N8KH
Rookie Author
Florida
Posts:16
Points:323,250
Joined:Jan 2012
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Message Posted: Apr 4, 2012 6:54:20 PM
What is needed is THREE radio check-boxes on the price-reporting tool. One is for cash. One is for credit (and debit) cards. The other refers to the main sign out front.
Many reports are only from the sign out front. Most stations put the cash price on the sign, when the prices are different. But some actually put the credit price out front. (Murphy [Wal-Mart] does this.)
Your servers will quickly learn, just from reported prices, what price the big sign represents. And you will be able to enter the price correctly in your database.
This is ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED for the GasBuddy reporting app and web site to remain useful. We need to know what price it is. Some people only pay by credit card. Some people would pay by cash, if that was the only opportunity to receive a lower price. In my area, you don't have to use cash; the stations with the lowest prices have the same price for cash and credit. But that is not true in all areas.
The GasBuddy app needs to be updated with this ability ASAP. Either that, or be overtaken by another app/database which will do it before you.
You'ld better get to work and do it, or lose your business opportunity.
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scoutmaster
Champion Author
Pittsburgh
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Message Posted: Jan 20, 2012 6:19:00 AM
I got the warning last evening posting a premium price of $3.85.
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jcpatriots
Champion Author
Massachusetts
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Message Posted: Jan 20, 2012 4:42:30 AM
Ah right. I hadn't updated for awhile, I was still on version 2.0.5. I just updated it last night and I am seeing this message now. I think it's cool the new version allows you to record the price by saying it number by number using the speaker feature. That's awesome.
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scoutmaster
Champion Author
Pittsburgh
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Message Posted: Jan 19, 2012 6:58:32 AM
I'm not sure of the exact wording of the warning but it's a pop-up that asks if you are sure the price you are posting is correct because it seems to high based on the recent prices in the area.
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jcpatriots
Champion Author
Massachusetts
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Message Posted: Jan 19, 2012 4:15:28 AM
Can I ask what this "high price warning" thing is, because I'm not seeing it anywhere? Where would one enable something like this to turn on in the app? Am I missing something?
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RichWLIN
Champion Author
Indiana
Posts:4,084
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Message Posted: Jan 17, 2012 10:17:35 AM
Ok, scrap my last notion about the warning message relying on average prices in the immediate area.
Currently, prices are running $3.36 for regular here. I input $3.69 for regular at BP and got no warning. (I put back the true price of $3.37 immediately)
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Scrapheap
Champion Author
Virginia
Posts:14,541
Points:2,357,105
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Message Posted: Jan 17, 2012 10:07:59 AM
I'll get the warning for mid-grade and premium prices of $3.71 and $3.81 but won't get the warning for mid-grade and premium prices of $3.85 and $3.95 from a stations at the same intersection.
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rspiano
Champion Author
Tucson
Posts:8,833
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Message Posted: Jan 17, 2012 9:59:31 AM
Current regular gas prices in Tucson range from $3.09 to $3.37. I got the warning several times on Saturday when I tried to post $3.19 regular prices. Haven't seen any warnings Sunday or yesterday. Hopefully this bug is fixed!
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scoutmaster
Champion Author
Pittsburgh
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Message Posted: Jan 17, 2012 8:17:29 AM
Could be Rich. I only got the warning when posting premium prices.
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RichWLIN
Champion Author
Indiana
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Message Posted: Jan 17, 2012 7:37:35 AM
scoutmaster, have the prices in your area stabilized?
Just wondering if the warning message isn't looking for price outliers based on the average prices in the immediate vicinity.
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scoutmaster
Champion Author
Pittsburgh
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Message Posted: Jan 17, 2012 6:45:52 AM
I'm not getting the high price warning anymore.
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PuddinPal
Champion Author
California
Posts:3,416
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Message Posted: Jan 16, 2012 2:24:16 AM
Android has a very good app available. However, it would be even better if the tech crew were to add a field to post credit/debit/cash differentials on the app.
Another app that is available on Android that you might be interested in is called aCar. This app allows one to track all of a vehicles expenses. This could be real handy come tax time for most of us.
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CrackedLCD
Champion Author
Alabama
Posts:9,020
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Message Posted: Jan 14, 2012 9:40:06 AM
Speaking of photos and the Android app, have they fixed the issue where the app uploads horrible looking photos?
