tried my old note 3. Everything was working fine.
Tried to update all apps involved, even the phone itself. No luck. Brought it to the samsung service center. All they did was factory reset. They cant seem to find anything wrong. All sensors working. This is veeery frustrating.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
It looks like compass info is not available or just not processed, leading to navigation app (maps, here, or whatever) not knowing what your orientation is.
Is you compass working?
Does the blue dot change into car/arrow when you start driving? (like after 30 seconds or so?)
I have the same issue as you with Google Maps (only after I start driving I get arrow), but it works fine with Here (arrow immediately visible).
The compass is working, but the blue dot doesnt change into an arrow/car. service centers are useless as it seems like they have no idea what this problem is.
OnnoJ said:
It looks like compass info is not available or just not processed, leading to navigation app (maps, here, or whatever) not knowing what your orientation is.
Is you compass working?
Does the blue dot change into car/arrow when you start driving? (like after 30 seconds or so?)
I have the same issue as you with Google Maps (only after I start driving I get arrow), but it works fine with Here (arrow immediately visible).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The compass is working, but the blue dot doesnt change into an arrow/car. service centers are useless as it seems like they have no idea what this problem is.