Avare-New free Android VFR GPS app

Update to v2.3.1 - Re: Avare-New free Android VFR GPS app

Version 2.3.1 is now on the Play store, and is worth a moment to update. There were so many problems with serving charts on SourceForge, Zubair has bought a hosting site and pointed the app there for chart Downloads. If you have any problems with charts, Update and then use the Downloads button in Avare to get them again because the new chart host is much faster and more reliable. Several other minor improvements and a few minor bug fixes are in this release too.
 
Re: Update to v2.3.1 - Re: Avare-New free Android VFR GPS app

JohnSBA said:
Version 2.3.1 is now on the Play store, and is worth a moment to update. There were so many problems with serving charts on SourceForge, Zubair has bought a hosting site and pointed the app there for chart Downloads. If you have any problems with charts, Update and then use the Downloads button in Avare to get them again because the new chart host is much faster and more reliable. Several other minor improvements and a few minor bug fixes are in this release too.
Click to expand...

I'd be interested in helping out with this, John. Do you happen to have any contact information for Zubair so that I can help him?
 
Re: Update to v2.3.1 - Re: Avare-New free Android VFR GPS app

SkyHog said:
I'd be interested in helping out with this, John.
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Excellent! Avare will sure improve much faster with more help! :D

Do you happen to have any contact information
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Please contact us directly via the Contact form at the bottom of the About page on the website. Then we can carry on from there via email.

Welcome to the team! :)
 
I was able to set my desired location for the data in Preferences. Did the full download ("everything") via the app. The tiles.zip is there but the app isn't seeing it. Keeps telling me to "Download Charts from Menu" which I already did. Rebooted the phone to see if that would help. It didn't.
 
midlifeflyer said:
tiles.zip is there but the app isn't seeing it.
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Curious problem. Being two new features, maybe there's some way that changing your default folder and downloading Everything has combined to prevent unZipping of the file. The tiles should be automatically UNzipping so the app can use them. I'm going to forward your helpful feedback to Zubair.

In the meantime, you might try using your Files app to ensure there's a "tiles" sub-folder in the folder you chose in Prefs. If there isn't, create one and put your tiles.zip file in it, then UNzip it there. Depending on the outcome of that, you may want to manually move folders around after the UnZip.

What you'll want to end up with is another sub-folder named "0" (zero) with numbered sub-folders in that going from at least 1 to 75 to have all the Sectionals. Each of those number folders would have small pieces of the Sectional (tiles) with names that start with "master_" followed by numbers.

In case it's helpful to you, the default folder structure for the tiles is Android/data/com.ds.avare/files/tiles/0/1 and up. For Airport Diagrams, the default structure is Android/data/com.ds.avare/files/plates with 739 PDF files inside named with the 3-letter airport code. One each for the airports that Avare has FAA Airport Diagrams for.
 
Thanks. I'm guessing that something in the code is looking for the data/com.ds.avare/files structure and if you point somewhere without that structure, Avare will download the files but won't work with it.

I created the path on my extended (real) SD card, put it into Avare's preferences and re-did the download. Everything worked.

My suggestion is that there are really only a finite number of locations that users will care about - phone memory (which probably won't work for a download this size), internal storage (often mounted to as an SDCard even if there isn't one there) and true external SD cards. If the app simply allows the user to choose among those and then creates the needed folder structure (which it already does by default in one location), it should work for the vast majority of users.

BTW, very small item. The app recognizes 3-letter airport codes by not 4-letter ones. Folks who use GPS have generally gotten used to the 4-letter ones. It woul dbe nice if Avare recognized either.
 
midlifeflyer said:
I'm guessing that something in the code is looking for the data/com.ds.avare/files structure
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Yes, and my impression is that Avare's Download feature creates it in the default location, or else the place you point it to in Prefs. I wonder if the problem arose at the point of creating the folder structure, since you didn't report that such a structure had been created below the spot where tiles.zip wound up. Could be that something went wrong in passing the path you typed in (and Avare used for creating tile.zip) over to Android's UnZip routine, presuming unZipping is the process that creates the tile folder/file sub-structure. If you still have the first tile.zip file, you could test my theory by putting it in a bogus folder and unZipping it there to see if it creates the sub-structure.

I created the path on my extended (real) SD card, put it into Avare's preferences and re-did the download. Everything worked.
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Thanks so much for the followup. I've forwarded it to Zubair, and before I did he'd asked me to post his response below. Go ahead and reply to that here on POA if you have any followup, and I'll forward it to Zubair. I need to start charging a middleman fee. ;)

If the app simply allows the user to choose among [storage devices]
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I agree, and will ensure there's a feature request filed for that.