I've seen a bunch around here labeled as being uploaded by the Android app and they always look blurry or grainy and have poor resolution. But when I upload photos taken with my phone to the website via the MSL, they come out full size and crisp. (I also color-correct them, fix the contrast and crop them to a uniform 800x600, but that's neither here nor there.)
I'd test it by taking a dummy photo but I've already gotten photos for every gas station for 30 miles around, lol.
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RichWLIN
Champion Author
Indiana
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Message Posted: Jan 14, 2012 9:26:58 AM
I hadn’t seen the high price warning pop-up until recently when Speedway bumped its price by $.36 one morning. I wonder now if this warning is a function of the average of the prices in the immediate area? The reason that I mention this is because I only got the high price warning until other nearby stations raised their prices, and then saw it no more.
I accidently entered $6.31 instead of $3.61 yesterday and the warning caught it for me. I think it may be useful for these kinds of dyslexic typos.
RG
[Edited by: RichWLIN at 1/14/2012 9:27:53 AM EST]
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Scrapheap
Champion Author
Virginia
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Message Posted: Jan 14, 2012 8:54:50 AM
Thanks for pointing out that this is more evidence on why preventing new people from starting threads is a bad idea. This (threads going off topic) will just happen more frequently if that idea ever saw the light of day.
Besides, I thought you didn't care if threads went off topic.
[Edited by: Scrapheap at 1/14/2012 8:55:49 AM EST]
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scoutmaster
Champion Author
Pittsburgh
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Message Posted: Jan 14, 2012 8:41:25 AM
"I think that one should get extra points for posting a picture of the gas station if it is not on the web site. It takes a little time and effort to do that!"
This has nothing to do with the topic.
Yet more evidence.
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Scrapheap
Champion Author
Virginia
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Message Posted: Jan 14, 2012 8:40:01 AM
BrianJ48 wrote > I haven't found a way to pull up favorites on the web page.
Favorites appear near the bottom of the home page below the list of lowest and highest gas prices.
BrianJ48 wrote > A saved search doesn't work as my town isn't in list - so I have to input manually (Zip search doesn't work either).
On the home page, click Show Search Options. In the box under Other Area, type in the name of the town. Check the box next to Save This Search. A box will appear where you can give the saved search a name. Click search an it will be saved.
BrianJ48 wrote > Since my favorites are multi-town, I can't see them altogethrt. Anything I'm missing?
Sure, using the procedure I outlined, hold the ctrl key when picking areas and you can pick multiple areas.
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jcpatriots
Champion Author
Massachusetts
Posts:3,898
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Message Posted: Jan 13, 2012 6:09:16 PM
Regarding the comment below about picture taking of stations, some people just plain take TERRIBLE pictures of stations and put virtually no effort into making it look good, so I don't think that's a good idea.
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Tanner_1
Champion Author
Virginia Beach
Posts:1,536
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Message Posted: Jan 13, 2012 5:28:33 PM
I think that one should get extra points for posting a picture of the gas station if it is not on the web site. It takes a little time and effort to do that!
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BrianJ48
Rookie Author
New York
Posts:42
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Message Posted: Jan 12, 2012 5:53:34 PM
I'm a newbie - but right now I'm finding the Android app better than the web page. I haven't found a way to pull up favorites on the web page. A saved search doesn't work as my town isn't in list - so I have to input manually (Zip search doesn't work either). Since my favorites are multi-town, I can't see them altogethrt. Anything I'm missing?
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CrackedLCD
Champion Author
Alabama
Posts:9,020
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Message Posted: Jan 9, 2012 2:51:46 PM
Someone's listening. An update to GasBuddy came in today and I noticed that there's now a button to uncheck "use custom keyboard". Back to my old preferred one! *yay*
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CrackedLCD
Champion Author
Alabama
Posts:9,020
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Message Posted: Jan 9, 2012 8:30:14 AM
RichWLIN, I have a Samsung Galaxy S Showcase running Gingerbread (2.3.5).
I think I can adjust to the new keypad. For whatever reason after I griped about it, it has gotten a little faster now at popping up when I go to input prices. And the Next button is a nice touch.
I still wish I could override it, though, with a custom keypad. All my other apps seem to allow that option. The old keypad had voice input, as well. It was a tiny button located next to the keypad settings button.
