Support for Tempo Disc 4 in 1

Started by dm413-om, February 10, 2021, 06:41:47 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Barbances

Quote from: dm413-om on May 10, 2021, 04:12:50 AM
Here is a brief summary of where I think things stand. This is based on this thread, the thread in topic 29156 (using google translate to translate from the original Spanish), and my own experience.

OruxMaps originally supported the 2-sensor (temperature and humidity but not pressure) version of the Tempo Disc device. In early 2020 the author worked on the 3-sensor version of the device, and may have had it working in beta versions of OruxMaps.

There is no indication that this support has made it into the regular (non-beta) version, but I don't really know. It doesn't work for me.

There is also no indication that the pressure is being used for elevation.

Having used the Tempo Disc device (the 3 sensor version) for a while now, my own opinion is that integrating the temperature, humidity, and pressure into the dashboard and trip computer is an overrated feature. This provides no information that you cannot get from the Tempo Plus app. You will want to have the Tempo Plus app installed on your phone anyway, as it gives you the ability to configure the device (change the logging sample rate), download logged data as CSV files, etc. If you want to see the current values it is as easy to switch to the Tempo Plus app as it is to pull up the dashboard or trip computer in OruxMaps.

The temperature data from the sensor is not accurate if you are hiking or biking or doing other outdoor activities. If you carry the device in your pocket, it is affected by your body temperature. If you carry it in a backpack, the sun will heat up your pack and give you inaccurate measurements. On overcast days and at night it does well, but with any sun it reads very high. This is not unique to the Tempo Disc devices, all temperature sensors have this problem. Ideally you would suspend the sensor in a place where it is shaded from the sun but gets plenty of air circulation. That is hard to do if you are hiking or biking.

For me, the real advantage of integrating this device with OruxMaps would be if it was used for elevation data. I have used the GPXAnalyzer program to do this, and the resulting elevation profile is significantly better than raw GPS elevations, and the resulting calculation of CEG (Cumulative Elevation Gain) is much improved.

I have changed the Tempo Disc sample rate to every 10 seconds, and that works well for hiking. That is about the best you can do with the Tempo Disc device -- you might be able to get it to work at 6 or 7 second intervals, but I know it cannot keep up with a 5 second sample interval. The minimum sample period "spec" is 1 minute, the Blue Maestro support people have told me they have used 20 seconds, but my own testing shows 10 second intervals works fine. At this sample rate the battery life is drastically reduced, about 1 month of continuous use instead of 1 year. But I turn the device off when I am not using it and that solves the battery life problem.

Hola, para lo que quieras darle utilidad tú al tempo disc en oruxmaps es asunto tuyo. Yo lo consigo vincular de la siguiente forma: Tengo la última versión  de orusmaps GP. 1: Voy a configuración general. 2; sensores y en sensores hay una opción que pone tempo disc sensor. 3: presionas en tempo disc sensor y te dice que necesita abrir el Bluetooth.4: enciendes el Bluetooth y empieza a buscar dispositivos, el mio empieza por f7: etc,. 5: Al tenerlo localizado, abres computadora de viaje ( que necesitas tener la ubicación activada ).6: presionas  un parámetro y se te abren una multitud de parámetros, escoges  temperatura con Bluetooth, luego presionas otro y escoges barómetro con Bluetooth, luego otro, higrometro con Bluetooth. 7: sales de computadora de viaje y activas en la parte de arriba de la pantalla sensores, donde pone TEMPO DISC SENSOR.8. Y por último  abres computadora de viaje y vas a ver los datos en los parámetros que activaste anteriormente, un saludo.



Barbances

Quote from: Barbances on May 10, 2021, 05:24:06 AM
Quote from: dm413-om on May 10, 2021, 04:12:50 AM
Here is a brief summary of where I think things stand. This is based on this thread, the thread in topic 29156 (using google translate to translate from the original Spanish), and my own experience.

OruxMaps originally supported the 2-sensor (temperature and humidity but not pressure) version of the Tempo Disc device. In early 2020 the author worked on the 3-sensor version of the device, and may have had it working in beta versions of OruxMaps.

There is no indication that this support has made it into the regular (non-beta) version, but I don't really know. It doesn't work for me.

There is also no indication that the pressure is being used for elevation.