3-letter airport codes by not 4-letter
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I agree with you here too, and again will ensure there's a feature request filed. It's very helpful having suggestions, bug reports, and feature requests like all you've so kindly shared. Thank you so much! -j
Zubair's Reply to your earlier post:
​
Hi Mark,

John has given a very good explanation of how things work. The tiles.zip file is not going to be recognized by the app until it is unzipped. Now, the question is why the app did not unzip it after download.

I am very curious. Could it be possible that your device ran out of memory or disk space? Did Avare crash while doing this ? Did you cancel?

I would start by downloading your area's sectional. Or follow John's instructions and manually unzip the tiles.zip file and place anywhere you like, then from preferences, point Avare's charts directory to that location.

Regards Zubair​
 
v2.4 - Re: Avare-New free Android VFR GPS app

Avare version 2.4 is on the Google Play store now, adding a Portrait (vertical) orientation mode option. Also some minor tweaks and bug fixes. Your feedback is requested, and will be very helpful to us and the hundreds of pilots now using Avare.

Already in Alpha testing is version 2.5 adding the option for AK & HI Sectionals.
 
v2.5 on already - Re: Avare-New free Android VFR GPS app

Version 2.5 of Avare is now on the Play store. This version adds options for Downloading the Sectionals for Alaska and Hawaii.


We welcome your feedback on all the changes and enhancements in this version, and would appreciate you letting us know of any problems you encounter or new features you’d like to request.
 
We've heard from several pilots with tablets that the Google Play store won't let them install Avare. This is most often due to the device not having an internal GPS. Even when they have an external GPS connected and active, gPlay often still balks. Sadly, there's nothing we can do about the gPlay policy.

To get around this, I've added instructions on the website for manually installing Avare from our own server. I tried it on my wife's Droid X and it worked perfectly. Even though that phone does have an internal GPS the process should still work because we just heard from a tablet owner who manually installed and Avare is now running perfectly with or without his external GPS.

We've also submitted Avare to the Amazon Android store for free Install there, though as of this writing it's still not active there. The link above will search for Avare there, so it's a quick way to check whether it's available there yet. If you have a tablet or other non-GPS Android that won't install Avare on gPlay, please let us know if you use one of these other options and how it works for you.
 
Has anyone been using the new version of this? How's the app working?
 
JasonCT said:
Has anyone been using the new version of this? How's the app working?
Click to expand...

I just used the updated version a few days ago and it worked quite well. A few months ago, not so well. I think all or most of the issues brought up in this thread have been taken care of.
 
dmspilot said:
I just used the updated version a few days ago and it worked quite well. A few months ago, not so well. I think all or most of the issues brought up in this thread have been taken care of.
Click to expand...

Awesome - I mean for free you can't go wrong right? Does it give you an option to donate to the creator?
 
JasonCT said:
Awesome
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If you install the new v3.3 just released this evening, you'll find more new features and minor fixes. There's now a new "pop-out" Destination button that lets you select an airport with a long-press, in addition to the long-press providing METAR/TAF for any airport that has that info, plus of course the distance and bearing To/From. A double-press (like the "pinch" you use to zoom in/out) will also show the distance and bearing between the two points, handy if for example you're deciding between two airports.

You might also like the "Live Taxi" feature we'd released earlier, that places an airplane icon showing your GPS location on an FAA Airport Diagram. Right now it still requires manually calibrating every diagram using our GeoTag tool. But we're about to start testing an update that will provide all airports pre-calibrated by a server script.

We've also added WAC charts, which provides much wider effective zoom range while maintaining readability at minimum zoom. WACs also provide some coverage of Canada and Mexico, plus extensive coverage of the Caribbean.

I'm frankly amazed at what Zubair has been able to accomplish with Avare in just over three months, and excited to see the pace of development continue and probably increase as other programmers join the effort.

Oh, and yes he did add a Donate button and already the contributions have covered some of our out of pocket expenses.
 
Just noticed that it had been updated, can't wait to check it out.
 
I use this on my phone for when I don't want/need my iPad/ForeFlight or my Nexus/GarminPilot. It's quite handy!
 
The latest version has airport diagram Geo ref'ed. Sectional, TAC, WAC, IFR low charts... Approach plates are now included... Hopefully approach plate will be georef'ed soon too. And its still free..:)
 
wildpig said:
The latest version has airport diagram Geo ref'ed. Sectional, TAC, WAC, IFR low charts... Approach plates are now included... Hopefully approach plate will be georef'ed soon too. And its still free..:)
Click to expand...


Yeah it's really a great service they are providing to us poor GA folks!
 
