Thank you for purchasing Speedo+. I hope you will find it useful and have fun with it. If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to email me at speedoPlus@icloud.com.
The app supports the DUAL XGPS150/160 external GPS. You can purchase these on Amazon and elsewhere. You may select the external GPS in the Settings tab. The DUAL XGPS 160 has a refresh rate of 10 Hz (0.1s) so the app’s performance is far superior than the internal GPS. This is especially useful for measuring acceleration rates(4th tab in the updated app). Generally, the app experience is vastly improved.
If the external GPS is selected, the connection status and battery level and charging status are reported in the Home tab. GPS accuracy is reported using the DOP scale. The rest of the manual will be updated soon so some screenshots may be inaccurate.
This manual will be updated regularly so check back often. You may also find that the screenshots contain future features – don’t be alarmed – they are coming soon!
You can refresh the page by pulling down (if you are at the top).
Let’s start by looking at the screenshot below:
GPS Accuracy and Altitude are reported by the hardware. In the case of GPS Accuracy, the lower the number the better the reception and accuracy of information received.
Limits displays the active set of speed limits (City or Highway). These are set in Settings. The app supports a Siri shortcut (Change Limits) to allow the user to change limits using a voice command. Go to Siri & Search in the iPhone Settings app to set this up.
The Compass, depicts the magnetic North as reported by the hardware. In the centre, we have the current speed that the device is moving in metric, imperial or knots as selected by the user.
Distance covered, Average Speed and Max. Speed are reported in their respective labels. Average Speed is only calculated when the timer is running (see below).
Elapsed time and Last recorded (just below Elapsed) times are reported. These are activated by touching the Play button. The timer can be paused.
Just below the Units selection is an info label reporting whether the user has enabled Route Logging or not in Settings. Route Logging is only active when the timer is active.
The screenshot below shows the same view but with Graphical compass disabled (see Settings) and the device orientation is reported numerically.
When the user taps the speed/compass indicator the screen below is presented. This is an abbreviated version of the main screen. By tapping the speed indication, this view is dismissed. Tapping any of the Avg. Speed, Distance or Max. Speed will enlarge them and remove the others. Tapping the enlarged view will return to the standard view.
Map
The Map tab displays the page below. There are a number of features here:
- Search (magnifying glass) uses Google to search for addresses etc.
- Speedometer – this can be moved anywhere on the page and displays your current speed.
- Route – this button (below left of the speedometer) will bring up either Google Maps , Apple Maps or Waze (selectable in Settings) to display a route to the selected location.
- Camera – If the timer is running, your may take pictures along your route. They will be displayed on a map view once the route is done, at the location they were taken.
- Film strip – you may insert any photo from your Photos Library.
Tapping on the map will insert a marker (shown below) and allow you to obtain directions to that location using your preferred mapping app.
Tapping on the globe/location icon (rightmost below) will remove then marker. This control also changes the way the map behaves with regards to your movement – it will rotate/not-rotate to align with your heading. When in static mode, it facilitates pinching the map in and out more easily.
The Speed indicator is draggable so you can place it anywhere you please in the view.
Trips
The Trips tab (3rd tab) lists all the routes that have been saved. Selecting a Route will provide information details about the specific route (as shown above). You can share this information a couple of ways:
- Using the Share Icon – Here you can use Mail to send the trip to whoever you’d like to share with. The receiver must have the app installed in order to view the route and see the images (if any).
- Using the Globe Icon – This control will display the selected route on a map. It will include any photos taken and where the set speed limit has been exceeded (the red indicators). By selecting the camera icon, you can view the photos. Selecting any of the red markers will display the set speed limit and the recorded limit at that location.
- Using the chart Icon– This will display a chart of the selected route. You can view the chart in landscape mode as well.
- By selecting the blue arrow (top right) you can share this picture (as an image).
Saved File operations are shown in the next few screenshots. In a nutshell, you may select a route and display its data. You can delete a route by selecting and swiping left or can use the Edit button to select more than one route and delete them. You can also delete all files by using the Delete All button. You can also rename a route.
IMPORTANT
Your privacy is respected. All trips are saved on your device. If the app is deleted, all data is removed as well. In order to save trips permanently, use the Share button to save trips to an external service of your choice. For example, you can use Apple’s Files or Dropbox to export a trip file.
Performance (Acceleration)
In this tab, you can measure Acceleration. You can enter a Start/End Speed and 3 intermediate speeds. Once the run is completed (the End Speed is reached) the run is saved automatically. You may view all saved runs by selecting View Runs.
The accelerometer sensitivity can be varied using the slider. This is used to measure the beginning of a run. To determine acceleration, the app uses the hardware accelerometer. Its sensitivity can be adjusted using the slider. You can set a starting speed, an ending speed and 3 intermediate speeds. The results are saved once the run is done or the Stop button is pressed.
G-Force
The view below displays G forces as the vehicle moves. X=Axis is left/right motion and the Z-Axis is forwards/back motion. Maximum values are recorded in the labels at the bottom. The vehicle’s current speed is shown as well. You can dismiss the G-Force page by swiping down.
You may change the G-scale by pressing on the bottom right control (shown below as 1.0 G). This control will toggle the scale between 0.5G and 1.0G). For more information, select the question mark at the top of the view.
Settings
Last but not least, we have the Settings Page (the last tab). Here, the user can customise the appearance and functionality of the app. The option selection is larger than what’s displayed below. You can view all options by scrolling the list.
Let’s go through the various options:
Desired Accuracy can be selected in order to limit data to a minimum acceptable threshold. The default value is set to None. This means that all data reported, regardless of accuracy, will be displayed. You may adjust this setting to whatever suits your purposes best.
Light/Dark Mode enables the user to select the appearance of the app.
The Hwy and City values represent limits that will change the background colour of the speed gauge as they are exceeded. Once the final (3rd) limit is exceeded, the app will warn the user audibly.
The City/Hwy control allows the user to choose which limit set is active at any time or turn them off all-together.
External GPS Logging rate sets the frequency of location logging when an external GPS is connected. The recommended setting is 1 sec (i.e. log one location per second) which is more than adequate for route logging but you may choose to have a finer granularity by selecting 10 times a second or 2 times a second (0.1 or 0.5s).
Select an app for directions allows you to select which app (or website if app is not installed) to use for directions once you’ve selected a location in the Maps tab.
Route Logging can be enabled or disabled.
Flash Screen will flash the screen when the timer is enabled, paused or stopped, as a visual way of making sure that the control was pressed.
Sounds can be enabled or disabled. This does NOT defeat the speed limit warning.
Reset Data on Timer Start resets all data when the timer begins.
Graphical Compass enables or disables the Graphical (versus numeric) compass.
Create GPX file, as the name implies, will create a GPX-formatted file that can be used with apps that support it as well as Google Maps (desktop version).
Lock Settings disables key settings.
Autosave trips. This setting, when enabled, will automatically save trips when the timer is stopped, without asking for confirmation.
External GPS. This setting enables support for the DUAL XGPS150/160 (10Hz) over the internal GPS chip. The internal chip is limited to 1Hz (approximately once per second) which can be problematic in determining positioning very fast. Nevertheless, it may be useable, depending on your need for accuracy. I recommend purchasing the DUAL unit if you plan to measure acceleration or need a more pleasurable experience overall.
Auto City/Hwy. This mode will conveniently switch from City to Hwy mode when the vehicle speed is 20 units above the maximum city limit and to City when the speed drops below the minimum city limit.
Manual – you are here!
Have fun with the app. Comments or suggestions are appreciated.
Nicolas