Smartphone barometer

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jamiepyoung

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This maybe common knowledge, but I have just discovered that many smartphones have built in barometers.

There are a few android apps that will monitor in the background and alert you to significant pressure changes.

Might be useful for some of you.

I'm using an app called pressure tracker which seems ok.
 
Do they actually have built in barometers or do they just report readings from weather stations in nearby locations?

Just Googled, it looks like many have an actual barometer. That's interesting.
 
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I discovered the barometer on my nexus 4 thanks to the (so useful I paid money for the advert free version) "GPS status" app which seems to display info from various sensors including light, gyros, magnetometer and battery temperature and charge. As jamieyoung says...seems to be more accurate than my boat's brass one.
 
nigelmercier said:
Which app, there are several?
Click to expand...


I use "barometer monitor v1.4" and GPS essentials. The monitor gives a nice configurable graph. GPS essential can have the pressure on the dashboard along with every other reading you might want cog bearing to waypoint etc also altitude to waypoint
 
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laika said:
I discovered the barometer on my nexus 4 thanks to the (so useful I paid money for the advert free version) "GPS status" app
Click to expand...

Oops! I seem to have given slightly duff information here. I was using GPS Status on my old phone so much I thought it was only fair to give them the money for the "pro key", so I wasn't using the free version when I switch to my new phone (where "new" means 3 years old...). Having looked at the app page I think the barometer thing is only a feature of the paid-for version.
 
Thanks, a really interesting thread, I had no idea that my Samsung Galaxy 5s had a barometer built-in, until I saw this thread.

I've tried several of the free android apps, and the barometer works, although it appears to be quite noisy when you look at it on a second by second basis.

Can anyone recommend an Android App which calculates an average value over say 5mins and then plots a time history for say the last 12 or 24 hrs?

This kind of app would be very useful for monitoring the pressure whilst cruising, it would also be good if it sounded an alarm, if the rate of change of pressure exceeded a set rate, (say 1.3mbars/hr) it to forewarn of an imminent gale.

Fairly obviously, it would need to run in the background and not be too big a drain on the battery.
 
Ian_Edwards said:
Thanks, a really interesting thread, I had no idea that my Samsung Galaxy 5s had a barometer built-in, until I saw this thread.

I've tried several of the free android apps, and the barometer works, although it appears to be quite noisy when you look at it on a second by second basis.

Can anyone recommend an Android App which calculates an average value over say 5mins and then plots a time history for say the last 12 or 24 hrs?

This kind of app would be very useful for monitoring the pressure whilst cruising, it would also be good if it sounded an alarm, if the rate of change of pressure exceeded a set rate, (say 1.3mbars/hr) it to forewarn of an imminent gale.

Fairly obviously, it would need to run in the background and not be too big a drain on the battery.
Click to expand...

Barometer Monitor. Free app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.barometermonitor&hl=en
 
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Ian_Edwards said:
Thanks, a really interesting thread, I had no idea that my Samsung Galaxy 5s had a barometer built-in, until I saw this thread.

I've tried several of the free android apps, and the barometer works, although it appears to be quite noisy when you look at it on a second by second basis.

Can anyone recommend an Android App which calculates an average value over say 5mins and then plots a time history for say the last 12 or 24 hrs?

This kind of app would be very useful for monitoring the pressure whilst cruising, it would also be good if it sounded an alarm, if the rate of change of pressure exceeded a set rate, (say 1.3mbars/hr) it to forewarn of an imminent gale.

Fairly obviously, it would need to run in the background and not be too big a drain on the battery.
Click to expand...
When under way, I normally make an hourly log entry which includes baro pressure (taken from the baro on my reliable sailing watch, with an analog backup on the bulkhead). I usually make a few observations the day before an intended passage. I would not burden myself with any more digital baggage than is absolutely necessary, as the mark one eyeball plus brain-function-preserving mental arithmetic are sufficient for the purpose.
 
Yes, I agree, that's more or less what I do, I view the barometer on my phone as a "toy", interesting to play with, but I wouldn't rely on it.

Yet I'm curious and would like to understand it's capabilities, and I've got time at home, on a very cold Sunday afternoon in the North East of Scotland, so I'm playing and downloading stuff to see how it works and if it might be useful.

If you keep your head down all the time, you might miss something that's very useful!
 
Thanks to OP for posting this info.
Spent some time downloading and evaluating the various free barometer apps for my iPad.
We had a storm go through Marmaris last night and it was interesting to see pressure changes and evaluate which app would be best for a sailing applicatio whilst waiting for the 40+ Kent wind and heavy rain to go through.. I have gone for "Barometer and altimeter for iPhone and iPad" by Steffen Bauereis.
 
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