Having used the Tempo Disc device (the 3 sensor version) for a while now, my own opinion is that integrating the temperature, humidity, and pressure into the dashboard and trip computer is an overrated feature. This provides no information that you cannot get from the Tempo Plus app. You will want to have the Tempo Plus app installed on your phone anyway, as it gives you the ability to configure the device (change the logging sample rate), download logged data as CSV files, etc. If you want to see the current values it is as easy to switch to the Tempo Plus app as it is to pull up the dashboard or trip computer in OruxMaps.

The temperature data from the sensor is not accurate if you are hiking or biking or doing other outdoor activities. If you carry the device in your pocket, it is affected by your body temperature. If you carry it in a backpack, the sun will heat up your pack and give you inaccurate measurements. On overcast days and at night it does well, but with any sun it reads very high. This is not unique to the Tempo Disc devices, all temperature sensors have this problem. Ideally you would suspend the sensor in a place where it is shaded from the sun but gets plenty of air circulation. That is hard to do if you are hiking or biking.

For me, the real advantage of integrating this device with OruxMaps would be if it was used for elevation data. I have used the GPXAnalyzer program to do this, and the resulting elevation profile is significantly better than raw GPS elevations, and the resulting calculation of CEG (Cumulative Elevation Gain) is much improved.

I have changed the Tempo Disc sample rate to every 10 seconds, and that works well for hiking. That is about the best you can do with the Tempo Disc device -- you might be able to get it to work at 6 or 7 second intervals, but I know it cannot keep up with a 5 second sample interval. The minimum sample period "spec" is 1 minute, the Blue Maestro support people have told me they have used 20 seconds, but my own testing shows 10 second intervals works fine. At this sample rate the battery life is drastically reduced, about 1 month of continuous use instead of 1 year. But I turn the device off when I am not using it and that solves the battery life problem.

Hola, para lo que quieras darle utilidad tú al tempo disc en oruxmaps es asunto tuyo. Yo lo consigo vincular de la siguiente forma: Tengo la última versión  de orusmaps GP. 1: Voy a configuración general. 2; sensores y en sensores hay una opción que pone tempo disc sensor. 3: presionas en tempo disc sensor y te dice que necesita abrir el Bluetooth.4: enciendes el Bluetooth y empieza a buscar dispositivos, el mio empieza por f7: etc,. 5: Al tenerlo localizado, abres computadora de viaje ( que necesitas tener la ubicación activada ).6: presionas  un parámetro y se te abren una multitud de parámetros, escoges  temperatura con Bluetooth, luego presionas otro y escoges barómetro con Bluetooth, luego otro, higrometro con Bluetooth. 7: sales de computadora de viaje y activas en la parte de arriba de la pantalla sensores, donde pone TEMPO DISC SENSOR.8. Y por último  abres computadora de viaje y vas a ver los datos en los parámetros que activaste anteriormente, un saludo.

dm413-om

Quote from: Barbances on May 10, 2021, 05:24:06 AM
Hola, para lo que quieras darle utilidad tú al tempo disc en oruxmaps es asunto tuyo. Yo lo consigo vincular de la siguiente forma: Tengo la última versión  de orusmaps GP. 1: Voy a configuración general. 2; sensores y en sensores hay una opción que pone tempo disc sensor. 3: presionas en tempo disc sensor y te dice que necesita abrir el Bluetooth.4: enciendes el Bluetooth y empieza a buscar dispositivos, el mio empieza por f7: etc,. 5: Al tenerlo localizado, abres computadora de viaje ( que necesitas tener la ubicación activada ).6: presionas  un parámetro y se te abren una multitud de parámetros, escoges  temperatura con Bluetooth, luego presionas otro y escoges barómetro con Bluetooth, luego otro, higrometro con Bluetooth. 7: sales de computadora de viaje y activas en la parte de arriba de la pantalla sensores, donde pone TEMPO DISC SENSOR.8. Y por último  abres computadora de viaje y vas a ver los datos en los parámetros que activaste anteriormente, un saludo.

(Google translate): Hello, whatever you want to use the tempo disc in oruxmaps for is your business. I can link it in the following way: I have the latest version of orusmaps GP. 1: I go to general settings. two; sensors and in sensors there is an option that puts tempo disc sensor. 3: you press on tempo disc sensor and it tells you that it needs to open Bluetooth. 4: you turn on Bluetooth and it starts searching for devices, mine starts with f7: etc ,. 5: When you have it located, you open the trip computer (you need to have the location activated). 6: you press a parameter and a multitude of parameters are opened, choose temperature with Bluetooth, then press another and choose barometer with Bluetooth, then another, hygrometer with Bluetooth. 7: you exit the trip computer and activate the sensors at the top of the screen, where it says TEMPO DISC SENSOR. 8.And finally, you open the trip computer and you will see the data in the parameters that you activated previously, a greeting.

