acachebox

Will Cachly ever be able to be used as a navigation aid while caching? The current software drops the navigation as soon as you touch the I Phone screen with 2 or more figures. I accept this problem was caused by an Apple upgrade but it rendered the app useless.

Hi Nic Any update on the problem of the map not holding navigation mode while approaching a cache. Yes in compass mode this may not be a problem but I lie the navigation mode because it displays the the map and aids driving to a cache. If I am driving to a cache that may be a mile or more away the compass is not helpful unless I am will to drive off road.

Yes you are correct I did mention the problem started with 10.3.1 and that is correct. My bad. And yes there was a post mentioning how to force calibration and that may work under some conditions. But we are using 2 I phones and when they show different things after that so called forcing of calibration that leads me to question which one might be correct. Having just discovered the problem is in fact a function of the Apple software, as it appears in Apple maps, I hold my breath that Nik's will be able to solve it in future software, but we can hope he is can.

What I really meant to say was the current version of software in use on the I phone 10.3.2 has an inherent problem that did not exists in previous versions. I have used my I Phone for 1875 caches but no longer deem it useful. Back to my Garmin 450

For those following this issue I have talked to other local caches that are having the same problem with the map not holding navigation mode. Any touching of the screen causes the map to revert to north orientation. It was not clear if that was a problem in cachly or on the I phone. Since the problem also happens on the I Phone in Find My Car I have to assume it is an Apple problem. That and the lack of an actual way to force the compass to calibrate kind of renders the I phone useless for caching.

It seams I'm not alone with my problem with the calibration of the compass within my I Phone. I would again ask if there is anyone that has a fool proof means that allows them to use an I Phone while caching. Yesterday while caching with 2 I Phones at at one of my own caches. One said it was 25 ft. in the wrong direction while I was standing within 5 ft. of the cache. The other lead me 7 ft in the wrong direction. The only consistency was the fact they were both off in direction. At another of my caches the compass had me headed in the right direction but wanted me to go 45 ft. beyond the cache. I have just completed the above suggested means to force a re-calibration. One I phone was parallel the the road I was stand on. The other was off by 15 degrees. Both were set to magnetic north. I have written Tim Cook twice about this issue. Have had several conversations with his staff on the subject. It is clear from those I have spoken to that they have no idea of how a compass works or what a compass is used for. My next letter to Mr. Cook will have the comments from the link above to attempt to impress on him that this is not my problem in the miss use or understanding of what a compass is used for.

I think I may have narrowed the problem down a bit. The problem of not holding the navigation mode while moving to a cache appears to only be a problem while using map feature in navigation mode. While using this function any touching of the screen and then the removal of your finger from the screen of the I Phone causes the map to revert to north orientation. If you attempt to expand the map view or move the map view as soon as you lift your finger off the screen the map will revert to North orientation. This problem does not happen if you are using the compass mode. Even though you would have no reason to touch the screen in compass mode accidental touches have no effect o the orientation. At this point i do not have any other app to check this issue against. I have advised Apple that I think I have narrowed the problem to this single function and asked them if it could be caused by one of their screen touch functions.

Nic I am sorry but I have never had any other map app, and I use 3 different ones on my phones and 3 different ones in my cars, loose the navigation mode, what you call a follow mode, while in use. If it is in fact a function of IOS that I have never experienced then yes it is a problem that has to be solved. Groundspeak themselves is going out of their way to kill caching with the halt of a system that did work and replacing it with one that most fled from when it came out of the box.

Apple currently has several different Screen Swips to change functions on the I Phone. Swiping the screen to the right or left changes the page displayed, swiping up or down brings up fast access to several functions, Tapping the screen with 3 fingers has different function depending on what screen you are on. While it is not clear that any of these are causing the problem one has to question if they are. Another function that may come into play is the accessibility function that replaces the home button. All I know at this point is if I am in navigation mode, map or compass, I frequently loose that mode after having touched the screen while walking towards a cache. The app reverts to north orientation.

I had a phone call from Apple today. The current software is self calibrating. However it requires some movement of the compass to cause this self calibration. To insure calibration has taken place one should physically wobble the phone in the palm of ones hand before attempting to use. Another method is to go to settings, compass calibration, turn calibration off, turn off the phone, and then turn it back on. Turn compass calibration on again in settings. Tried this while on the phone with Apple and compared the results to my lensatic compass. They matched. The remaining problem is the fact that the Cachly app will not remain in navigation mode while moving towards a cache. Any touching of the screen reverts the compass to north orientation. Something that Nic has said he hopes to correct in future software. Considering the screen touch commands currently used by Apple that may be a problem.

The senior techs that contacted me after my first letter to Tim Cook had no idea, of how to calibrate the compass, when asked the question so I tend to discount the store. We are tilting at windmills here. Lets wait to see if I get a response to my current letter.

i Phone 5C with 10.3.1 software

The setting were as you note. Where and what is this new heading indicator? Map and compass navigates to the same location. Zoom in and out functions work as expected. Touching the scree and we are off to the races 120 degrees from the cache. Now I would most likely notice a change of that magnitude but a change of less than 20 degrees would lead me off the track till I realized the navigation setting had dropped. I doubt that either of these would effect the fact that the I Phone no longer corrects for change in location. Just for clarification the indicating arrow in the lower right corner of the page has 3 modes. Look like the first is north orientation and the third is navigation. What is the second since it does not seam to change anything from the first other than fil; in the arrow in green.?

When I say navigation I mean the setting of the small arrow in the lower right corner of the cachly page. When that arrow is green and pointing to the top of the i phone the system is navigating, pointing the i phone center line, directly to cache. Any touching of the I Phone screen will cause that setting to revert to a north orientation of the map and thus point away from the cache. Once started towards a cache I have to constantly check the setting to be sure I am still headed in the right direction. I have compared the i phone compass to a lensatic compass for magnetic north. Sometimes they agree and somethings they don't causing me to want a calibration option as the older software had. In every case of testing I have either been in the field or away from any metal objects.