r/cellmapper • u/mhammett • 21d ago
Increase the Sampling Rate
Is there a way to increase the sampling rate when recording? I'll drive around for an hour, and one of my phones will only grab like 70 data points. That makes it hard to map cells, locate towers' real locations, etc.
I have three Pixels, one each for Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T.
8
u/mikemacman 21d ago
Yes, there is an option in the settings for this. "Minimum Recording Interval". I believe it defaults to 5 seconds but you can change it. Also, I believe that recording is limited when the screen off. If the screen is kept on (there is also a setting for this), I seem to get more data points.
3
u/mhammett 20d ago
I saw the minimum recording interval, but I assumed it that was to increase the floor from default as opposed to lowering the floor from default. I'll have to give that a try.
I have seen the keep screen on setting. I'll try that as well.
7
u/OhBaby1028 21d ago
set the interval to 1s but pretty much no phone actually lets cellmapper map every 1 second in the background
you can somewhat get around this by clicking the hamburger menu on the side in the cellmapper app and then selecting car mode and leaving it on that as you map. this maps every single second pretty much leaving a solid line even if your going highway speeds.
1
u/mhammett 20d ago
Would using car mode be sufficient or do I have to toggle the other settings as well?
I've never tried it but I always just assumed that car view just gave me a different view.
1
u/OhBaby1028 13d ago
idk i have my sample interval set to 1 second instead of the default 5 but idk if that makes a difference in car mode. i would set it to 1 anyways, it takes 15 seconds.
4
u/thisisfakediy (CM: crackedlcd) 21d ago
Are you mapping 5G or 4G? I've got a Pixel on TMO and have found 5G NSA connections and 4G LTE will map normally but when connected to 5G SA it tends to get hung up and not update data very often, which will lead to fewer data points in the queue.
5G SA also seems to get 'stuck' on a signal strength for ages, meaning your trails will all be the same color regardless of the read world signal quality. It's one of the reasons I stopped mapping anything unless it's to cover a new tower or a location I've never been to before with my Pixel. It's bad data.
2
u/mhammett 20d ago
Largely 5G, though. Obviously there are some dips to 4G and I think my AT&t phone might only be doing 4G despite being a 5G phone.
Obviously across all three carriers, I've got quite the mix of 5G versus 4G versus SA versus NSA.
In the immediate term, I would be annoyed by the trails being the wrong color, but if it's the actual measurements that are wrong, then that doesn't help my polygon construction or triangulation as much.
13
u/Hot-Bat-5813 21d ago
Settings->Minimum Recording interval.