Using i-phone for a flashlight

[Pete4638]

A lot of my friends either have a dedicated GPS mounted on their bikes or at least in their luggage, just in case they need it. I know more than a few motorcyclists who have run out of gas, in the middle of nowhere, because they were lost or had underestimated how far it was to the next gas station. We have GPS's in all of our SUV's. I really do need to pick up one and leave it on my Harley. A GPS is a bit like a parachute or a gun, you don't need it often, but when you need it, you REALLY NEED IT!

Pete

From a paranoid survivalist point of view, it might be a good idea to have a traditional compass and maps on paper in your vehicle. I don't have those, but just saying.

Developing a habit of always knowing the road number or street name you're currently traveling on is always good, and even more important when you need to navigate by traditional means. Plus this not only helps to avoid getting lost. It might sometimes be difficult to tell your exact location on a road you have travelled thousands or times. Been there... You might be the first one to arrive on a road accident scene, you might be even involved in the accident and still the only one to make the emergency call. Map and spatial awareness is probably more importantat than first aid skills. There could be other emergency situations where knowing(or at least being able to explain) where you are comes in handy. All this without relying on GPS or any electronics (other than a phone in case of an emergency call). Don't rely on GPS for navigation.

Most people are going to anyway, so... Never rely on unreliable and poor forms of GPS such as smartphones. This is analogous to not relying on smartphones or bic lighters for illumination. If you want to have somewhat reliable GPS with you, buy a field GPS device. A very basic model will do. Those are very rugged and reliable, even crash survivable when compared to cellphones. They are also way more accurate, better performing and faster than cellphone GPS chips. AA powered is fine, and lithium primary AA's recommended if rarely used. Maybe NiMH LSD if it's more a tool than backup emergency gear.

 

[more_vampires]

I have been considering mounting a GPS on my bike. For the most part, I know the roads that I am riding on, only getting really lost a couple of times a year.

Garmin makes some great detachable units. You can mark where you parked, get lost, then backtrack to the bike. It recharges while docked to be bike. This is extremely popular in the sport "adventure" touring crowd. As it's got the maps already, a bit of signal loss doesn't mess with it much.

With cell phone GPS, no cell signal = no gps, no maps, no nothing. I've been out in the boonies like this with a cell GPS before. It's a nice comparison to a dedicated unit like the Garmins, but no real substitute for the real thing.

 

[reppans]

With cell phone GPS, no cell signal = no gps, no maps, no nothing. I've been out in the boonies like this with a cell GPS before. It's a nice comparison to a dedicated unit like the Garmins, but no real substitute for the real thing.

Well.... not really, it's pretty easy to set an iPhone up as a stand-alone GPS with no cell service (you know me - Mr. Hack ). Not sure how well it works on a motorcycle at speed through the mountains of NC though. I've been using a Garmin 60csx on a RAM mount on my bike for about a decade (also for kayaking w/marine maps and backpacking w/topo maps) - I love it. Came in handy on the Blue Ridge Parkway when we got caught in a crazy thick fog riding through the Smokies... basically let us know if the dang road was curving left or right - you shouldn't "rely" on it for that, of course, but fortunately it was dead accurate (least for that road). Got another Smokies trip planned for spring .

 

[more_vampires]

I liked your story. It makes me wonder if we all need "Foward Looking Infra Red" (FLIR) gear when adventuring.

Snow here. All I can do is dream about riding.

 

[Pete4638]

The Blue Ridge Parkway is famous for its fog-outs. Once it closes in on you, with so few roads that intersect the parkway, you can be in for a long and stressful ride until you can get to a lower elevation and the fog clears. I know a guy who rides a BMW who ended up camping out at an overlook one night because the fog was so thick that he could not see ten feet in front of his bike. I have been on mountain roads in the fog where you could not anything on either side of the road. Sometimes you ride break through it as the elevation changes, sometimes you don't.

Pete

Well.... not really, it's pretty easy to set an iPhone up as a stand-alone GPS with no cell service (you know me - Mr. Hack ). Not sure how well it works on a motorcycle at speed through the mountains of NC though. I've been using a Garmin 60csx on a RAM mount on my bike for about a decade (also for kayaking w/marine maps and backpacking w/topo maps) - I love it. Came in handy on the Blue Ridge Parkway when we got caught in a crazy thick fog riding through the Smokies... basically let us know if the dang road was curving left or right - you shouldn't "rely" on it for that, of course, but fortunately it was dead accurate (least for that road). Got another Smokies trip planned for spring .

 

[more_vampires]

I just put aspherics on an iPhone and did a side by side with a Sipik 68. iPhone had a slightly tighter throw, but Sipik won in throw distance in a darkened warehouse lair. It was obvious at 30 yards. Sipik was brighter, wider, and longer range.

Food for thought? Victory, Sipik 68.

Looking for Software current boost hack as "camera flash" mode is brighter than flashlight mode.

 

[Mr Floppy]

Looking for Software current boost hack as "camera flash" mode is brighter than flashlight mode.

Yes but the PWM is horrible ... this is how I used to do it with the Nokias ...

There is a good reason as to why flashlight mode isn't as bright though. MY SGS2 was much brighter than my current 4S but using the flashlight mode made the area around the LED quite hot. I think Apple may have tweaked it to make it stay within operating conditions.

I think the LED has changes quite a bit with various iPhone generations. The 4 was neutral than the 4S which is quite cool in comparison. The 6, seems back to the neutral.

Nice idea about the lens though. Got a few laser collimator lens I might try

 

[more_vampires]

I held them up to the LED at first, to get a guestimate of focal length. A bit of rolled up cardboard and some clear tape was enough for proof of concept.

...and yes, it totally wrecks the form factor. Not the point, though. Next is to figure out auxiliary heat sinking or active cooling with an aux fan or something.