Tracking device.

[cyclop]

Morning.I need a device that will show my whereabouts remotely i.e. at home .I don,t want to have to tell my wife where I,m going on every ride,only to change route as the fancy takes me,quite common.Also,short term memory issues means place names come and go in my memory so it,s a chore dragging out a map every single ride to then write down my route.Loads of online stuff but no substitute for real world advice/experiences.Satnav or similar?

[Jdsk]

What smart 'phones do you already have?

Thanks

Jonathan

For Apple devices: "Share your location with your family";
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201087

[TrevA]

Garmin GPS units have a LiveTrack facility, that will show your location, but you would also need a smartphone to broadcast it to the internet.

I’ve never actually used it, but it would be useful. My wife is geographically challenged, she often rides alone and would struggle to tell me of her location if she needed assistance.

https://support.garmin.com/en-GB/?faq=H ... DhlLX4GUw8

[rareposter]

Garmin GPS units have a LiveTrack facility, that will show your location, but you would also need a smartphone to broadcast it to the internet.

It works quite well on group rides but for one individual tracking another, it's an extra step of complexity - it just introduces one more device to something that your smartphone will do by itself.

Google Maps has a Share Location feature, WhatsApp will do it as well to either an individual or a group chat. And Jdsk has covered Apple devices in the first reply.

[keyboardmonkey]

On the LEL last year there were a number of riders inviting us to be ‘Dot Watchers’ or something. Maybe Google it? Certainly not a cheap option, but I suppose it rather depends how important this sort of thing is to the OP.

[rareposter]

On the LEL last year there were a number of riders inviting us to be ‘Dot Watchers’ or something. Maybe Google it? Certainly not a cheap option, but I suppose it rather depends how important this sort of thing is to the OP.

Yeah, that's quite A Big Thing in ultra endurance racing and actually adds an element of checking and verification as well as the safety and general interest points of it.

You need a Spot Tracker which is quite expensive in the first place and then requires a subscription. It's brilliant in remote locations and if you'll be going on multi -country trips because it works off satellites so no issues with mobile reception or different networks/roaming or phone battery. But it is way overkill for local bike rides in the UK.

[Mick F]

We have iPhones, and we share our locations.

At any time of the day (or night) I can see where Mrs Mick F is and she can see where I am.
We never leave the house without taking our phones with us.
We don't need any other devices for locating each other. In principle, we could share our locations with anyone with an iPhone so long as we know each other's number and we both select the "share my location" in the Find My app.

[thirdcrank]

I'd recommend thinking through the circumstances in which information about your ID and location might be important.

eg Carry your name and the contact details of whoever you would want notifying if you were found unconscious or worse.

Then, if you are driving to the start of your ride, make sure you are carrying details of where your vehicle is parked. I used to have a tiny wallet on my Berlingo key fob for this. Assuming it's registered in your correct details, if the parked vehicle is causing concerns, they can use PNC details to get to your next-of-kin etc.

I'd agree that a smart phone is a good bit of kit for things like tracking but I wonder how things go if there's no signal. While coverage seems to be improving all the time, I often find I have no signal in places like old pubs. I fancy a big bonus of a phone is that it's a familiar type of kit to most people who don't need to take a familiarisation course to use one.

FWIW, I don't think mrs thircdrank was ever much bothered about my cycling routes, although she expected a call - usually from a kiosk in those days - if I was going to be home late for tea.

[Jules59]

Doesnt Strava send out location info to a nominated phone number - or something like that

[rareposter]

Doesnt Strava send out location info to a nominated phone number - or something like that

Yes, Strava Beacon.
https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/art ... ava-Beacon

You have to be running Strava on your mobile phone for it to work. If you're using a GPS computer to record, the Beacon function won't work cos that comes off the phone.

However the recipient can view it without having Strava downloaded.

Again, it's one extra step over and above simply sharing location via the phone.

[pwa]

We have a pet tracker for the dog. It determines its location via GPS, then communicates that information to three designated smatphones and my laptop, using the cellphone network. So it acts like a phone. As such, it can only transmit when it has a phone signal. In practice, on a long walk the tracker picks up most routes quite well, but occasionally it shows a straight line where for some reason it fails to detect the exact route. Importantly, though, if the dog went missing we would have a pretty good idea where to look. To within a few hundred metres at worst, and often much better than that. We pay a subscription fee to cover the cellphone network costs. You cold get one of these and register yourself as a dog. They would never know!

[Jdsk]

...
You cold get one of these and register yourself as a dog. They would never know!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_In ... 27re_a_dog

: - )

Jonathan

[cyclop]

Thanks for your informative replies,I,ll have a gander at them all during "Coronation St."

[cyclop]

What smart 'phones do you already have?

Thanks

Jonathan

For Apple devices: "Share your location with your family";
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201087

Sorry,just reread your post.It,s a cubot,not that well known but well built(the casing has screw fixings)and tough as well as small.I,ll press a few buttons see what happens

[oldtimer99]

We both have an app called Life360 which shows each others current location.
Android phones.....it just sits there and works well. Free.