The 2012 Scooter Cannonball will have a few different ways for fans to track the progress of the riders. Each rider will have their choice of how to check in with the tracking providers if they choose to do so. My plan is to use the MotionX-GPS app with my iPhone. The app will send an email to the tracking server that will then provide the information to the general public. To that end, I decided to see if the iPhone’s battery would have enough power to send an email every 15 minutes over the course of an expected ride day. Sadly, the answer is no. A fully charged battery only provided 8 1/2 hours of email tracking with a couple of calls thrown in before the battery was completely drained. To finish within that time frame will require an average speed of 40-45 mph, which includes time stopped refueling, but allowing no extra time for “issues”. So, now the quest begins for increasing battery life. The electrical system on the scooter really doesn’t lend itself to extra accessories (cell phone chargers etc.) and I feel I’m pressing my luck with the GPS power supply. So, it looks like finding an external battery. I could also try a different app, but the most popular alternative one is too “Big Brother” like for me. At least there is still time to get this sorted.
Tracking Test Results
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Hey John,
What about something like a “Morphie Juice Pack Air” (or something similar) for your iPhone. Doesn’t take up a lot of extra room or weight, and would give you more power to send out those MotionX (I like, and use, the Motion X “Drive” app) reports.
http://www.mophie.com/mophie-juice-pack-air-iPhone-4-4s-battery-case-p/1145_jpa-ip4-blk.htm?gclid=CIHX_c-R-64CFSQZQgod2WHowg
That could be a winner, just need to get more details on how it works.
Good tip-on order.
Hope it works well for you!
Don’t they have a solar recharger that works with iphones? I recall something advertised on late night television. You could mount the solar panel on your helmet.
I’d consider a solar panel except it would probably function as a lightning rod instead, which would fry both the phone and the rider.