Heading pointer about 15 degrees off CW
Was using Caltopo while driving on a dirt road today and noticed that the heading arrow was about 15 degrees CW off relative to the direction of motion. Initialoy though that this is because my phone's compass call was off. Re-cal'ed but no dice. Checked another app (Gaia and BCN) and heading was as expected.
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Support Staff 1 Posted by Julie on 28 Nov, 2020 12:27 AM
Sounds like declination. Check to see if you have CalTopo set for True or Magnetic North. Unless you are in a place where declination is negligible. We've never had any trouble with this though.
Julie closed this discussion on 28 Nov, 2020 12:27 AM.
biboyanov re-opened this discussion on 28 Nov, 2020 02:44 AM
2 Posted by biboyanov on 28 Nov, 2020 02:44 AM
Nroth reference is set to True.
Support Staff 3 Posted by Meghan on 30 Nov, 2020 04:15 PM
And how does that compare to the north reference set for Gaia or BCN? Are those set to True or Magnetic North?
4 Posted by biboyanov on 20 Jan, 2021 05:26 AM
Perhaps this is related to using Caltopo to navigate from inside a vehicle. Over the weekend the arrow was pointing 180 degrees opposite of the direction of travel. Likely the car was interfering with the magnetometer. Maybe consider implementing switching to "direction of travel" arrow above a certain speed of motion? Can provide a screen shot if it would be useful. Only seems to happen inside the car.
Support Staff 5 Posted by Ben Lantow on 20 Jan, 2021 03:45 PM
The compass data in the app is pulled directly from the system compass. If you are having issues with the compass direction or accuracy you should look into your specific phone, manufacturer, and OS, oftentimes manufacturers will release patches or fixes for issues with compasses, or they may have a calibration setting of some sort. We only display compass data, and process magnetic versus true North display.
Best,
Ben
Ben Lantow closed this discussion on 20 Jan, 2021 03:45 PM.
biboyanov re-opened this discussion on 20 Jan, 2021 09:46 PM
6 Posted by biboyanov on 20 Jan, 2021 09:46 PM
Understood, if the metal of the car is messing with the system compass there is nothing that either the app or me can do about it. This is why car navigation apps (e.g. gmaps) typically rely on detected direction of motion, not on the compass or magnetometer. Some other apps have that functionality, but it seems that there are no immediate plans to implement something like this in Caltopo - e.g. if "sufficient" motion is detected use direction of motion as the indicator, otherwise use the compass.
Support Staff 7 Posted by Meghan on 21 Jan, 2021 05:42 PM
Thanks for the feedback! We are working hard to ensure CalTopo continues to improve and that work is often thanks to users sharing their thoughts and feedback. We'll consider your request going forward. We often take a variety of user requests and incorporate them into a larger function, so stay tuned as we release new features throughout the year!
Best,
Meghan
Meghan closed this discussion on 21 Jan, 2021 05:42 PM.