rdale
EF5
Are you sure? It's no cost for me on Verizon. Are you using the newer data plans?
Tablets: a new era in chasing?
- Thread starter Brett Roberts
- Start date
chrisbray
EF4
I'll have to check. If so, That solves it. But I'm pretty sure with our basic data plan it costs extra
rdale
EF5
I think all the new Edge plans, even the cheap, include hot spot.
Marcus Diaz
EF5
If that's true, then that helps me. Although Ive been grandfathered in with Verizon since they bought out Alltel. The great part about that is the unlimited data. But my plan may considered too old to take advantage of free wifi hotspot.
rdale
EF5
Grandfathered plans rarely add features.
Marcus Diaz
EF5
That's what I figured. I ended up getting a Galaxy Tab 2 with AT&T data alongside my phone with Verizon unlimited. I'm hoping with this combo I won't have to worry as much about getting radar updates.
Brandon Jenkins
EF3
Still using a tablet setup here. 2013 made for my third chase season with an android tablet running pykl3/radarscope/gmaps. This was a much smoother year, I invested in a windshield mount that allows the tablet to rest just in front of the dash/radio controls and I had almost no connectivity issues with the bluetooth gps puck (after some software updates) as I had in prior years. I don't think I could ever go back to the laptop setup at this point but I have considered a surface pro. Right now everything is just running so well with the android tablet that I don't see the need to make the jump and pykl3 has seen some great improvements over the last year as far as features go that will probably keep me from making that leap.
BBauer
EF2
I have not messed around with it much yet but this allows you to cache the whole U.S. etc for offline use...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skobbler.forevermapng&hl=en
chrisbray
EF4
Rdale, we had a very minimal data package that is now outdated and were just forced to upgrade, which is a good thing actually because we now have 1 gig data per line instead of the 200mb we had before, and it comes with mobile hotspot free, and it actually is costing us LESS now. So, I am a go for that!
Any other useful apps for the iphone/pad while chasing, besides radarscope?
Any other useful apps for the iphone/pad while chasing, besides radarscope?
Tony Gilbert
EF1
Almost convinced in getting a 10 inch android tablet GPS enabled though my main concern is regarding the quality of PYKL3 radar? I am a great fan of GRLevel3 and prefer smooth mode when on Base Reflectivity. Now my chase partner last year had PYKL3 on a small android device and I just could not see any great detail in it? In fact couldn't see any smooth mode on BR and when zoomed in lost most of the resolution and looked really pixelated!
Now maybe the resolution is only as good as the device you are reading it on? What do you guys think....GRL3 on a Windows Tablet (more expensive) or PYKL3 on a cheaper 10 inch android tablet?
PS. Just to mention; Now whilst the 'Storm Chaser Handbook' (metaphor) says you lose detail in smoothed mode. Despite this when I peer in the window of fellow chasers cars their GRL3 is invariably if not always on smoothed mode. Pretty much a user friendly way of seeing storm evolution on radar if we can admit to this.
Now maybe the resolution is only as good as the device you are reading it on? What do you guys think....GRL3 on a Windows Tablet (more expensive) or PYKL3 on a cheaper 10 inch android tablet?
PS. Just to mention; Now whilst the 'Storm Chaser Handbook' (metaphor) says you lose detail in smoothed mode. Despite this when I peer in the window of fellow chasers cars their GRL3 is invariably if not always on smoothed mode. Pretty much a user friendly way of seeing storm evolution on radar if we can admit to this.
Brandon Jenkins
EF3
I chase with an android tablet paired to a bluetooth gps puck and tethered to a Verizon Mifi and have less issues than I did with my laptop. Pykl3 is a great app and has many of the features that make GR so desirable, however, smoothing is not one of them. Both pykl3 and radarscope have a more raw presentation, pykl3 offers smoothing but you'd be better of staying away from it as it tends to degrade the presentation of data imo. Radarscope tends to be slightly smoother and Pykl3 is more customizable for those of us who want to have more data readily available. But honestly, if you want the smoothing found in GR, stick with GR.
Tony Gilbert
EF1
Thanks for the advice. I've gone and taken the jump and ordered a basic GPS enabled android tablet via AMAZON. Now if I am not happy with the results then I suppose this can just remain back up. If I like it then I may purchase another as a Sat Nav . I hate switching between the two programs on one device whilst in the middle of a chase.
PS. Noticed a couple of high spec Netbooks now on the market with dedicated graphics cards built in. Though the prices ATM are through the roof and most have sold out!
BBauer
EF2
Big fan of Pykl3, I like Radarscope as well. I love the radar mosaic when you zoom out in Pykl3. It let's you find individual storms in the larger system a lot easier than randomly picking a radar. Also is nice to just be able to pull things back to see the bigger picture. The color table customization is awesome too.
You don't lose any data even if the image is not smoothed. In fact I think someone mentioned that you actually lose information with smoothing features. Raw data is good. Anyway, Radarscope does have superres when you choose WDT as the data source. However, the base velocity in Pykl3 is superres as well. Anyway, here is an example of a custom color table from TX tonight. I don't care much for the default color table.
You don't lose any data even if the image is not smoothed. In fact I think someone mentioned that you actually lose information with smoothing features. Raw data is good. Anyway, Radarscope does have superres when you choose WDT as the data source. However, the base velocity in Pykl3 is superres as well. Anyway, here is an example of a custom color table from TX tonight. I don't care much for the default color table.
Brett Roberts
EF5
Really considering something like the Surface Pro 2, or perhaps a cheaper but reasonably powerful Windows 8.1 tablet, for this season. It would be nice to finally ditch the laptop setup for good. It seems as though there are at least a handful of chasers who have done this already.
A few questions for those who have gone the Windows 8 tablet route:
- What is the most touch-friendly mapping software?
- Is GRLevelX truly usable with a touchscreen? The small icons concern me, particularly on high-PPI displays (e.g., 1080p at ~10"). I can envision fumbling for the play/pause or forward/backward buttons on a minimum-maintenance road getting frustrating quickly.
One thing is for sure: the state of tablets 2.5 years after starting this thread isn't where I'd hoped. Android and iOS offer much better app ecosystems for content consumption, but simply aren't proficient enough at heavy-duty multitasking for me to feel comfortable leaving my laptop at home. Windows 8.1 is wonderful in concept, but touch-friendly apps are still sorely lacking even after several years -- and even for fairly basic applications, in some cases.
A few questions for those who have gone the Windows 8 tablet route:
- What is the most touch-friendly mapping software?
- Is GRLevelX truly usable with a touchscreen? The small icons concern me, particularly on high-PPI displays (e.g., 1080p at ~10"). I can envision fumbling for the play/pause or forward/backward buttons on a minimum-maintenance road getting frustrating quickly.
One thing is for sure: the state of tablets 2.5 years after starting this thread isn't where I'd hoped. Android and iOS offer much better app ecosystems for content consumption, but simply aren't proficient enough at heavy-duty multitasking for me to feel comfortable leaving my laptop at home. Windows 8.1 is wonderful in concept, but touch-friendly apps are still sorely lacking even after several years -- and even for fairly basic applications, in some cases.
Justin Wilcox
EF2
Im on the same page. Ive been mulling over a new laptop or tablet for the past couple weeks. Last season I used my laptop, but added a cheap tablet on the dash for nav and useful travel apps. I loved having it. I rarely looked at my laptop. The problem was with the mount and how it sets. Its an Arkon window mount with an extended arm. It rests on the dash and every bump added to its demise. Ill be keeping an eye on this thread.
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