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Anonymous

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MCN  says:

MCN launches iPhone ride tracker

MCN has created the ultimate pocket Apple iPhone application for all motorcyclists to use to track their ride. The MCN Ride Logger, which launched  this afternoon, uses the same GPS technology seen in many professional datalogger systems to record your location, speed, acceleration and braking continuously through any ride. Click here to buy the MCN Iphone app (requires itunes) Email contact for app help and...

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  • Posted 4 years ago (18 May 2010 16:20)

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BusaBeater

Joined:

Aug 02

Posts: 66

BusaBeater says:

Re: Marc Potters' Response

My comment on not being thought out very well, is based on the possible seizure and subsequent evidential use by Police, should you be involved in any accident and/or speeding.

 

To say that is not the norm for Police is a little naive, as there have been a number of occasions where video evidence obtained from a riders' own "on-bike" video, has been used to substantiate a prosecution.

 

If there was the option not to record certain elements of the data (eg. speeds), then my opinions would certainly change

 

Let's not forget that the Gatso started out as an aid to a racing driver !

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  • Posted 4 years ago (20 May 2010 09:06)
SeanW

Joined:

Aug 02

Posts: 225

SeanW says:

Busabeater

thanks for the explanation - your comments are definitely noted.

As are other comments about where people may want to store any data they record.

At the moment the detailed data is only stored locally on the phone (so once it's been deleted, it's gone for ever). But there's no reason we couldn;t change the options for where you want to store data for future versions - eg download to a PC.

[This Reply has been modified by the Author]

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  • Posted 4 years ago (20 May 2010 09:25)
Colzer

Joined:

Feb 10

Posts: 7

Colzer says:

Andorid?

Like several other people, I dont use an iPhone and have an android system. are you going to release it for us no iPhone users?

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  • Posted 4 years ago (20 May 2010 10:49)
Andy949494

Joined:

Feb 08

Posts: 825

Andy949494 says:

Good & Fascinating...

I downloaded it yesterday and have tried it on a couple of commutes. Its quite good and seems quite stable. The info it stores is in a geeky way fascinating and the ability to get a colour coded trip overlaying a map showing your speeds is great. I have a few comments and requests for future features:

1. It would be nice if there was an option to remove "stationary travel" from the beginning and end of the trips - I put my iPhone in my top shirt pocket, then get dressed etc and go out to my bike so the journeys include that and then the undressing time at the end...

2. The entry of data at the end of the trip is quite painful for regular use. Defaults and drop downs need to be used for bikes, tyres etc so i just tell it stop...

3. The entry of weather info is a little difficult using the bar method. For example I tried to select overcast but I always get a "mostly dry" instead. I can't help feeling a lookup would be useful too since my iPhone can work out what the weather is quite well.

4. Simmarly selecting temperature is a bit random using the bar and I struggle to be accurate. Why not just type a value in?

5. Compared to many iPhone Applications £5 is quite a lot of money for an application that people haven't trialled. Perhaps you should offer a two trip free trial version to increase your users?

6. The dialog prompting if I allow the application to access the GPS is annoying. Is teher anyway of removing that?

7. As otehrs have said I would like to backup my data somehow...

8. I would recomend producing a Blackberry and Android version to widen the potential population. Both devices have marketplaces for marketing and purchases and have a richer environment for apps in some ways  than the iPhone (For example multitasking & widgets on the Android whilst the Blackberry does multitasking and GPS really well - My Blackberries GPS was more sensitive than my Scott Scott...)

