canklecat

I'm hoping to find a good MVNO. There are many and it's a very competitive field. I'm might try Mint SIM next, but I have some doubts -- not about Mint itself, but because they use T-Mobile. They're offering an introductory rate of $15/month when prepaying $45 for three months of unlimited talk/text and 2 GB 4G LTE data per month (not sure about any carryover data).

But first I want to check feedback from existing Mint SIM customers to find out whether they're getting true high speed data or throttled like Simple Mobile using T-Mobile's network. I'm a bit wary of T-Mobile because CEO John Legere is a "character" and you remember how Nick the bartender in It's A Wonderful Life felt about "characters".

Otherwise I'll probably look for an MVNO using AT&T or Verizon. FreedomPop (via AT&T) has full speed data. It's just their proprietary app interface and billing that are weird... well, unusual compared with the rest of the industry.

canklecat

Incidentally, I rode an errand last night simultaneously comparing Google maps/voice navigation via data connection on my Android phone, with maps.me voice navigation via offline mode on my iPhone 4s. The nearest grocery store is half a mile from my apartment, so I took a meandering 2-3 mile ride around the neighborhood to see how both apps and phones would react.

As I've noticed recently, Google maps voice navigation seems to keep getting better. Every time I'd deliberately take a "wrong" turn, it would quickly reroute to accommodate any changes.

But maps.me mostly kept repeating "Make a U-turn. Make a U-turn." Not very helpful.

To be more thorough I'll need to compare maps.me on my newer Android phones, both online and offline.

noglider 

For what it's worth, I rarely need the audio and normally mute it. I can glance and see what's next.

Koyote

For a little closure: I started looking more closely at the ride files I was creating in ridewithgps.com, and noticed that it was inserting far more turn-by-turn instructions than needed: it seemed like it would insert a prompt each time the road curved a bit, and so I would get a lot of "Turn left on Methodist Road" when I was already ON Methodist Road. So, I figured out how to remove individual instructions before loading the file into the Lezyne app.

I also noticed that, before loading the file into the Lezyne app, I was checking the box "Add turn-by-turn instructions." And apparently I don't need to do that, as it adds MORE instructions. This is a separate issue from the first one, but was obviously user-error.

So, I am making these changes and experimenting. Seems to work better so far.

Thanks, all!

njkayaker

I've used RWGPS heavily. I suspect that much of this is related to something you are doing. If you still have a route with this issue, PM me with a link and I'll look at it.

RWGPS will sometimes add cue items where a straight road happens to change names.

​​​​​​It's possible you are adding too many control points (the white circles).

canklecat

I've noticed Google maps voice navigation will also add unnecessary instructions. The most annoying is the "slight right" prompt, which sounds like "slide right" and is often superfluous when it's a single road that meanders around to follow rivers and natural terrain. And the way some of my family and friends drive, they don't need any encouragement to slide one way or another while driving.

Koyote

Thanks for the offer...I might still take you up on it.

I have figured out how to remove errant instructions in ridewithgps...It's a bit of a hassle, but after creating a route, I can see that there are all kinds of extra instructions about turning onto a road that I am already on. So, I delete those before sending the file to the Lezyne Root system. Am still getting some incorrect "Off Course" notifications, though.

njkayaker

I looked at the RWGPS route he created. The problem is that the OSM mapping data isn't very good in the area he his route is in.

You can verify that the map is reasonable by selecting the satellite view. If the OSM data doesn't correspond well to that, try using the Google map option in RWGPS.

You will always get a few of these. These can occur when the location of the road on the map doesn't matches the location of the road in the real world. Keep in mind that it's the centerline of the road the track is following. Riding at the right side already means you are a bit off track.

I treat these as an indication that I need to look at the map.

​​​​

Koyote

Thanks again, njkayaker. I will try the google map option in RWGPS.com. I really appreciate the help!

Geez, modern technology doesn't work perfectly. Who would have thought it?