Anyone Use "Real-Time GPS Tracker" App?

Jay Honeck

Jay Honeck

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Messages
11,571
Location
Ingleside, TX
Display Name
Display name:
Jay Honeck
Every year we look at "Spot", and the other stand-alone GPS tracking devices, and reject them for cost reasons. Today, I was poking around on the Google Play store for alternatives, and found Real-Time GPS Tracker.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.greenalp.RealtimeTracker&hl=en

This app uses your phone's GPS to locate you. You can then send a specific URL (that shows your location, in Google Maps) to friends, relatives, etc. They, in turn, can go to that URL and see your location, in real time.

I have downloaded the app, and sent the URL to my kids, who will be able to track my progress toward Oshkosh in a couple of weeks. In my tests, it seems to be dead-nuts on, and the price is certainly right. Free!

My only real concern is my phone's battery life. You can set the app to send out your location at different intervals (the default is every 15 seconds), but I wonder how long the battery will last? I plan on plugging the phone in, in the plane, so that shouldn't matter...

What's really cool is that you can send messages from the app to your "followers" -- and they can answer! I have no idea if that will work in the air.

So far, it looks like a free "Spot". Anyone used this app?
 
How well does your phone work in the air? How well does data work in the air? That will determine if they could follow you during flight. Interesting app though. Extending the time between updates will improve battery life since whatever transmitter is used for data is transmitting less frequently.

I thought the NSA was following us anyway and wondered why they couldn't have provided this as a service :goofy:
 
Cap'n Jack said:
How well does your phone work in the air? How well does data work in the air? That will determine if they could follow you during flight. Interesting app though. Extending the time between updates will improve battery life since whatever transmitter is used for data is transmitting less frequently.

I thought the NSA was following us anyway and wondered why they couldn't have provided this as a service :goofy:
Click to expand...

Yeah, it will be interesting to see if this thing actually works in the air. The GPS obviously works, but will it be able to broadcast that location? Dunno.

That's why I was wondering if anyone else had used it!
 
Cap'n Jack said:
How well does your phone work in the air? How well does data work in the air? That will determine if they could follow you during flight. Interesting app though. Extending the time between updates will improve battery life since whatever transmitter is used for data is transmitting less frequently.

I thought the NSA was following us anyway and wondered why they couldn't have provided this as a service :goofy:
Click to expand...

Clapper testified under oath that the CIA /NSA were NOT tracking /recording / storing ANY data on ANY U.S Citizen......


Yeah, Right....:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:
 
My own experience with cell phone reception (in recent years) at altitudes of 5000+ is that it's quite sporadic. If you are near cities, it's better, but inbetween it's spotty at best. It used to be much better years ago, but I believe the modern towers specifically reject signals coming from above.
If I try to send a text message, depending on location, it may succeed immediately, or sometimes only prior to landing.
 
Same experience as RotorDude... Phone works sometimes, depending on cities and altitude. I'd be concerned that, if someone was following and expecting reliable real-time signal, they may be a bit freaked if the signal disappeared for a few blips. Plus battery life could be an issue without a booster.

Spots & trace are still 50% off thru the summer
 
CT4ME said:
Same experience as RotorDude... Phone works sometimes, depending on cities and altitude. I'd be concerned that, if someone was following and expecting reliable real-time signal, they may be a bit freaked if the signal disappeared for a few blips. Plus battery life could be an issue without a booster.

Spots & trace are still 50% off thru the summer
Click to expand...
Their website says it works when connected to the internet.

So...this will show when I take off...and land. Not what I was hoping. Maybe it will show some interim breadcrumbs.

I will post a PIREP.
 
If you have 1090 ads-b out, flightradar24.com has pretty good tracking.

I use a similar app on the iPhone called followmee.com - foolproof on the surface. Hit and miss airborne. You need to have the timer/auto reporting settings tweaked just right to avoid killing the battery.
 
Why do you want other people following you? Do you have them follow you when you go to the grocery store? Gas stations? Adult entertainment establishment?

I don't get the fascination of having everyone watch your every move.
 
