A request

[Hawkmoon]

Does anyone have an older Android smart phone that has been retired and is just collecting dust, that they'd care to contribute to my indulging my curiosity? Needs to be Android version 4.0.3 or newer. If so, I would gladly pay shipping.

What's going on is that I'm trying to test out an app that supposedly offers a choice of portrait or landscape mode, and I can't get it into landscape mode. Having encountered that, I tried just turning my phone to landscape (which I have never had any reason to do), and ... nothing changed. Auto-rotate is turned on, so I'm chalking it up to a defective phone. (ZTE -- not exactly top of the line.) Consequently, I'd like to get my hands on another phone that I can play with just to test this app, but I don't want to go out and buy a phone that's only going to be used as a toy.

If'n you have something, please contact me by PM. Thanks.

[Perd Hapley]

No can do. I need that old phone to stream podcasts in the bathroom, while I'm getting ready for work.

[Scout26]

My old one bricked.  I'm pretty sure the non-removable battery died.  But it did last 5 years.

[AmbulanceDriver]

I'll look around in my electronics box and see if I can find one tonight.  And see if it'll power on.

[Hawkmoon]

Thanks.

If anyone is interested in turning their car into an erstwhile airplane, the app I'm playing with is A-EFIS https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.talosavionics.aefis&hl=en

EFIS is an acronym for Electronic Flight Information System. If everything is working, you could literally fly a small plane with just this app. However, my cheap Chinese smart phone isn't smart enough. When I fire up the app, it tells me that three internal sensors are missing. I can get some of the functions to work by switching them to GPS for their input source, but some of the functions don't work at all. I don't have a plane, so it's certainly not a priority, but it seems like such a nice app that I'm curious about how well it would perform with a more complete data set.

And, since I tinker with old Jeeps, it hasn't escaped my notice that this would be an easy fix for a vehicle with a non-functional speedometer.

Check it out if you're curious. It's available for Android (version 4.0.3 and better) and Apple (iOS version 8.0 minimum), but not for Windows. Which is a bummer, because I have two Windows tablets.

[Edit to add}The app is free to download, but the free version is in B&W, not full color.

[Perd Hapley]

And, since I tinker with old Jeeps, it hasn't escaped my notice that this would be an easy fix for a vehicle with a non-functional speedometer.

I've been using the Here WeGo app (map app) on my android phone, and it tracks your speed. I don't know if it's as accurate as what you're talking about, but just FYI.

[Hawkmoon]

Here WeGo looks like an okay app, but I didn't get the A-EFIS app for the speedometer. The purpose was to become passingly familiar with what a modern, glass cockpit looks like and works like in an aircraft. I can get a partial sense, but without all the functions functioning, it's not a good facsimile. Plus I can't compare the performance with my friend in Greece, because he's using it on a fairly new iPhone and he has all the functions activated.

I suspect the speed indication is equally accurate for any app. The app I'm using is getting it from GPS, and your app is getting it from GPS.

[Edit to add] One peculiarity of relying entirely on GPS for the readouts is the compass. As long as my car is moving, I get a reading that shows my heading. When I stop -- like at a stop sign or traffic light -- GPS can no longer calculate what direction I'm going, so the readout zeros itself to north and stays there until I'm in motion again.

[Perd Hapley]

Here WeGo looks like an okay app, but I didn't get the A-EFIS app for the speedometer. The purpose was to become passingly familiar with what a modern, glass cockpit looks like and works like in an aircraft. I can get a partial sense, but without all the functions functioning, it's not a good facsimile. Plus I can't compare the performance with my friend in Greece, because he's using it on a fairly new iPhone and he has all the functions activated.

But I thought it would turn my car into a plane.

[AmbulanceDriver]

Yeah, the only old android phone I have is deader than a door nail...    :(

[Hawkmoon]

But I thought it would turn my car into a plane.

No, it doesn't turn your car into an aeroplane, but it makes you think you're a low-altitude pilot.

Solution is at hand -- the guy in Greece who got me into this has an older Samsung tablet computer that he doesn't use, so he's sending it to me. That's very kind of him. I launched into the obligatory "Aw, you didn't have to do that" speech, at which point he reminded me that his first tablet was one that I sent him. So, we're square (except that I'm sure the one he's sending me is better than the one I sent him).

[Perd Hapley]

No, it doesn't turn your car into an aeroplane, but it makes you think you're a low-altitude pilot.

Ah, but I already think I'm a low-altitude pilot.

No, it doesn't turn your car into an aeroplane, but it makes you think you're a low-altitude pilot.

Solution is at hand -- the guy in Greece who got me into this has an older Samsung tablet computer that he doesn't use, so he's sending it to me. That's very kind of him. I launched into the obligatory "Aw, you didn't have to do that" speech, at which point he reminded me that his first tablet was one that I sent him. So, we're square (except that I'm sure the one he's sending me is better than the one I sent him).

Is that the guy who runs that 1911 site? (Can't remember which one.)

[Hawkmoon]

Is that the guy who runs that 1911 site? (Can't remember which one.)

www.m1911.org

Nope -- different person. The owner of M1911.org is in Athens. The would-be pilot is in (on) Crete.