New feature: Status Page

Just released v1.2.1 with a design facelift and the new App Status page.

The App Status page displays every essential information you need to check the health of the system:

If you have no network signal, then the Data Connection will display Offline.  If the GPS accuracy is bad (worst than the one you have configured in settings) then it will be displayed using red. So if you don't see any red text then you are OK.

With the 'Sync now' button you can force the COP synchronization which means that the app will upload your current position and download the positions and messages from other units.

This COP synchronization happens automatically in every 30secs - 15mins according to what you have configured, but one way to conserve the battery is to set the position upload interval to a high value and report the position manually using the 'Sync now' button.

Note I: This update is available for the paid versions on both iOS and Android. The Lite versions will be updated shortly.

Note II: This version fixes the bug of 1.2.0 (released yesterday) on iOS which caused app to crash at startup on some devices.

Bad iOS update

Today we have released a new version of the paid app on iOS which contains a bug and fails to start on some devices.

Unfortunately Apple gives us no way to get back to the older version so we have removed the app from the store temporarily and uploaded a bugfix version.  Now we have to wait for Apple to validate and release it.

For those who have installed the update, we are very sorry but no workaround is available. Please use the lite version while you are waiting for the bugfix release.

Sorry for the inconvenience, this is definitely our fault.

Improving GPS accuracy

A frequently asked question is: How can we  improve the accuracy of the GPS?

First of all, you have to know that modern mobile operating systems like iOS and Android handle the GPS, the app just gets the location data from the device. So all apps are created equal in terms of GPS accuray and there is no way to improve it inside the app. Only you can do a little bit to improve the accuracy.

There are apps for monitoring the GPS of the device, they show you the number of visible satellites so you will be able to find a place where the GPS signal is better. These apps are not able to boost the GPS, they just give you information about the state of it. This looks professional, I suggest you donwload one of them and play with it, but you don't really need this for finding a place with better signal: just find a place where you can see the sky.

Yes, the most important thing is to see the sky. Do not cover the device while you are waiting for a GPS fix, and never expect good GPS signal inside buildings.

If you have network signal then AGPS can work. AGPS helps your device to find the first fix faster, because it will tell it where the satellites currently are so the location calculation will be easier. Having the first fix is always the hardest thing.

So the second thing you can do is finding a location where you have data connection.

If you have one location fix then it may start working on places where the GPS signal is not so good. 

Note that at home you can get good accuracy indoors because your device uses wifi positioning, not the GPS. But this works only where a lot of wifi stations are near to you so definitely not on the airsoft site. 

This means that you can track your location with your smartphone only outdoors.

Lastly, you have to know something about BattleTac: There is a setting: 'Position report interval' which you can change to a higher value (e.g.: 5 minutes) to save battery time, but if you do it, you may get worse GPS performance. This is because 5 mins pause is too much for the GPS, it will 'cold start' every time which is harder as I have said. So if your GPS signal is bad then I suggest you using the default value of this settings.

1.1.0 is out with a lot of usability enhancements

We have focused on enhanced usability and better information display in this release. The new features are:

• Recon symbol is now available:

• If your reported position is older than 2 minutes, it will be flagged as 'anticipated' and displayed with a dashed corner according to Mil Std 2525A/APP-6A:

• If you have a destination, it's distance and direction is also displayed. The direction is displayed both with an 1-2 letter mark and in degrees.

• The POI and unit pages are more readable, the direction info is also included:

• If creating a poi or sending a message fails because of network outage, the system tries the communication again later. It tries again and again for a while before it gives up. If sending a message is not possible for 10 minutes then the message i deprecated anyway so it's OK to give up - we think.
• (Full version only): It is possible now to set the location update frequency to 1 minute. The default setting is 30 seconds but we recommend setting this to a higher value to save battery time. 

This new version is available in the Android Play Store, and it is on the way to the App Store too - we have to wait about 5 days for Apple to review it.

Try out this and give us feedback on our new Facebook page!