Screen will not show direction arrow

Support
1

Hi

I have two T-Beam TTGOs running EU865; 0.6.4 and the app using 0.6.6.
I cannot get them to revert to showing the direction arrows.
On restart, even with just one radio on, I get the Meshtastic logo then a screen with a small f (top LH corner), a message “connected to…” and below this three dots, the left one larger and brighter than the other two. This screen does not change unless I send a message.
Does anyone have this problem? Any advice much appreciated.

1 Like
2

Are you sure you have a good GPS fix? 15 minutes outside, with a clear view to the sky, should be enough for the first fix.

3

press the middle button to cycle between screens. No need to ever press the reset button.

4

also - if the arrow is continuously rotating it means either you or them does not have a GPS position. (We really should change it to an empty circle when you don’t have a position - someday).

On the last screen it will say GPS good or bad to indicate if you’ve got a GPS lock (also you can see the blinking red led through the plastic)

issue created:

5

Hi

Thanks for all your responses. Ah - I missed checking the middle button(!) and that works just as @geeksville described. Why I did not realise this before I do not know.
The arrow rotating - I did wonder if the unit has to be in a certain configuration for the arrow to point correctly? I have only just started to use the units and only in my garden so not long distances.

1 Like
6

The arrow should point to the other unit, but it only really works that way after you walk 20 meters or so - because it does dead-reckoning based on your movement to figure out which direction you are walking (so it can properly make the arrow orientation relative to your current direction).

7

Thanks - still trying to understand and appreciate your answers.
So I have a follow up - the radio sends out its position as a gps string. The second radio picks this up and therefore knows the first radio’s position. But it’s not a compass so has no N/S/E/W grid built in and therefore needs to establish it’s own position and direction. Hence if I had a compass and my radio displayed the lon/lat of the radios I could just use the compass bearing as a backup? Is that right?

8

you could. though the dead-reckoning works pretty well. It only needs a bit of movement from you to know which direction you are walking. Until then it really has no bearing to show the arrow in an intelligent way. Though I suppose someday we could put a “north up” option in, and if that option is set, it would just be showing the direction (without considering your orientation) towards the other person.

9

Thanks. Lockdown stops me viewing the arrow over a large distance but I will try it tomorrow now that I can always get to the arrow screen!
Separately I have done a report bug on the app for no other map source available. I can only see mapbox and if I click on the icon it just takes me to openstreetmaps.