Home made GPS with mapping and tracking

Same as someone else on this thread has done.

A standard SRAM/Garmin out front mount with this adapter attached to the phone (the the top adapter section cut off for a flat surface and then 2 or 4 screws to mount the phone or case to it) to mount it.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sram-quickview-computer-mount-adaptor/

I’ve now fitted the adapter as pictured above, using some pop rivets:

It works perfectly now though as I have a spare back for the phone (because of the ‘accident’ earlier in the thread…) I think I’m going to redo it with the adapter closer to the middle of the phone so that the phone sits a little closer to the stem. Or possibly as another alternative, to mount the phone landscape.

Sugru FTW when it comes to bodging handlebar mounts, surely?

Would it be strong enough?

Only one way to find out…! Might be better to use it to spread the load when using a small bolt to hold things together. However, it does have a small amount of inherent flexibility which could prove an advantage where there’s a lot of vibration…

I’ve been toying with acquiring a Cheapo “Galaxy Y” (£30 from Carphone whorehouse apparently ATM, ebay seems to be awash with them too but the bidding goes silly for some reason) it’s got the required basics, GPS and Wifi and will take a micro SD card, stock it comes with a 1200 mAh battery, but higher capacity ones are knocking about on ebay, it can be charged from USB (say at work) run in no-sim/flight mode I think it would make a really good “poor mans Garmin”…
And I like the “Out front” mountings some of you have come up with…

The only issue being weather tightness, but that’s easily enough overcome… Currently using my S2 (my main phone) as a logging device/bike computer and I bought a 3500 mAh battery to use in place of the standard 1600 mAh one it’ll run for hours like that, but I’d still rather use a cheaper more basic alternative phone if I can…

I’m using the Sports tracker app for my “Cycle computer Display” (with Strava logging in the background too) and I’ve found it pretty good, but I might try IPbike, it looks pretty good too, getting a good, useful information display is pretty key IMO…

I guess that’s the big advantage over a Garmin, you can run a pretty broad range of software on that one cheap device…

Also how many people are using a HRM with their Android phone?
And which ones?

I’m currently a bit confused over just what will be compatible with my Current S2 or for that matter any other android phone I might choose to use in the future, so far as I can tell a “Polar wearlink+” is the basic bluetooth model and will work with just about any phone, the H& is 5 kHz BLE enabled and there are differing reports of which phones and apps it will work with, ANT is probably out of the window for me, although some seem to think an ANT OTG jobbie and certain apps do the business…

My current thinking is I’ll just bite the bullet, buy myself a wearlink+ and get an even higher capacity battery to offset the Bluetooth chewing through it. But it’s not the ideal solution really and a wearlink+ or Zephyr HxM is still a few quid for what is basically old and inefficient technology…

The Galaxy Y is (I think) smaller and more expensive than the Defy Mini SIM-free at the moment, but there’s not much in it. I’d be inclined to go with a Defy Mini for the modicum of weatherproofing it has.

The only issue being weather tightness, but that’s easily enough overcome…

What tips do folks have for weatherproofing normal Android phones? Anyone got a weatherproof charging solution going?

What tips do folks have for weatherproofing normal Android phones? Anyone got a weatherproof charging solution going?

As I mentioned way, way up there ^
Top-tube frame bag with phone screen. Its fairly water-resistant, in heavy rain I put a cheap plastic bag over it 🙂
Like this:

And for charging, I connect it to a SP PD8 hub (on the road bike, I’ve now got a PD8-X on the MTB too) via a Kemo M172N adaptor.

This looks good too:

Defy Mini for £30? where from? I can only find them around the £65 – £80 mark online…

To “weatherproof” a phone I’ve been using something like this for a while:

but it ain’t a sexy solution…

For charging, I take it out and plug in the charger, are you looking for a way to charge it while left on the bike?

For the commuter I’ve got a big bar mounted bag with space for tools and tubes, and a phone pocket on top… that is brilliant, but bulky

I do fancy making my own “Out Front” type housing for a phone for my geared road bike just to keep things “minimal” yet functional and do away with the zip up carrier…

@ir_bandito – sorry, late to the party as usual.

I’ve been using an UltimateAddons rugged handlebar case for my Galaxy S3 to run OruxMaps for a few months now, charging from an external USB battery pack. This works very well, other than the total lack of strain relief on the UltimateAddons USB charge cable, a problem I solved using Sugru.

Always interested in other solutions though, especially ones which might work when I’ve moved on from the S3… work’s phone, so won’t be with me forever.

clubber; Garmin mount looks good, can i ask what pop riveter you used? Not used one before and feel a gap in the toolkit! (would be useful to fix mudguards, kids toys etc)

Defy Mini for £30? where from? I can only find them around the £65 – £80 mark online

No, they’re both around this sort of price SIM-Free from what I can see. You can get the Galaxy Y for £30 on a PAYG contract from Carphone Warehouse.