The amount of progress that this app has made recently is pretty impressive, especially since it's free.
 
Challenged said:
The amount of progress that this app has made recently is pretty impressive, especially since it's free.
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I agree, and even tho I have no affiliation with the designer, would encourage donating toward his/her hard work.
Don't you love when people use their skills to help just because they can :yes:
 
Is the use of this app a legal substitute (I guess the term is electronic flight bag) for having a TPP? If not, is there something different about paid apps in this regard?
 
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jasc15 said:
Is the use of this app a legal substitute
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My understanding, based on an article in Sport Aviation referenced in Avare's help files, is that any EFB is equal to any other in the eyes of the FAA for non-commercial flight. Using any of them in airliners is a different topic.

My own use of Avare is as a primary tool with multiple backups. Because I use it on my antique Droid X phone, I still use my trusty Lowrance 1000 handheld and the panel GNS430 occasionally, and carry some paper charts. Soon I'll be buying a Nexus tablet and then paper will probably be banished from my flight bag, and I'll be free from the vector graphics in the old aviation GPS units. I just love having all the extra detail on actual moving map Sectionals, TACs, WACs, IFR Low and approach plates in Avare, and I'd never afford keeping all those current in paper or on the old GPS units.

Even on the Droid X, A/FD data is vastly easier to find and read than in those expensive little paper phone books the FAA sells. Charts are easier to read in Avare too, but due to Droid X screen size there's not as large a coverage area as I like at a comfortable zoom level (buying a tablet will fix that). Almost forgot to mention it also shows GPS position on all FAA Airport Diagrams. All the other features and constant rapid improvement are gravy. Given the price ($0.00) and freedom from ads or spyware there's simply no reason not to try Avare if you have any Android device.

I second the suggestion to contribute, and in my case it was as a volunteer and beta tester. So for anyone short of spare cash, I encourage you to contact the developer and support Avare with some volunteer work.

is there something different about paid apps
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Yes, they cost money and are nearly all inferior.
 
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I am loving Avare, especially since they added APPROACH PLATES! :yes:

Now I need to buy a tablet device, since the screen on my phone is a tad too small. What are you guys using?
 
MSPAviator said:
I am loving Avare, especially since they added APPROACH PLATES! :yes:

Now I need to buy a tablet device, since the screen on my phone is a tad too small. What are you guys using?
Click to expand...

Nexus 7 is currently the most bang for the buck. I have Garmin Pilot and Avare on it.
 
Using n10 right now but might get n7 for more portability but hate to loser the nice bigger high res screen. Can't wait for Geo ref of approach plates also.
 
Is there a way to store the maps/plates onto an external SD card? Currently if I try to change the directory to \extsdcard it will not store or download any charts.
 
redlineshifts said:
\extsdcard it will not store or download any charts.
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The backslash "\" is a windoze thing. Android (and I think even windoze under the hood) uses a Linux (unix) forward slash "/" to delineate directories (aka folders).

You may also have the wrong name for the SD card's base directory. On my Droid X the default SD card path looks like this:
Code: 
/mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.ds.avare/files
 
JohnSBA said:
The backslash "\" is a windoze thing. Android (and I think even windoze under the hood) uses a Linux (unix) forward slash "/" to delineate directories (aka folders).

You may also have the wrong name for the SD card's base directory. On my Droid X the default SD card path looks like this:
Code: 
/mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.ds.avare/files
Click to expand...

The problem is with jellybean phones /sdcard is internal memory. /extsdcard is the actual sdcard. Either way I have not found a way to store charts on the sdcard. Any help is appreciated.

Sent from my SPH-M950 using Tapatalk 2
 
redlineshifts said:
The problem is with jellybean phones /sdcard is internal memory. /extsdcard is the actual sdcard. Either way I have not found a way to store charts on the sdcard. Any help is appreciated. Sent from my SPH-M950 using Tapatalk 2
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Thanks for the extra detail. I forwarded your question to Zubair, so you might hear from him here but your best bet is to contact him directly via the Avare website.

Seems to me the problem relates to the path for your card. Maybe you could install the free open source OI File Manager and find out what the path to your SD card is. Might be the same as on my Droid X but using /mnt/extsdcard in place of /mnt/sdcard? Maybe Avare's unable to create the folder name you used for some reason, so you might also try creating a folder with OI and then typing that as the address in the Avare Prefs. I looked on a Nexus 7 just now, and the path is identical to the one on my Droid X. Maybe the charts are already being stored on your SD card by default?
 
JohnSBA said:
Thanks for the extra detail. I forwarded your question to Zubair, so you might hear from him here but your best bet is to contact him directly via the Avare website.

