Configure Traccar app for ERTRAK map

Now, looking at your smartphone, identify that circled icon on your smartphone.  It's a button that enables scanning of the QR code to grab and set up all of the settings.

Orient the smartphone so the front camera is aimed at the QR code you created, and tap the QR code/button.

Allow the use of the camera if prompted.

The QR scanner does it's thing very quickly in most cases. eg: if you are pointing the camera at the QR code when you click the button, it may seem to flash briefly and not appear to have done anything, but, it probably actually has done the task of seeing the QR code, getting the details, and applying them to your Traccar app's settings.

If all goes well, you now have all of the settings configured, but, your phone probably did not grant 'always' access to the location provider on your phone.  Please go into the phone's settings for the app, and ensure the app has 'always' access to the highest type of accuracy available.

Also ensure the app is not being 'battery optimized' in any way, and ensure it is allowed to also use your data service, and allowed to run in the background.

If you want to check that the settings have in fact been captured, check the settings yourself:

Device Identifier:  the phone number you provided when you registered as volunteer. Must be numbers & dashes like this: 123-456-7890

Server URL – https://traccar.ertrak.uk

Location Accuracy – High

Distance – 5  measured in meters – While you are moving, Traccar will beacon every time this distance is travelled since the last beacon, at most, at the 'fastest interval time' (in the advanced settings section).

Stationary heartbeat – 120 - in seconds (2 minutes) - how often Traccar beacons your location while you are stationary. You may beacon more often if you wish. Just keep in mind, beaconing more frequently, the faster your cell phone battery will diminish.

In the 'advanced settings', depending on whether you’re using IOS or Android, you may have these to configure:

Fastest interval - set it to 6 (seconds) (this is the most often it will report location regardless of how far or how fast you are moving).

Offline Buffering – set it to disabled.

Wake Lock – set it to be enabled.

Stop detection - set it to disabled

Depending on which type of smartphone you have, there are settings that you should adjust or allow so that the app can run continuously without stopping.

Examine the appropriate PDF below for the type of smartphone you have, for information on those settings that need to be adjusted:

Additional information (PDF) specific to Apple smartphones

Additional information (PDF) specific to Android smartphones

Trust but verify

My experience with the latest version of Traccar Client is that it's good about being configured and saving the settings.  But, it's always good to verify.  So:

Having set the configuration details on the traccar app, close the Traccar app.  Reopen Traccar, and verify the settings are good.  If you find something did not 'stick', make any changes needed and repeat the close, open & verify until those settings are confirmed.

In the week or so before the day of the event, I suggest you do some long term use testing of how traccar does on your phone, so that you'll understand what sort of battery drain results from it's use, and, confirm that the tracking aspect is reliable (or not).  This will give you a chance to tweak your phone settings to help it be reliable.  

For most, it should not be a huge battery power drain, particularly if the settings are set as mentioned above, as it's periodically reporting your location.

Note also: depending on your role in the event, you may be asked to alter the settings of the traccar app to provide a more suitable balance between updates when stationary vs moving.

See 'HOW TO USE THE ERTRAK MAP' section (below) for information on how to verify that your smartphone is showing up on the map for the event.  You'll need to get the link to the map from the per-event instructions, and also any needed login name & password details, but otherwise, the information below is pretty generic and applies to all ERTRAK-supported events.

I can not stress enough how important it is that the traccar app be set up and tested *days ahead of the event* instead of the morning of the event.

On the day of the event, and, during testing, it's important to make sure that you understand that your phone needs to have a good view of the sky, to get a good GPS location signal, and, to make sure it has a good data connection available too!

Before you enable the traccar app 'service' (reporting of your location), I recommend you *disable WI-FI* if that's possible.

You might also have some permissions that need to be adjusted to:

• always allow access to your location details

• always allow data access

• always allow running in the background

If you find that your phone does not consistently provide location updates, there is a good probability that some of the permissions mentioned above have not been allowed.  Please check your settings.

Generally speaking, it's fine to not have the app visible all the time, but, leave it open.  Do *not* 'swipe it away', as this will close the app, and may cause it to stop reporting your location.

You are now done with installing and setting up the Traccar app.  You can turn the 'service' on, or leave it off.  But, remember, do test for an extended period of time to make sure there are no issues with the app being shut down unexpectedly.

