LiveTrack24Lite Frequently Asked Questions

As various questions arrive from new users, we will add their inquiries here.

Q: How long does the iPhone battery last running the tracker ?

A: It depends. The iPhone 3G has a 1100mAh battery, which gives you approximately 3.5 hours of continous tracking when sending data packets at a 90 second interval. Obviously this will increase if the tracker is set to "None" (as the GSM chip doesn't have to power up).

At the moment I am personally flying with an Imax Power IMP500. This provides 5000mAh of extra capacity, which pretty much implies I can go on a flying holiday and charge it once a week. They also have an 8800mAh version which should be arriving any day now.

Q: I bought the App, but I keep getting a message that my credentials are no good.

A: In order to use the "Live" tracking feature, you need an account at LiveTrack24. Set that up first, then go into Settings -> LiveTrack24Lite on your iPhone and enter the same username and password. Additionally, set your mode of transport, tracker preference, and send interval.

Q: Why can't I use an external GPS and pair it with the iPhone ? Wouldn't that extend the battery life of the iPhone a bit ?

A: In theory it should work, but Apple has crippled the Bluetooth stack such that only "approved" devices can pair up with the iPhone. Personally I would like for them to fix the BT stack, as most other GPSes can provide a faster lock up and more accurate position data. Even better would be the ability to get the GPS coordinates and the barometric altitude data (say, from a Flytec 6030). And yes, the battery performance would most likely be better if the iPhone GPS is not powered up.

Q: What about airspace ?

A: The ability to load OpenAir format airspaces from the internet and display them in the live view and history view (first 5 objects only) is possible in version 1.3.0. The complete unlock is now available as an in-application purchase (this is the same model as WinPilot and flytec).

Q: What about direct upload to Leonardo/Other trackers ?

A: Just think... no more need to run for your laptop after a day of flying - just do the daily upload as you're sitting down to dinner with your flying buddies! From version 1.3.5 direct upload to Leonardo-based OLC servers is supported. We will take a look at XContest.org as soon as they publish the API.