Success!
Thanks for your help Barbances.

For others:

I upgraded to OruxMaps version 8.1.8 GP (from 8.1.6 GP back in February when I started this thread). This version fixes the problems with the Tempo Disc sensor. It also explicitly mentions the Tempo Disc BT sensor when setting up Dashboard and Trip computer controls that display values from the TD sensor. There is nothing in the Change Log about the TD sensor, but this version has clearly addressed issues with this device.

The temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure can be displayed in the dashboard and/or the trip computer. It appears that these are only displayed when you have track logging enabled, so if you don't see any values, start track logging.

The pressure is used as an altimeter to set the altitude. The altitude (elevation) in the exported GPX file looks to be based on the barometer, as it is much smoother than GPS based elevation.

The exported GPX file also contains the temperature data from the sensor.

The barometric altitude appears to be calibrated to the GPS altitude. There is no description of how calibration is done, or how frequently the elevation is recalibrated. Looking at the OruxMaps elevation compared to how GPXAnalyzer does it, they are very similar. There are small differences, particularly at the beginning of the track where OruxMaps is presumably calibrating the altitude. It's possible OruxMaps is doing some additional smoothing -- it's hard to tell just by looking at the output.

Here is how I configured it:

More (vertical three dots) > Global settings >
    Sensors > Tempo Disc Sensor > Tempo Disc Sensor Device Mac
        This will list all Bluetooth devices it sees. Select your TD device.
        Note that you don't really "pair" with the device. The TD broadcasts its data over Bluetooth. This allows multiple devices and multiple apps to acquire the data.
    Sensors > GPS
        Check Barometer for elevation
        Check Barometer autocalibration
        Set Barometer autocalibration method to GPS
    User Interface > Dashboard > Dashboard controls
        Configure what you want to see in dashboard. For example:
            Altitude (GPS)
            Altitude (Barometer)    - This is the altitude based on pressure.
            Relative Humidity BT    \
            Temperature BT            > These are the TD sensor values
            Barometer BT              /

More > Tools > Trip computer
    Long press on any cell to change what displays in that cell. Same options as under dashboard.

Tracks (squiggly line icon in top navigation drawer) > Sensors > Start Tempo Disc BT
    This "connects" Oruxmaps and the sensor.
    Depending on your settings, this may get turned on automatically when you start a track log or when you enable GPS tracking.
    If it's already on, it will say "Stop Tempo Disc BT".

Another way: hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) > Sensors > Tempo Disc Sensor
    Clicking it toggles the TD sensor on or off, but there is no way from this menu item to tell what the current state is or which way you're actually setting it.
    When you click it you do get a status message at the bottom telling you what you did.

Another status summary:

With the latest version (8.1.8 GP), the Tempo Disc sensor is integrated into Oruxmaps. The sensor is an inexpensive addition to Oruxmaps that significantly improves GPS performance on your phone if your phone does not have an integrated barometer.

The pressure sensor is used as an altimeter for significantly improved elevation data. This yields much better calculation of CEG (Cumulative Elevation Gain).

The exported GPX file contains the improved elevation data, and also the temperature data from the TD sensor.

The temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, and elevation based on pressure can all be displayed in the dashboard and/or trip computer. For me this is of limited usefulness (as described previously), but it's there if you want it. Note that the temperature data is very inaccurate if you carry the sensor in your pocket or pack (a problem common to all temperature sensors).

The TD device not only transmits data, but it also logs the data in a 6000 element buffer. This can be useful if you want to leave it somewhere to capture weather data. It's not waterproof, so you will need to shield it from rain. Blue Maestro does make a waterproof temperature sensor, but making a relative humidity sensor waterproof kind of defeats the purpose.

In the US, you can buy this sensor directly from Blue Maestro (https://bluemaestro.com/products/tempo-disc-bluetooth-temperature-humidity-pressure-sensor-beacon-logger) for $41.40 (plus shipping), or from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Tempo-Disc-Thermometer-Hygrometer-Configurable/dp/B07L996WFB/) for 45.99 (free shipping). The Blue Maestro site has some add-ons such as the silicone holder and the keyring that you cannot find on amazon, and they do offer free shipping for orders > $100.