I can live with the rest of the minor issues, but the popup asking if prices are really what I meant to enter is annoying. I've also confirmed it with another user who has this same phone and GasBuddy software version. He was merely confirming an already posted price of $3.749 for premium at a local Shell and it came up "Are you sure?" LOL.
The real bugaboo is missing stations in the Near Me list. It seems to have no rhyme or reason as to which stations are affected, although it seems to hit non-national brands more often. For example, most Tom Thumb stores show up but there's one or two in Pensacola (where there's about a gajillion Tom Thumbs already) don't show up unless you select midgrade, premium or diesel.
Seems like I had two or three examples near me but I am almost exclusively using my favorites list to avoid this, so I've forgotten which ones exactly have this issue.
It's a good workaround but selected awards are not advancing anymore.
[Edited by: CrackedLCD at 1/9/2012 8:31:27 AM EST]
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Suzzoom
Champion Author
Nevada
Posts:2,354
Points:503,885
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Message Posted: Jan 8, 2012 11:03:46 PM
Gas Buddy is my most-used app. I wish the awards that are offered on the app would also be on the website, as well as an explanation of how many levels there are & how many reports are needed to reach each level. It's a fun game & keeps me reporting, expecially when I travel.
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RichWLIN
Champion Author
Indiana
Posts:4,084
Points:636,915
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Message Posted: Jan 7, 2012 3:16:16 PM
CrackedLCD, what kind of phone do you have? And, also what version of the Android OS are you running?
I don't think I've had any of the problems that you listed yet, other than the Gas Near Me/GPS issue. I did notice that a Marathon which had recently been changed to a Sunoco station was missing in my travels south yesterday, but it finally came up after several refreshes. I attributed this to poor GPS at the time.
I believe that the smartphone GPS, as a rule, will always be limited enough in a vehicle moving through an urban environment to make adjusting distance to stations in the app a persistent problem.
I tried the voice feature and it worked well for me.
RG
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scoutmaster
Champion Author
Pittsburgh
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Message Posted: Jan 7, 2012 8:15:18 AM
Did ya notice the ability to enter prices by voice?
I like the new keypad. As soon as I tapped a price box it popped up. And it's much bigger.
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CrackedLCD
Champion Author
Alabama
Posts:9,020
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Message Posted: Jan 7, 2012 6:32:49 AM
Guess I'll be first to say the new keypad stinks.
It is bigger an easier to see, but takes 2 seconds to pop up now on my phone, versus the instant keypad that popped up before when reporting prices.
They said there was some improvements to the GPS but I'm seeing just as many misfires (finding stations that aren't near me) as before, and the bug with some stations not being listed under the Regular tab is still present. The bug where it goes directly to the default favorites list is still present as well: I have multiple fave lists and if I'm on one of them and close the app and reopen it, it goes to the default fave list and not the one I was just on.
Another bug is the new "Are you sure about this price?" popup. It came up for every one of the stations I updated yesterday. A swing of 10 cents higher is NOT cause for concern!
I'm finding that between the new overly aggressive popup and the new annoying slow numeric keypad that pops up, the usability of the app has gone WAAAAY down. :(
[Edited by: CrackedLCD at 1/7/2012 6:34:48 AM EST]
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KJC4043
Champion Author
New Jersey
Posts:2,583
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Message Posted: Jan 2, 2012 2:35:08 PM
I have downloaded Android app. Very limited application.
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RichWLIN
Champion Author
Indiana
Posts:4,084
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Message Posted: Dec 31, 2011 6:56:18 PM
Thanks Scrapheap.
I probably would not have made this mistake, but I was trying to input prices for the two stations while at a red light. I usually don't like to do this. One station is a Marathon that sells diesel and the other is an Admiral that does not.
I suppose that I thought that I had selected Marathon in the app because the diesel price was already there. I looked at the sign for regular and diesel prices, saw in the app that they were from a couple of hours earlier and jived with the current prices. I then just selected the prices that were already entered from the right side of the app window since they were still the same. I did not type them in individually. By the time I realized the error, it was too late so I decided to fix it later when I got back to my PC.
So, my conditions were that I entered the diesel price along with the other grades to a station that doesn't sell diesel, but I was not the first to do so. The diesel price zeroed out okay from the web site, but remained on the app for at least the last hour I stayed up last night. When I checked the station this morning, all four prices were gone?