EdFred said:
Why do you want other people following you? Do you have them follow you when you go to the grocery store? Gas stations? Adult entertainment establishment?

I don't get the fascination of having everyone watch your every move.
Click to expand...
It's so my kids can track our progress (or lack thereof) to Oshkosh.

It's not open to anyone -- you have to invite them to your tracking page.
 
N801BH said:
Clapper testified under oath that the CIA /NSA were NOT tracking /recording / storing ANY data on ANY U.S Citizen......


Yeah, Right....:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:
Click to expand...

EdFred said:
Why do you want other people following you? Do you have them follow you when you go to the grocery store? Gas stations? Adult entertainment establishment?

I don't get the fascination of having everyone watch your every move.
Click to expand...

Facebook. (I don't get it either.)
 
EdFred said:
Why do you want other people following you? Do you have them follow you when you go to the grocery store? Gas stations? Adult entertainment establishment?

I don't get the fascination of having everyone watch your every move.
Click to expand...

I used to do it so my clients would stop calling me every 10 minutes asking where I was. Most of them were given time ranges for appointments (for example, 8:00 - 12:00 or 1:00 - 4:00), and some of them seemed to have nothing better to do than call me for periodic updates on my whereabouts.

Rich
 
Jay Honeck said:
It's so my kids can track our progress (or lack thereof) to Oshkosh.

It's not open to anyone -- you have to invite them to your tracking page.
Click to expand...

Yeah, still don't get it. I don't track my parents every whereabouts, nor them mine. When I go to Alaska later this month, they will know when I get there, and that's about it.
 
EdFred said:
Yeah, still don't get it. I don't track my parents every whereabouts, nor them mine. When I go to Alaska later this month, they will know when I get there, and that's about it.
Click to expand...
Oh, well. I tend to embrace new tech with an open heart and mind. Gadgetry is fun!

My kids will appreciate knowing where I am -- if it works in the air. If not? Well, the price was right! lol
 
Gadgetry makes people stupid.

Plenty of examples on the board.
 
We just use Flight Aware. It does well on most VFR XC trips, and is much better on IFR trips. Long VFR trips show up well, burger runs to the next county don't. They also have a free app, or it can be checked on a real computer on their website.

P.S.--No, I do not file VFR flight plans . . . .
 
No, I don't want anyone or anything tracking me at any point.
 
I use it to try to avoid as many "where are you, when will you be home" calls as possible from my wife.... :)
 
EdFred said:
Gadgetry makes people stupid.

Plenty of examples on the board.
Click to expand...
personal computers were once (and to some still are) considered gadgetry. How's that working out for you? Losing IQ points by the bucketloads yet? :dunno:
 
Rigged4Flight said:
personal computers were once (and to some still are) considered gadgetry. How's that working out for you? Losing IQ points by the bucketloads yet? :dunno:
Click to expand...

Yes. There are things done on the PC that erode at basic skills. So I quite often do things NOT using the PC just to keep my brain working.

Care to try again?
 
EdFred said:
Why do you want other people following you? Do you have them follow you when you go to the grocery store? Gas stations? Adult entertainment establishment?

I don't get the fascination of having everyone watch your every move.
Click to expand...

I agree with you, but it's a free country. Its his business so I'll answer his question to the best of my ability.
 
EdFred said:
Yes. There are things done on the PC that erode at basic skills. So I quite often do things NOT using the PC just to keep my brain working.

Care to try again?
Click to expand...

I'm not picking on your opinion. I keep my checkbook on paper and add/subtract in my head to keep those skills sharp. But I'll do it in Excel as well to catch errors, and the search function lets me see if I sent something out too.

However, I've often wondered if someone said much the same thing to he kids that were using the newfangled thi called "writing". I wonder if our memories are as good as those that couldn't read or write since they couldn't take notes, and they had to remember a good story to enjoy it again, rather than pick up a clay tablet.
 
There is no question that excessive note taking can interfere. It makes your thought processes superficial.

You have to be aware of the effects of your tools. Few are completely benign in all quantities.