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  • Posted 4 years ago (20 May 2010 13:50)
rmtrider

Joined:

Aug 09

Posts: 3

rmtrider says:

A great App

I have used this app and have found it fascinating. The first time you load it it is a bit basic and maybe a little counterintuitive, but once you have saved your first ride, that is when the magic happens. The map is great and it is great to follow your ride. A bit scary when you notice where you might have gone a 'little' above the speed limit. If it works in the background on iPhone OS4, then I will probably use it a lot more as at the moment I can't run it while using satnav on my phone. I did close it while I had to use my phone and when I restarted it asked if I wanted to continue with previous ride which I thought was great. The option to export the files for use on your computer would be great (Please make sure there is a Mac Version, I don't do windows) For those of you worried about the police checking it, don't have it on if you insist on breaking the speed limit which of course is your own personal choice. As far as Android versions, do yourself a favour and get a proper phone ;-) A great app and if you are interested in the info it gives you, not a bad price either.

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  • Posted 4 years ago (20 May 2010 17:12)
mjc4180

Joined:

Jun 09

Posts: 3

mjc4180 says:

tracker app

hello,

i downloaded the app which worked well in the car on the way home from work but when it was in my pocket on the bike it would work fine until you accelerated hard it would lose your speed etc when you went back to look at it, i think it is good for road use, but i had a go on a local circuit and anything over a hundred it stops recording your speed, overall not a bad app but it could with being a bit more accurate and work towards the top end  

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  • Posted 4 years ago (20 May 2010 21:45)
gcastles

Joined:

Aug 02

Posts: 4

gcastles says:

Admissible evidence?

Remember the good old days when people videoed their rides with the speedo visible and got nicked for speeding......? Good to see that advancing technology is improving the evidence for the boys in blue.

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  • Posted 4 years ago (20 May 2010 22:29)
SeanW

Joined:

Aug 02

Posts: 225

SeanW says:

mjc4180

The recommended locations (these are given in full on the app store and within the app itself) for using the logger on the bike make it clear that less relaible tracking can result for some riders and bikes if you put the phone in a jacket pocket rather then the locations we recommend.

This isn't anything that we could change in the software to improve - it's just how GPS works. If you're shielding the phone from "seeing" the sky with your body and layers of thick clothing, it will find it harder to get a reliable GPS signal (and the effects of this will become more noticeable at higher speeds). However, if you put in the various locations we recommend, you should not encounter any issues at all with gaps in data or  inaccurate data .

By the way, many bike speedos over-read massively at higher speeds. We tested the app on a test track in parallel with a pro logger on a Ducati 1198S. At an indicated 175, both loggers were recording 160mph +/- 1mph...

[This Reply has been modified by the Author]

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  • Posted 4 years ago (21 May 2010 09:48)
barbary

Joined:

Feb 03

Posts: 5

barbary says:

I downloaded it and  it is very easy to use.  I took it for a blast yesterday on a BMW because that has a data logger installed on it.  I dropped my iPhone into the pocket on the top of the Bag that has the data logger stored in it.

It did a great job of recording my route but when I downloaded the data from the data logger today to the pc, I found that in many places the data varied sometimes by as much as 20mph.  It seemed to have missed most of the peak speeds in fact top speed was 30mph more that it showed on the iPhone.

Which is fair enough because it only takes the average between each poll of the GPS and they seem fairly far apart but even on a road where I didn't go so fast but held a more consistant high speed it still came out 10 mph below the minimum speed.

Still it did do a job and for a fiver I think it's good value for money.  What I wanted it to do was record where I have been but with all this polling of the GPS the battery appears as if it would last 2 hours ish.  Not enough for a full days riding so investment in some sort of charger for an iPhone that would fit my Sprint ST would be needed. Anyone know if such a thing exists??

Also like everyone else I want to download the trip and store it on the pc and be able to look at it on google maps on the PC not try and see it on the iPhone.

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  • Posted 4 years ago (21 May 2010 15:04)
SeanW

Joined:

Aug 02

Posts: 225

SeanW says:

Barbary

...thanks for feedback.

We found you can leave it logging for 4-5 hours before needing to recharge (as long as you  put it to sleep during your ride), so on-bike charging only needed for extreme use.

Would be good to get a bit more info about your experience for future development - if you are happy for me to email you a few questions, please post here again and I'll be in touch.

Cheers

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  • Posted 4 years ago (21 May 2010 17:34)

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