Seems to me the problem relates to the path for your card. Maybe you could install the free open source OI File Manager and find out what the path to your SD card is. Might be the same as on my Droid X but using /mnt/extsdcard in place of /mnt/sdcard? Maybe Avare's unable to create the folder name you used for some reason, so you might also try creating a folder with OI and then typing that as the address in the Avare Prefs. I looked on a Nexus 7 just now, and the path is identical to the one on my Droid X. Maybe the charts are already being stored on your SD card by default?
Click to expand...

I tried copying the directory to extsdcard and then changing it to /mnt/extsdcard but still no luck.


I had the same problem with Naviator and you could not just change the directory name. Naviator added an option for extsdcard later which solved the problem, but I will see if I can find another solution and will let Zubair know.

edit: I have ICS not jellybean, I misspoke earlier.
 
Just downloaded the app. Love it! Hopefully will test it in the air once this cruddy wx is gone.
 
redlineshifts said:
I tried copying the directory to extsdcard and then changing it to /mnt/extsdcard but still no luck.
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Interesting problem. What I meant was to first use OI or some other app to create the folder you want on the SD card, and then experiment with naming the path to match it. The idea being to ensure the folder's there and what the name is. The /mnt/ prefix may be required, or it could be something else on your device and I'm not sure how you could find out exactly what it is.

I got a quick note from Zubair saying he'd changed how this feature works in an update he just posted (3.5.2 as I recall), so you might also try experimenting with that.

will see if I can find another solution and will let Zubair know.
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Thanks. Will be helpful for him to know exactly what you've tried, regardless of whether you get it working.

Happy Flying -j
 
Excellent app!!!!
It is working well on my Nexus 7
Is there an option to only download airport diagrams, without all of the IFR approach plates, which are of no interest to the VFR only pilots?......... I thought that I saw that option as an upgrade, but cannot find it anywhere.
Thanks!...... keep up the great work!
Rod
 
redlineshifts said:
I tried copying the directory to extsdcard and then changing it to /mnt/extsdcard but still no luck.


I had the same problem with Naviator and you could not just change the directory name. Naviator added an option for extsdcard later which solved the problem, but I will see if I can find another solution and will let Zubair know.

edit: I have ICS not jellybean, I misspoke earlier.
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ICS works the same way.

Don't copy the files over and then create the path. Create the path and then download the files. I have an ICS phone and it works just fine.
 
rod_mct said:
Is there an option to only download airport diagrams
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Yes, that was the original design. It was briefly dropped in favor of combining diags with plates, but by popular demand the option is back in 3.5.2. In fact, I just now separately installed CA plates and the complete diags on my new Nexus 7. After using Avare on my antique Droid X, the N7 is quite a kick! So much faster, and the bigger screen now makes it better by far than the old handheld and the GNS430. Zubair is The Man! :)
 
When I launch Avare, it pops a window saying it's trying to download "databases_v2.zip" for about .25 sec, then it pops a window saying "Download Failed". I've tried to uninstall/reinstall Avare, but same results.

Avare tries to download it to internal storage (where there's plenty of room...7GB or so), in the /storage/sdcard0/Android/data/com.ds.avare/files/ directory. When I look in that directory, there's a "databases_v2.zip" file that's 6.08K (6226 bytes), according to Astro File Manager.

I tried skipping the database download and Avare tried downloading plates for Arkansas, but same thing--immediate "Download Failed", with a very small file in the target directory.

I'm using an HTC Incredible running Android 4.2.1.
 
Jim_R said:
When I launch Avare, it pops a window saying it's trying to download "databases_v2.zip" for about .25 sec, then it pops a window saying "Download Failed". I've tried to uninstall/reinstall Avare, but same results.
Click to expand...

Same here. My iPad is out of commission at the moment so I thought I'd give Avare a shot on my phone just to see how it works, but I got the same error as above no matter what I tried to do. Galaxy Nexus with 4.1.2
 
Jim_R said:
"Download Failed"
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I spoke with Zubair yesterday afternoon and he told me the provider running the server had summarily shut it down without notice. He found out when he woke in the morning that they'd done it overnight, and when it wasn't working he contacted them. Although he'd paid for "unlimited" data out of his own pocket, they had decided there was too much traffic on the site so down it went in the dead of night with not a word to him.

He's now moved everything to another service costing 5x more, and reports that everything's working. Hopefully the new provider will be more reliable and professional. Whenever anyone notices any problem with Avare or the server, I'm sure he'd very much appreciate hearing from you directly via the website or the "Developer" link on Google Play.
 
Many thanks--it is indeed working again. Thanks for the pointer to the dev site, too.
 
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