Looking to get a dynamo and/or external battery charging solution rocking at some point, so cases with a power lead option are a plus, hence my going for the UltimateAddons solution.

I like this idea:
http://getfinn.com/

Think I might try it out, review here:
http://road.cc/content/review/99482-bikecityguide-finn

My Defy Minis have been on ebay and about £35-40 ish – I just set up an alert for one under £40 on buy-it-now. They come up periodically so just snap it up as soon as you get an alert.

acjim – Member
clubber; Garmin mount looks good, can i ask what pop riveter you used? Not used one before and feel a gap in the toolkit! (would be useful to fix mudguards, kids toys etc)

It’s just a cheap rivet gun from ebay – £8 iirc. Rivets can be had for few quid. It’s certainly a useful tool to have.

OT but I also have a rivnut gun which is useful for replacing stipped bottle cage bolts in frames.

Has anyone tried using Sugru to bodge a SRAM quickview mount for a Defy? Any reason why I shouldn’t just bond the adapter to the back of of the battery cover using superglue or Sugru?

I’m not convined that a non-mechanical fixing (unless you’re going going to use proper aerospace/etc type adhesive and preparation techniques) will ever be sturdy enough to hold a phone – they’re actually quite heavy and subjected to a lot of rattling around on the bars.

I’ve used some different adhesive solutions and none were sufficient.

I think the vibration from riding stopped it from being effective. There’s probably a solution, but I’ll stick with a screw being my main means of fixing.

A decent PU adhesive / sealer, eg Sikaflex or Tiger seal, should give a good strong bond. With a few mm bed it would give resonable vibration isolation too.

I could do pull ups on 18″ lengths of batton stuck to the roof of my camper conversion with the stuff.

Only draw back is it comes in big tubes so not efficient for small quantities.

Check this out though: http://sugru.com/magnet-kit

That looks pretty cool!

Hmm, I might try this. No need to wait for the Sugru magnet kit to become available. N52 neodymium magnets from ebay, one SRAM quickview mount, and a pack of Sugru.

Mind your credit cards near those magnets though…!

This may also be of interest: http://www.decathlon.co.uk/en/product/~product_id=8294081

Anyone given one of these a go?

That looks very like an UltimateAddons soft case:

http://www.play.com/Mobiles/Mobile/4-/40892177/744371764/-/ListingDetails.html

I have one of their rugged cases for my Galaxy S3, which I rate very highly other than one aspect.

I use the compatible charger cable with an external USB battery, and the strain relief on the power plug is non-existent. The lead broke on my second ride using it. I got a replacement and beefed up the strain relief and waterproofing of the plug using Sugru.

holy thread resurrection! checking in as I’m currently playing with OruxMaps on my Moto G (and trying to avoid dropping hundreds of pounds on a pointless Garmin).

I’m not sure the garmins are pointless – battery life means that they’re always going to have one big factor in their favour for longer rides.

I killed my defy mini – water got in unfortunately but I have a cheap Defy (not mini) that I’m going to try once I get round to it. I have found though that in the wet, the screen registers as though you’re touching it with your finger and goes a bit crazy. Need some sort of touch screen lock I reckon.

yeah fair enough, not pointless, more I’m trying to establish where the sweet spot is on the cost/utility spectrum (without spending 500 smackers if it’s not necessary for my use case)

partly it’s just fun messing with the widgets I’ve got

And that’s the bit I quite like 🙂 My garmin is better though but as more apps become available, that may change.

Download your mapping onto your phone and then put it into Airplane mode while using it for navigation, it will use absolutely scads less battery that way. Only turn on comms or Wifi if you need to. Use an external USB battery pack to recharge overnight on multi-day trips, or just keep the internal battery topped up all the time.

how are Garmins for readability in bright sunlight?

Download your mapping onto your phone and then put it into Airplane mode while using it for navigation, it will use absolutely scads less battery that way.

It’s the screen backlight that kills battery life IME.

My 605 is fine in bright sunlight. Not that we seem to ever have sun 🙂

I use a 5000mAh USB battery pack with my Desire HD for navigation. The longest route I’ve done so far took 7 hours and I still had full phone charge and one bar of life left on the battery pack.
I keep mine in a crossbar bag with phone window and the battery in with it so everything stays protected from the elements.

Just got a Samsung Y for £22. What is the agreed best way of attaching to bike?

Cheers.

Anyone with an update?

The sram / garmin adapter works well per clubber’s earlier post.

I used a phone case and a Hope light mount, but I did trash the first case.
Must get round to mounting the second one properly 🙄

Here are some pictures of my Motorola Mini , with a mount I made from a rubber case, some tin and some sugru, mated to an older style garmin mount. Chatters a bit on rough down hills, but stays put, and good and readable. Use Oruxmaps.

This might be of interest:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-waterproof-phones/

It mentions the Kyocera Hydro phones, the original of which is now available for buttons on eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181346922314

Not stellar spec but easily adequate for a bike GPS/phone I would have thought.