Anyway, this seemed strange to me since the prices entered always seem instantaneous.
RG
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Scrapheap
Champion Author
Virginia
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Message Posted: Dec 31, 2011 4:47:58 PM
Disregard my last posting as I made a mistake and did some further testing.
I deleted diesel prices for a CITGO an Exxon and a Sunoco near me. None shows up on the website now. The price for the CITGO still shows on the app but the prices for the Exxon and Sunoco do not. The differences seem to be that I reported prices for the CITGO but did not report the prices for the Sunoco or Exxon. Both the CITGO and Sunoco sell diesel and the box is checked in the MSL. The Exxon does not sell diesel and the box is not checked in the MSL.
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Scrapheap
Champion Author
Virginia
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Message Posted: Dec 31, 2011 4:37:43 PM
That is an interesting problem RichWLIN. I tried to test your problem. I deleted diesel prices for a CITGO and an Exxon near me. Neither shows up on the website now. The price for the CITGO does not show on the app but the one for the Exxon still does. The differences between the two are that I reported the CITGO and the CITGO actually does sell diesel. It is noted as such in the MSL. I did not report the Exxon and the Exxon does not sell diesel. Diesel is not checked in the MSL for the Exxon.
Seems like the exact opposite way of doing things to me than what I would expect.
[Edited by: Scrapheap at 12/31/2011 4:39:23 PM EST]
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RichWLIN
Champion Author
Indiana
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Message Posted: Dec 31, 2011 3:06:57 PM
Used the reload button several times, also exited and reentered the app twice with 10 minutes or so in between. On the web site just the three correct prices remained. On the app, all four were still present.
Interestingly, all four prices were blank when I went out on my errands this morning.
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scoutmaster
Champion Author
Pittsburgh
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Message Posted: Dec 31, 2011 12:44:03 PM
Did you refresh after you opened the app on your phone? That usually works.
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RichWLIN
Champion Author
Indiana
Posts:4,084
Points:636,915
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Message Posted: Dec 31, 2011 9:13:15 AM
I had a problem late last night. There are three stations in my neighborhood, two that sell diesel and one that doesn't. I accidentally entered a diesel price for the one station that doesn't offer it (someone had entered $3.99 and I followed suit by tapping the price without thinking). I know that this station doesn't sell diesel, but I absent mindedly confused it with the one next door that does.
Anyway, I came home and zeroed the errant diesel price out from the web on my PC. However, when I checked the app on my phone it was still there an hour later?
There seems to be a lag in the system between the app and the web site. Anyone else experience anything like this?
RG
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CrackedLCD
Champion Author
Alabama
Posts:9,020
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Message Posted: Dec 27, 2011 1:52:13 AM
bb37922, that seems to be a bug in the app. You can usually get the stations to show up in the list by picking something other than regular: midgrade, premium or diesel if they sell it.
Once you add it to a favorites list, it should show up in the favorites. Dunno why it's not working for you.
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bb37922
Rookie Author
Knoxville
Posts:78
Points:54,815
Joined:Sep 2011
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Message Posted: Dec 26, 2011 7:58:28 AM
I have the app - but am not sure why not all of the stations appear on the list - but if you view the map they are there...
I drive past the same RaceTrack station every day, and in order to update it I have to locate it on the map, then Report Price. Why is this so?
NOTE: I do not have any filters on the list of stattions and I tried adding it to my favorites - still no luck
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babyjudy
Champion Author
Tucson
Posts:2,721
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Message Posted: Dec 24, 2011 11:27:53 PM
I have an Android gas buddy app that I like but when I try, on the Android, to reach the full gasbuddy site, I end up in a loop. I go the gasbuddy.com site, login, that takes me to another screen, enter login again, back to mobile site, again and again. Anyone else have this problem?
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scoutmaster
Champion Author
Pittsburgh
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Message Posted: Dec 20, 2011 9:33:48 PM
You're correct KK. It seems the major brands have logos where local brands have no logo.
