East Coast Live GPS Train Tracker

[Karl]

It seems this old thread is now locked http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=51211

However, after a few months of inactivity it looks like the live GPS tracker onboard is up and running again. Follow its progress around the country here... http://bbarker.co.uk/eastCoast/

Let's hope we see some improvements. It was quite addictive following its progress last year.

Hope you enjoy

 

[jnjkerbin]

Except it is currently (for me at least), is at Stratford working 1P43, the 1440 Norwich to Liverpool St!?

 

[Karl]

Except it is currently (for me at least), is at Stratford working 1P43, the 1440 Norwich to Liverpool St!?

Yes, I'm seeing the same feed too. It looks like it's not entirely East Coast workings this time. It should prove more interesting hopefully.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Except it is currently (for me at least), is at Stratford working 1P43, the 1440 Norwich to Liverpool St!?

Yes, for me too.
When I last looked (weeks ago) it was parked up at Norwich Crown Point depot.
Must have found its way onto a GA class 90/Mk3 set.
The new route needs adding to the display...

Since watching this one online, I have bought a GPS phone and have been impressed at how easy it is to follow live on Google Maps (with speed shown).
Doesn't work on some types of train (eg Voyager), which have the GPS signals blocked or limited, or in tunnels.

 

[Hyphen]

Doesn't work on some types of train (eg Voyager), which have the GPS signals blocked or limited, or in tunnels.

They're not blocked, it's just that the way the Voyagers were constructed turned them into a big Faraday cage - this is the same reason why many consider them poor for mobile phone signal.

I understand some of the fleet had mobile phone repeaters installed, but this wouldn't cover GPS signals.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

They're not blocked, it's just that the way the Voyagers were constructed turned them into a big Faraday cage - this is the same reason why many consider them poor for mobile phone signal.

I understand some of the fleet had mobile phone repeaters installed, but this wouldn't cover GPS signals.

Pendolinos aren't quite as bad.
You have to place the GPS on the window cill to get a decent signal, but it works.

 

[dysonsphere]

well the link to the map is centred in the middle of the sea took a few mins to sort out what was happening, however seems to work ok.

 

[gazthomas]

Just using it now on 1E15 good fun

 

[Nestor]

Doesn't work on some types of train (eg Voyager), which have the GPS signals blocked or limited, or in tunnels.

They're not blocked, it's just that the way the Voyagers were constructed turned them into a big Faraday cage - this is the same reason why many consider them poor for mobile phone signal.

I understand some of the fleet had mobile phone repeaters installed, but this wouldn't cover GPS signals.

It's actually the (heat) reflective film on the coach windows which degrades the GPSR signals!

 

[oliMw]

The Train is currently crossing the A14 north of Ipswich on the 18:00 1V28 GA service from Norwich - London Liverpool street doing 79MPH. Does anyone know why we now have a GEML feed instead of a ECML feed on the default train?

 

[Darandio]

Except the 18:00 ex-Norwich is actually 1P59...

 

[oliMw]

I looked and the only GA service under 1V28 is the 12:30 from Liverpool Street to Norwich, must be a problem with the website. Really should have checked my facts first

 

[tom1681]

Does anyone know why we now have a GEML feed instead of a ECML feed on the default train?

At a guess because a while back GA started putting on-train tracking on their Wi-Fi landing page using the same provider as EC. Perhaps the default train is the last one added.

I'm pretty sure the loco that appears is 90015 which goes some way to support the above theory.

Normally the headcode is correct but with today's Yarmouth drag being cancelled after one trip they've got muddled.

 

[Comstock]

What's the speed limit on the Norwich- London line. The train seems to spend a lot of time in the high nineties MPH, without breaking three figures.

 

[oliMw]

I think (don't shoot me if I get it wrong) that it is 100MPH in the northern area ie north of Ipswich and 75 - 90MPH in the southern area ie south of Ipswich

 

[SprinterMan]

What's the speed limit on the Norwich- London line. The train seems to spend a lot of time in the high nineties MPH, without breaking three figures.

Just saw it doing 104.9mph near Ingatestone :P

Adam

 

[Comstock]

Fun to watch on Street view mode, too, as London gives way to suburbia, then countryside.

 

[Karl]

After a good few months on the Liverpool Street to Norwich runs, it now seems to have reverted to the ECML again. Currently heading north at 125mph on 1D13.

Nice to see a change of scenery

 

[Trainfan344]

It's on 1S28 the 1800 Kings Cross to Edingburgh and is just south of Darlington

 

[Karl]

An interesting change today. After a few days of no feed from the GPS (Being sat on the Greenwich Meridian on the equator) our set seems to be across the North Sea and currently in Sweden!!

I can understand the reset when it appears on the equator, but I wonder how the feed is now from Sweden?

 

[Lockwood]

1S06 is doing 0.2mph at Gullbergsvass station. Nice.

 

[oliMw]

The tracker is in Sweden now!

 

[TheEdge]

I think (don't shoot me if I get it wrong) that it is 100MPH in the northern area ie north of Ipswich and 75 - 90MPH in the southern area ie south of Ipswich

This. Although I think its Colchester where the 100 stops. And I think it drops again somewhere around Chelmsford or Shenfield.

 

[IKBrunel]

It's actually the (heat) reflective film on the coach windows which degrades the GPSR signals!

To be clear, it's the combination of metallic window tint in trains which already have a metal body. Thereby combining to form a not bad faraday cage. Hence older stock without the window tint would have had a better signal.

Nonetheless the metallic layer on the window is a lot thinner than the actual carriage body, so there is still a benefit to holding any radio device by the middle of a window, to minimise blocking of potential signal paths by the chassis.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

It's actually the (heat) reflective film on the coach windows which degrades the GPSR signals!

To be clear, it's the combination of metallic window tint in trains which already have a metal body. Thereby combining to form a not bad faraday cage. Hence older stock without the window tint would have had a better signal.

Nonetheless the metallic layer on the window is a lot thinner than the actual carriage body, so there is still a benefit to holding any radio device by the middle of a window, to minimise blocking of potential signal paths by the chassis.

And to be even clearer (I hope), when using this 'live train tracker' when on board the train (and you'd have to be on board a train for the discussion about windows to be relevant), then the web page is routed by via the onboard icomera wifi and receives GPS information from the train's own GPS via that link. Consequently, the coach windows have no impact on that signal.
You could, of course, try to use the application 'the long way round' and connect to the internet via your own device, in which case the train detail you see presented to you will not be the train you are travelling on, but the default set which is also being discussed.

 

[Bushy]

To be clear, it's the combination of metallic window tint in trains which already have a metal body. Thereby combining to form a not bad faraday cage. Hence older stock without the window tint would have had a better signal.

Nonetheless the metallic layer on the window is a lot thinner than the actual carriage body, so there is still a benefit to holding any radio device by the middle of a window, to minimise blocking of potential signal paths by the chassis.

As an aside, some years ago I was involved in the fit-out of a new building for a well known manufacturer of mobile phones and associated equipment. It was not until they moved in that they discovered that the building construction prevented them getting a mobile signal inside the building, again a combination of the metal frame and the metallic tint on the windows. Being who they were, although they had desk phones, they tended, use mobile phones most of the time. This was not common practice at the time. They were, however to supply themselves with cell repeater to fit inside the building.

Regards

Bushy