I see gadgetry in an airplane as a source of distraction. That has to be balanced against it's benefits. Very critically.
 
Last edited:
Why not use an APRS handheld?
 
EdFred said:
Yes. There are things done on the PC that erode at basic skills. So I quite often do things NOT using the PC just to keep my brain working.

Care to try again?
Click to expand...
Not trying anything. You said you don't get it. Therefore it must be stupid. Got it. Thanks.
 
RotorDude said:
My own experience with cell phone reception (in recent years) at altitudes of 5000+ is that it's quite sporadic. If you are near cities, it's better, but inbetween it's spotty at best. It used to be much better years ago, but I believe the modern towers specifically reject signals coming from above.
If I try to send a text message, depending on location, it may succeed immediately, or sometimes only prior to landing.
Click to expand...

Most modern cell tower antennas are not designed or oriented to pick up signals from a postive elevation, because there is no need to waste RF energy in those directions. Also digital phones operate with lower RF power then the old analog phones. So combine antenna reception with low power phones and you get an inability to use it above 3/5000'.

The reason it works below is because your getting lucky. An antenna might be misaligned, your signal is being reflected, or you caught a cell tower just right.

GeorgeC said:
Why not use an APRS handheld?
Click to expand...

That's not a bad idea. My father has been trying to get me to use it. But my handheld he gave me isn't APRS capable.
 
As someone else mentioned, file IFR and let your interested parties track you via FlightAware. You can even set it up to send text messages when you file/takeoff/are x min out from your destination/arrived (which sometimes translates to "closed your flight plan" when you do that in the air).

If you're not IFR-certified, then use VFR flight following. FlightAware tracking will be hit-and-miss, then, but probably still better than anything depending on a cell phone data link while airborne.
 
If you just want people to know your current location, you can do this with Google +. Turn on "location sharing" in the app, and limit it to your family. When they open Google+, they can see your last location on a map, with the time of last fix. If you're within coverage, it's basically real time. And Google already knows your location, so you don't have to worry about giving that info to another free app developer who is going to sell it.
 
1dcad417d8eb4cb0adffbfb143cb6c97.jpg


Well, the danged thing works. I climbed to 5500' heading out, 6500' coming back.

I didn't have any cell service most of the way, so your guess is as good as mine how it's doing this. Maybe it stores it until I get back in cell range, and sends it all? (In which case it won't be worth a damn for en route updates...)

Cooler yet -- you can touch anywhere on the course line and see your ground speed. 229.48 mph today. Me likey! :)

65e13233e63b479e21f44176202c523a.jpg
 
Last edited:
Jay Honeck said:
1dcad417d8eb4cb0adffbfb143cb6c97.jpg


Well, the danged thing works. I climbed to 5500' heading out, 6500' coming back.

I didn't have any cell service most of the way, so your guess is as good as mine how it's doing this. Maybe it stores it until I get back in cell range, and sends it all? (In which case it won't be worth a damn for energy route updates...)

Cooler yet -- you can touch anywhere on the course line and see your ground speed. 229.48 mph today. Me likey! :)
Click to expand...

I suspect it caches your tracks until you're back in cell reception again. A better test would be to have someone watch from the ground and see how frequently it updated your position. Depends on whether you want your kids to track you real time.
 
I just call my wife and tell her "I'm at X" or "we made it"

Sometimes I think she's dissapointed...:lol:
 
Jay Honeck said:
Well, the danged thing works. I climbed to 5500' heading out, 6500' coming back.

I didn't have any cell service most of the way, so your guess is as good as mine how it's doing this. Maybe it stores it until I get back in cell range, and sends it all? (In which case it won't be worth a damn for en route updates...)
Click to expand...

What are you posting...an image from *your* phone, or from someone who's tracking you on the ground?

If the map is cached, you don't need cell data for your phone to plot your route on a map. GPS doesn't require the data network. I've been using the MyFlightbook phone app to auto-capture my route of flight and save it with my logbook entry for years.

But what you see on your phone in the cockpit isn't necessarily what someone on the ground sees if they're trying to track you as you fly. That's the only bit that's been in question on this thread.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top