I've used my cell phone WiFi hotspot to support Network RTK before, but the battery on the cell phone does not last long when the WiFi is on. Maybe 2 or 3 hours.
I'm seeing these small external battery packs on the web that claim to be the equivalent of of 4 charges to your phone. Anyone try one?
What about plugging the phone into the USB port on the DC, direct tethering? Is it possible to get the internet to the DC that way, without the battery draining WiFi?
I have a Sumsung Galaxy SII with a Ranger 3L.
Thanks.
not sure if they make one for that phone, but an extended battery kit fixed my problems. it makes the phone bigger but not enough to bother me.
Mophie makes phone cases that have an extended battery built in as well as stand alone external batteries. The smaller externals are about the size of a hot spot and have a built-in usb micro cable to hook directly to a phone or hotspot and should roughly double your run time.
The external battery that I use with my WiFi Hot spot that is roughly 2"x4"x.75" (about the size of a small phone but twice as thick) and has a capacity of 6000mAh. The WiFi hotspot has a 1500mAh internal battery and will run 4 hours on its own then I can quick charge it from the high output ports on the Mophie while I eat lunch or just cable them together and keep working if need be.
The smaller externals are more convenient from a size and weight perspective if you're primarily going to use it as a hotspot or phone extender to get you through the day. The larger capacity devices are often a better buy in terms of $ per mAh and more useful if you need to charge multiple devices simultaneously (tablet and hotspot for example).
I was thinking about just getting one of those SECO cell phone holders and putting the phone and external battery on the rod, so that it's not carried on my person. Besides ... I had a real bad problem with walking away from the rod to get a tool and taking the hotspot with me, so when I returned to the rod it had lost it's connection ... 😛 Keeping the two together would solve that problem.
I plugged by cellphone USB into my Nomad USB to see what would happen, and it looks like the phone will actually try to charge from the Nomad battery ... not sure how long that would hold up, though, before it kills the Nomad battery. Unfortunately, the Nomad (Windows 5.x.x) did not recognize the Samsung Galaxy, so I could not establish direct tethering. Perhaps when I get the Ranger 3L in my hands, it will have a newer Windows that will allow for USB teething, and battery life won't be a problem ...
Does your battery last longer if you use a cellular connection to the RTN and a Bluetooth connection to your GPS receiver?
I thought about that, but I'm not sure I can double up on bluetooth, and I use the bluetooth connection from the GPS the DC, so I don't think I can also bluetooth DC to phone. But yes, it's my understanding that using bluetooth does drain the battery a lot slower than WiFi, so there may be an option there.
I am pretty sure you can connect the cell phone via Bluetooth to your DC and still maintain the Bluetooth connection between the DC and receiver.
It is worth a try.
This one allows several charges for my Samsung Note 2.
I am running the same basic setup that you have with the wifi connection to a TSC3. It is a little bulky but it does the job.
