Best way to clean up GPS tracks?

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Lurch
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Re: Best way to clean up GPS tracks?

Post by Lurch » December 20th, 2021, 8:12 am

RobinBaker wrote:
December 18th, 2021, 11:56 am
Some smartphones use the cell network as well as GPS to determine your position. Putting the phone into Airplane Mode while recording forces the phone to use only GPS so that intermittent cell phone reception doesn't throw your position off.
'Assisted GPS' is what you're thinking of, one of it's main benefits is speeding up the time to first fix, since it takes time to pull the ephemerides (short term data) and almanac (long term data) via GPS signal, and it can be fed to your phone of data from the cell towers much faster. They can also aid partially in location data by determining proximity to cell towers, but that isn't very accurate by itself, and doesn't do a lot. The main benefit is more the immediate fix on opening an app requiring location data.

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aiwetir
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Re: Best way to clean up GPS tracks?

Post by aiwetir » December 20th, 2021, 1:59 pm

I once had a long and useless discussion with Gaia about their track recording intervals.
I included actual repeatable problems, data, track recordings, and data histograms showing their app was pairing points very close to each other then going 10 meters between the pairs.

It was user error according to them. Not sure how you have user error with something that you have no control over as a user.
- Michael

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wildcat
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Re: Best way to clean up GPS tracks?

Post by wildcat » December 21st, 2021, 7:34 pm

We stopped for a break at this trail junction. When I checked our mileage upon arriving and again upon leaving there was a difference of 0.3 miles from all the bouncing around the GPS did while we were standing there. I've never had this happen so severely before with Gaia.
Nice!

I wonder what it would calculate your final milage as, if it did that for the entire hike......
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retired jerry
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Re: Best way to clean up GPS tracks?

Post by retired jerry » August 21st, 2023, 11:03 am

I was just googling this and it led to oh.org

That is unfortunate you can't tell gaia to use different tracking interval

I noticed my new phone (s23) uses more power so it only lasts 4 days with a 13,000 mA battery bank. Doing a track really consumes power. If I could decrease the tracking interval, it would consume less power and maybe last 5 or 6 days.

A kludge workaround is to put phone in power saving mode so apps sleep when the screen turns off. Then gaia would only take track points when the screen is on. Wouldn't make for very good tracks though

RobinBaker
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Re: Best way to clean up GPS tracks?

Post by RobinBaker » August 22nd, 2023, 6:28 am

CalTopo lets you configure the tracking interval via Settings > GPS/Location > Record Track Detail, giving you Low, Medium, High, and Highest.

CalTopo also has the ability to modify an existing track via the Modify feature, giving you Extend, Split, Reverse, Resample, Join, and Create Points options.

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retired jerry
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Re: Best way to clean up GPS tracks?

Post by retired jerry » August 22nd, 2023, 6:42 am

does caltopo run on your phone while hiking, display on a topo map where you are, ability to download the topo maps before a trip, make a track of the route you're taking,...

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RobFromRedland
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Re: Best way to clean up GPS tracks?

Post by RobFromRedland » August 22nd, 2023, 6:46 am

retired jerry wrote:
August 22nd, 2023, 6:42 am
does caltopo run on your phone while hiking, display on a topo map where you are, ability to download the topo maps before a trip, make a track of the route you're taking,...
Yes - the CalTopo mobile app does all this.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW! What a ride! - Hunter S. Thompson

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retired jerry
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Re: Best way to clean up GPS tracks?

Post by retired jerry » August 22nd, 2023, 7:51 am

hmmm... I hate switching apps... I will have to ponder this, thanks

I use caltopo on my PC occasionally. Maybe better topo maps than gaia

Webfoot
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Re: Best way to clean up GPS tracks?

Post by Webfoot » August 26th, 2023, 8:26 am

retired jerry wrote:
August 22nd, 2023, 6:42 am
does caltopo run on your phone while hiking, display on a topo map where you are, ability to download the topo maps before a trip, make a track of the route you're taking,...
OruxMaps does that too. Some things take a little more work to set up but I can help if you ask.

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retired jerry
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Re: Best way to clean up GPS tracks?

Post by retired jerry » September 27th, 2023, 5:12 am

another problem is I have all these old tracks. For many routes there are 10 tracks of the same trail.

there must be some way to put them in the background so I can look at them (rarely) if I want, but usually don't clutter with them

and/or have software calculate an average of the many tracks and just display them. That would be tricky - for example if on one hike I did a short side trip should that just be deleted, or is that useful information

with gaia, I changed the width of past tracks to the minimum, so now they're barely noticeable which is actually probably a sufficient sollution

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