CJ Williams
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Via Turonense (1995)
Camino Francés (1996; 1999; 2001; 2005; 2008; 2011)
Camino Aragonés (2000)
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Check to see your phone's capabilities.Fortunately, on some phone brands, such as Nokia, there is as function called "half rate codec." Enabling that function can give you up to 50 percent extra battery power on your phone.
Instructions:
1 Turn on your phone. Some phones shut off automatically when the battery gets low. If that happens, restart your phone and, as long as the battery is not completely dead, it should turn on long enough for you to access the half rate codec.
2 Dial *#4720#. That's the star sign, then pound sign, followed by 4720, followed by another pound sign.
3 Restart your phone. This should happen automatically after you key in the code. When the phone comes back on, it will tap into the battery's reserve and show a 50 percent increase in battery power.
falcon269 said:Your advice is excellent even as the weather seems to be leaving blizzards behind. An emergency can happen anytime and anywhere. Thanks.
dougfitz said:Please be cautious. Smartphones are not necessarily very good GPS units, in addition to which, when used as a GPS, they have appallingly poor battery life. If you drain your battery using it as a GPS, you will not be in a position to make any calls - knowing exactly where you are is of little value if you cannot share that information with emergency personnel.
In addition, there have been some reports recently from both the UK and Australia about people needing rescue thinking they had given a good location, for the rescuers to find that they were several km away from their stated location.
dougfitz said:Please be cautious. Smartphones are not necessarily very good GPS units, in addition to which, when used as a GPS, they have appallingly poor battery life. ,
Is the external power source also rechargeable
HermanTheGerman said:Im also in the market for something like this. Is the external power source also rechargeable, or does it run off disposable batteries?
NicoZ said:BTW I would say the GPS in my phone is more accurate then either of the Garmins I've owned.
But all GPS have tradeoffs.
My HTC google navigation is without a doubt more accurate than my Garmin motorbike navigation also. In fact, it does everything better for far less money.NicoZ said:I didn't really mean the maps. I think the sensor in my phone is more accurate. You'll see it when driving. If you miss a turn it'll notice faster then the Garmins would.
Now there are tradeoffs. If I understand it right being more accurate means it takes longer to get a GPS lock.
The Google maps are more up to date. A few months ago I was driving and the road was closed for roadwork. The phone already had the detour on it's maps.
Get info as I will take mine after last year being in hospital for 8 days my wife will glue mine to my forehead.I posted this information as part of an answer to a question someone asked me on another thread, but I think it bears posting as a thread of its own because of its importance.
A smartphone with GPS and 3G coverage should be considered another piece of safety equipment that you bring along on the Camino, if you have one. If you do, you should definitely carry yours with you and have the GPS location mode switched on. Even if your battery dies and you lose call coverage, the Guardia Civil or other emergency rescue services can use the GPS to locate you in an emergency situation.
Additionally, install the WhatsApp application, or some other instant messaging application, that allows you to send photos and videos in instant messages. (WhatsApp is the most commonly used one in Spain.) If you are lost or become injured in a remote area, you can take photos of landmarks or the surrounding countryside, or a screenshot of your location on Google maps using the GPS, and send it to the dispatcher or the officer you are talking to on the phone, helping them to locate you more quickly.
The procedure is simple: first call 112, the emergency services number in Spain. If you are unsure of your location, explain that you are lost or injured and don't know where you are to the dispatcher. He or she will ask you to take note of the mobile telephone number of one of the members of the rescue unit and to add it to your address book to make conversation by Whatsapp possible.
Once contact is established with the rescuer, you will have to follow the same steps you normally would to send a picture. Make sure to allow the use of GPS by the WhatsApp so that the phone can "geolocate" you. Rescuers say that this normally works to within a margin of error of ten meters, more or less! Taking note of your coordinates by conversation often meant having to search within a radius of five kilometers or more before being able to successfully locate the person needing rescue.
Nevertheless, this system cannot take the place of EXPERIENCE and PRUDENCE. You still need to be prudent when walking the more remote or mountainous sections of the Camino. Pay close attention to weather forecasts, listen to the advice of locals and carry the proper equipment for the season in which you are travelling the Camino!
Also a good idea to put your phone on flight mode if not in use. Will add hours to the battery.
