Power Conservation

KayakNav needs to run on your device continuously in order to provide Navigation and Mapping of your Route using the Device Hardware. In order to maximise operating time, a number of power conservation measures are included:

• Swipe left or right repeatedly on the Compass to change the screen brightness. You should set the minimum brightness that allows you to use the App. The display back-light consumes a significant portion of your battery capacity. The screen dims by 5% each swipe. Brightness is remembered when app is started and restored when closed.
• Note that while KayakNav is running, the screen saver will be disabled. This ensures that the map is display for the duration of your paddle and is not blanked out after a couple of minutes.
• Screen updates are minimised by only changing the map and data shown in Info Cells when:
  • A significant change in location has occurred.
  • The Map needs to be rotated, panned or zooms more that preset values. It updates every 3 sec to ensure the location of the Animated Paddler Icon is updated.
  • Data for the Info Cells changes and 2 sec has elapsed.
• The GPS hardware is turned off when KayakNav determines that you have a long straight path to follow and you are on track. The compass is left switched on and the course plotted assuming a constant speed. When you approach the next Waypoint the GPS is powered up and your position updated. If other Apps are using the GPS in the background, it will still remain active for them.
• The memory footprint is minimised by only loading sufficient Waypoint data from the database to plot details on the visible portion of the map. It is also minimised by storing logging data directly into the database and releasing memory as soon as practical.
• The CPU loading is minimised by pre-calculating Route data and only performing updates when other activity is required.
• If subsystems like the GPS, Compass, Accelerometer, Blue Tooth are not being used, they are powered down wherever possible.
• Statistics are cached in memory and only updated to the Statistics Database and to the displayed Info Cells when a display refresh occurs.
• Navigation calculations are cached in memory and Info Cells reporting this data are only updated on a display refresh cycle.
• Display refreshes are delayed until triggered by significant changes in location, bearing or zoom. This has a significant impact of improving battery life.

For long paddles such as the overnight Hawkesbury Canoe Classic, please see KayakNav Device Installation for tips on external batteries and waterproofing.