HOW TO USE THE ERTRAK MAP:

Note: use the latest versions of Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox or Apple’s Safari.  Older browsers such as Internet Explorer are too old. 

Open the map using the URL that is appropriate for the event.

IF you were provided login name & password, this can be supplied in the '??' dialog, and if you click the 'Auth' button, and get a green 'tick' indicator, this confirms that you have authenticated, and you should not need to repeat this when reopening the same browser to the map in future.

Suggestion: Bookmark and/or create a shortcut to the map so it’s easy to get to when you need it. 

Now comes the familiarization with the map:  This can take up to 10-15 minutes because there are several options as to how much you can choose to view or not view.

As soon as you open the map the first time, you’ll see a map, often with some default selections regarding display of course overlays.

Arrows on the course routes show the direction of competitor travel to get to the finish line.

Icons near the top left of the map:

+       Zoom In

-        Zoom Out

LS    LAYER SELECT

SS   STATION SEARCH

{magnifying glass icon}  Street Search

??    Extra options

Click on each of the buttons to familiarize yourself with them.

Setting up the map to show information is your personal preference.  There is No right or wrong way.  Most of the display option settings will be saved across re-opening of the map.

LS – Layers Select – This has options that control the appearance of the map (base layer), and which event-specific details (eg: routes, distance markers, rest stops), and tracked resources are shown on the map.  Many may find Bing Road their favorite, but the ‘Bing Gray’ option is also great for making the event-specific details stand out from the base map.

SS – Station Search - Looking for or Following a Particular Person…such as yourself or all the Motor Marshals, or all the SAGs or all those moving.  Supply a partial match to see a list.  Click on the item in the list, and the map will reposition to center that resource to help you find it.

Search for a particular address or location…such as an accident scene, intersection, or

     identfy the location of a disabled bicylist.  Ideal for Net Control and First Responders. Note: the search radius is restricted to the area shown on the map.  Zoom out to expand the search radius if needed.

?? – Rotate map, text, follow yourself.  For those with a login name & password, that is entered on this pane too.

How to see yourself and control which other tracked resources are visible on the map:

Open the LS (Layer Select) pane.  Enable the ‘trackers’ checkbox (without this enabled, no tracked resources will be shown).  

Under ‘Tracker Groups’ you’ll find a list of various types of resources.  If you leave all of them un-checked, you will see *all* resources.  If you only want to see a particular group or groups, check only those groups of interest, and this will limit the shown tracked resources to those within the groups you have checked.  This filtering applies also to the resources that will show up in the Station Search (SS) results.

NEXRAD – Shows Weather on the MAP…zoom out to see if inclement weather is hours away, minutes away, or nothing but blue sky.

Icons or labels too big or small?  Adjust them using the ‘Tkr icon’, ‘Tkr label’, and ‘Fixed size’ sliders.  ‘Fixed size’ adjusts the size of the markers like rest stops (ie: fixed-location markers).

If you follow our suggestions and you’re using a smartphone, you’ll have TWO new items on your phone…the Traccar app, which will run in the background, still allowing you full use of your phone and other apps, and the MAP icon.

At the start of each day of the event:

-          turn OFF WI-FI (unless you are using a hotspot for data) to minimize the possibility of approximate location details being obtained via WI-FI SSID sniffing.

-          open the Traccar app, and ensure the ‘service’ is enabled.  Leave Traccar open and enabled the entire time, unless instructed otherwise.

At the end of each day, you are welcome to disable the Traccar ‘service’ and close the app, and of course, enable WI-FI if needed.

Ensure your phone has granted permissions to the app to use the GPS/location service & use the phone’s data, and allows Traccar always run in the background. If you have these settings incorrect, Traccar may initially seem to work fine, but over time, stop beaconing your location.  Check your phone’s permissions settings and then stop the service, close the Traccar app, reopen the Traccar app, and re-enable the ‘service’ to re-start it.  If you are given options on how long to allow the permissions, always choose the ‘always’ option!

The Traccar app: this needs to always be running.  The Traccar app, by itself, does not use a lot of power.  It’s only using your device’s GPS and small amounts of data.

The map: this consumes a much larger amount of data and battery power.  It retrieves imagery for the map base layer as well as icons, and, the stream of data describing movement of tracked resources.  I recommend only using the map when it’s needed unless you have an external power source available.

After the event is complete, you are welcome to stop the Traccar ‘service’, and uninstall the app entirely, and delete the link/shortcut to the map.