My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has brilliant GPS and always gets to within 5m. Also, the battery drainage on GPS is only bad when you're actually using the maps function. If you just leave GPS on, it's not. I leave GPS on all the time, as then when you take a photo, it geotags the picture, and later adds it to your maps. If you can't remember where you took the pic, just click on the function 'find on map' and it takes you right to where you were when you took the photo. Also, carrying an external battery charger is a great idea. You then charge that in public places rather than your expensive phone. When it's charged, it has enough power in it to charge your phone 3-5 times depending on the model.Please be cautious. Smartphones are not necessarily very good GPS units, in addition to which, when used as a GPS, they have appallingly poor battery life. If you drain your battery using it as a GPS, you will not be in a position to make any calls - knowing exactly where you are is of little value if you cannot share that information with emergency personnel.
In addition, there have been some reports recently from both the UK and Australia about people needing rescue thinking they had given a good location, for the rescuers to find that they were several km away from their stated location.
Regards,
Im also in the market for something like this. Is the external power source also rechargeable, or does it run off disposable batteries?
My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has brilliant GPS and always gets to within 5m. Also, the battery drainage on GPS is only bad when you're actually using the maps function. If you just leave GPS on, it's not.
That's so right Kanga. Here in Australia we don't get coverage everywhere. I never take my phone just don't see the point. What I do have is an Epirb. So if I get into trouble in a remote place, like a broken leg, I can set it off.What happens if you are in a remote area with no reception? A phone is useless unless it is within range of a mobile phone tower. Happens all the time in remote areas of Australia - for which you need a satellite phone. You might get GPS on a smartphone, but if you have no way of sending information it is useless to get you rescued.
Does Spain have complete coverage, everywhere?
There is a very funny scene in "St Jacque le Mecque" in which the pilgrims were vainly trying to get their phones to work in remote rural France.
But no laughing matter if you are up a mountain in bad conditions with a broken leg. If you go bush, let people know where you are going and when to expect to hear from you.
That's so right Kanga. Here in Australia we don't get coverage everywhere. I never take my phone just don't see the point. What I do have is an Epirb. So if I get into trouble in a remote place, like a broken leg, I can set it off.
I use it for hiking out bush mostly. Didn't take it when I did the Del Norte route in Spain and I won't take it to do the Portuguese route in September. I don't think I will need it for that. Have you done the Portuguese way Kanga? I know you have done several.Yes, an Epirb makes sense for remote areas, or at sea. Expensive to buy for the occasional trip but they can be hired. Everyone travelling in outback Australia should carry one IMO. It's difficult to compare with Spain though, we have such vast areas of wilderness and isolation. Nothing in Spain is really remote in comparison. Even the mountains are comparatively well settled.
I use it for hiking out bush mostly. Didn't take it when I did the Del Norte route in Spain and I won't take it to do the Portuguese route in September. I don't think I will need it for that. Have you done the Portuguese way Kanga? I know you have done several.
Ha ha. Men and there stomachs. I'm not taking mine on this one but in May next year we are walking the second half of the Via Francigena through Italy. He is excited for the food.No, but one of my daughters is very keen. She was an exchange student in Brazil so speaks a bit of Portuguese. It sounds like a beautiful Camino but I do like a long walk. We've concentrated on the French chemins in recent years, mainly because my husband loves the food and wine - have to motivate him somehow!
I suspect smartphone battery life will improve as makers better integrate GPS chips into their products, and power consumption decreases generally.My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has brilliant GPS and always gets to within 5m. Also, the battery drainage on GPS is only bad when you're actually using the maps function. If you just leave GPS on, it's not. I leave GPS on all the time, as then when you take a photo, it geotags the picture, and later adds it to your maps. If you can't remember where you took the pic, just click on the function 'find on map' and it takes you right to where you were when you took the photo. Also, carrying an external battery charger is a great idea. You then charge that in public places rather than your expensive phone. When it's charged, it has enough power in it to charge your phone 3-5 times depending on the model.
can you suggest buying an inexpensive phone for the CaminoRe: IMPORTANT: Using smartphones in Camino emergencies
Your advice is excellent even as the weather seems to be leaving blizzards behind. An emergency can happen anytime and anywhere. Thanks.
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