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LasJayhawk
Champion Author
Las Vegas
Posts:2,588
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Message Posted: Dec 20, 2011 8:58:42 PM
Still needs kicked in the A$$ to update the location when first started (LG Optimus V)
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KrispyKreme
Champion Author
Richmond
Posts:18,537
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Message Posted: Dec 20, 2011 5:05:23 PM
You sure scout? The app shows logos for a majority of the stations around (the big brands like Shell, BP, Exxon, etc) and the major regional brands (Wawa, Sheetz). But none of them are updated via GB_Direct. There has to be something in the App itself that showing these logos that's not related to GB_Direct. But, none-the-less, contacting the mods may be the better approach.
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scoutmaster
Champion Author
Pittsburgh
Posts:81,213
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Message Posted: Dec 17, 2011 8:57:16 AM
KK,
So far, the logos are associated with the Gas Buddy direct program. You would need to contact the moderators for more details.
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KrispyKreme
Champion Author
Richmond
Posts:18,537
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Message Posted: Dec 16, 2011 4:47:57 PM
Anybody know how to go about submitting some station logos for some brands that lack them on the app?
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scoutmaster
Champion Author
Pittsburgh
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Message Posted: Dec 16, 2011 8:48:20 AM
They tend to go hand-in-hand. The denser the population, the more stations.
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Scrapheap
Champion Author
Virginia
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Message Posted: Dec 15, 2011 12:10:58 PM
You are probably right, population density probably isn't the issue so much as station population density.
[Edited by: Scrapheap at 12/15/2011 12:13:38 PM EST]
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RichWLIN
Champion Author
Indiana
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Message Posted: Dec 15, 2011 10:52:32 AM
That's very interesting, Scrapheap. I hadn't considered that the density of population or maybe even the MSL might also be a variable? This makes the problem of arriving at an appropriate distance even more difficult.
RG
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Scrapheap
Champion Author
Virginia
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Message Posted: Dec 15, 2011 9:40:43 AM
I think the allowable distance changes with population density. Around here, suburban Washington DC, the distance is about 3 1/2 miles but I'm pretty sure that in rural Pennsylvania I was seeing stations 7 miles away on the list.
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RichWLIN
Champion Author
Indiana
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Message Posted: Dec 15, 2011 7:25:44 AM
I can't be sure but it sure seems that they are still experimenting with the allowable distance to stations when creating the station list in the Gas Near Me feature.
Again, this is relative to the current accuracy at any point in time of the GPS position on everyone's individual receivers.
I'm not sure that GPS is the way to go since the satellite positions derived on the device can be up to a mile or more off at times, particularly when traveling in a vehicle with poor line-of-sight.
Also, I've noticed that when GPS position accuracy is poor my Droid X will try to use one of the other location services on the phone. This may cause the GB app not to function as the device switches looking for a more accurate position from a source other than GPS.
When the maximum distance to station radius buffer of the app is compounded by the inaccuracy of the location service, it is likely that the Gas Near Me feature may fail to report new stations that you are then nearby.
I've been watching my GPS locations with another app on my phone to check the integrity of the GPS location (number of satellites in view, and reported accuracy) each time that the Gas Near Me station list is stubbornly stuck on the last list or errant. Most of the time, but not always, the problem seems to be a function of the GPS accuracy.
Anyway, these are my observations.
RG
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Zimcity
Champion Author
Twin Cities
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Message Posted: Dec 14, 2011 12:55:05 PM
I just switch to the mobile site when the app does not load the nearby stations as happened again last night.
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scoutmaster
Champion Author
Pittsburgh
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Message Posted: Dec 14, 2011 7:06:10 AM
Mine acts up all the time. Sometimes when I am sitting right beside a station it isn't the closest and sometimes it is.
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RichWLIN
Champion Author
Indiana
Posts:4,084
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Message Posted: Dec 14, 2011 7:01:27 AM
The app was misbehaving for me last night. I couldn't get my stations list to refresh even when I had clearly left the last area and entered a new area with a fresh group of stations. This hasn't happened to me in a while.
I wonder if they were experimenting with parameters on the other end last night around 8:30-9:00 EST?
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rspiano
Champion Author
Tucson
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Message Posted: Dec 12, 2011 10:00:19 AM
That's what I forgot to mention, CrackedLCD. Going down I-10 to L.A., I would hit "Stations Near Me" and only get certain stations. I remember something said a few posts back regarding filters. Tried that - the only stations selectable were those I have used in Tucson. Cannot find a way to disable the filters.
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