iPhone/smartphone apps

[theperfessor]

I'm just seeking some input here from you folks. Would anyone be interested in having some iPhone apps available relating to shooting, loading, or machining?

I'm thinking along the lines of RPM calculators. bolt circle hole calculators, ballistics calculators, shot timers. and so forth.

Share your thoughts.

[cheese1566]

I would love to find some reloading/ballistics/ timer apps for my Blackberry Pearl.:bigsmyl2:

[Tazman1602]

Love to find some for my blackberry 'perf, don't have an iPhone

[44man]

What's them things you are talking about? :!:

[autofix4u]

I would like that also, no Iphone . I use a moto Q or HTC ozone both are windows based. (my only nternet by the way)

[Bert2368]

There are allready ballistics apps for blackberry, aimed at the tacticool set. I think a sniper looking at a little bitty screen like the one I'm typing this out on would be at a serious disadvantage to an opponent armed with a rock or pointed stick... But for range and reloading bench use, sure!

I'm mostly following this site on my iPhone, no land lines at my usual work sites...

[35remington]

The apps available for the iphone could stand some upgrading. I'm thinking a clever fella could make some money making a useful app for shooters.

I'd buy one.

How about Quickload apps for these?

[Ed Barrett]

I live in one of the few areas of the country where no cell phones work. Can't get any of those app to work on my land line, but I do have broadband internet.

[462]

1. What's an app?

2. Why would I want one?

[Adam10mm]

Knight Armament's iPhone app, Bullet Flight, designed by R. Silvers of AAC (silencer manufacturer) is a great app. I have the military version for $30. Wonderful app.

Not many other apps for shooters. There's a couple for CCW reciprocity and some low tech ballistic programs. Most sophisticated one is Bullet Flight.

[Lloyd Smale]

I think dem blackberrys are the things that grow down by my pond and apps is short for where those poor soles that live in the city have to call home. Heck pal im just getting used to push button phones! My wife has a simple cell phone and the only thing i use it for is going to camp and she bitches that it doesnt work unless you turn it on but i cant find the switch on it ;)
What's them things you are talking about? :!:

[Doc Highwall]

I have a itouch but I do not have a iphone. AKA electronic umbilical cord

[montana_charlie]

Not once (so far) have I ever found myself wishing I had a cellphone.
Until that happens at least three times in a single 30-day period, I won't be looking for one.

Apps, ringtones, calling circles, and unused minutes are things that have no place in my thought processes.

Cellphones, in general, prompt a negative reaction with me because of the 'inconsiderate' (my polite term) ways people have found to use them.

I am thankful that the government has not (yet) passed a law which requires me to carry one...and buy the service from an 'approved' provider.

CM

[Adam10mm]

They are really helpful to have when you find yourself in the middle of no where with no building in sight, broken down, and haven't seen a car in 45 minutes. Then that stupid useless cell phone really comes in handy, if you have one.

[Mntngoat]

i have a ballistics program on my iphone and also a hunting calendar for moon phases.

ML

[AZ-Stew]

1. What's an app?

2. Why would I want one?

An "app" is an application. A program to run on your smart phone or similar device.

As others have mentioned, some of them are for computing ballistics. A handy thing to have with you if, for instance, you're varminting. I don't know how we got along when we had to tape a paper chart to our rifle stocks.

Regards,

Stew

[RugerFan]

I have an iTouch and have an app on it that will calculate P&Y and B&C scores. I would certainly consider shooting apps as well.

[Storydude]

"Shooter" ballistics calc. for Android.

Allows every input you can think of, uses GPS to grab closest Weather datas, allows for adjustments in mils, rads, in, and user defined "Clicks"

Will give ballistic flightpath in data form or graphical form.

Free from Google Market. :drinks:

[Marvin S]

I would like to see some machining apps, maybe charts/ tables and such for my I-touch.

[longhorn]

Lotsa Luddites, huh? I finally bought my first smartphone back in January; it's useful. Just a tool, folks, kinda like a gun--you control the thing, not the other way around. I'd think hard about shooting apps, and wonder about a smartphone optimized version of this site, since it's the first I check every evening.

[theperfessor]

Here's what prompted this post:

I'm always looking for better ways to teach and get information to students. Right now a lot of that is on paper because they need to have it with them in class and labs. Paper is expensive. Almost every one of my students has an Internet capable cell phone of some flavor with them ALL THE TIME. Like it or lump it, this is the way our kids prefer to get information and communicate and learn. Fine, then I will give them my educational information the way they are used to getting it.

One of the IT instructors in the College of Business at the university I work at is developing a server, database, and dedicated iPhone app setup primarily for a "get to know our university" sort of thing. He asked if there were any apps our department wanted to have generated that might be useful to engineering and technical students. I've written some HTML docs and database files for material properties, screw thread dimensions, RPM calculations, bolt circle coordinate calculations and so forth. They're on our department website, but they don't translate well for various reasons when you access them with a mobile device. My Chair OKed my request to suggest that these be rewritten to be iPhone specific apps.

After thinking it over and noting that many websites can detect access by a mobile device and switch to an alternative set of documents formatted specifically for such devices I may just see if we can do that to our website. The upside is that any mobile device could be used, the downside is the requirement to have an active connection. So I'm still gathering information as to the best way to proceed.

Like I said, if you don't want to own a cell phone or an Idoodle or anything else that's fine. For a lot of people they just don't fit their lifestyle, environment, and temperament. Whatever floats your boat. But my kids won't tune me out if I reach out halfway to communicate with them. And I'd like to share anything useful with my friends here and elsewhere.

[462]

Not a Luddite, I just don't have a need for every electronic gizmo that comes on the market.

Yes, I have a cell-phone. It's for emergencies or the not-too-often odd call, and it doesn't have Internet or texting capabilities, though the services are available -- just don't need 'em.

By the way, I sold consummer electronics for 20-years and repaired them for fourteen. I am a bit familiar with an electron.
Edit:
theperfessor,
We were typing at the same time.

[theperfessor]

To tell the truth, to a lot of my kids I'm not quite with it because I don't have any music and very few games on my iPhone. And I really do understand people adopting whatever technology is useful to them and that fits their lifestyle. I won't label people Luddites because they choose to use or not use any technology, it's just a choice. Black powder or smokeless, peep sights or scopes, cast or jacketed, whatever works for anybody else is not really my business.

But I enjoy having a choice, and using whatever media works to get out the message.

[cptinjeff]

I know there is already an app for the uspsa/ipsc guys for shot timing and scoring.

I think any shooting related or workshop related aps would have a market....but probably not a huge one. Still...it sounds like a great idea to reach the "kids" where the are!!!:-)

[Marvin S]

I too said I would never own these things a few years ago but have since got a pre paid trac phone that I hardly ever use but its there if needed. I also bought an I-touch which is basically an I-phone with out the phone and works from a Wi-Fi connection. It was my best friend when deployed to the sand box last year. Lots of difference from when I was in the first gulf war with a little portable cassette player and a few tapes and a chess set.

I can still pump well water with a 1916 hit and miss engine and use my 1937 maytag gas powered washing machine. So if something works Ill keep an open mind.

[mroliver77]

I cannot see the screens worth a darn on cell phones. I want one the size of a laptop.;) I cut the land line to the house and only have a cell phone that is on my ex wife's plan.I give her some $$ once in a while for it. She upgraded me to text a year or two ago. My phone would beep so I would plug it in. I thought the battery was dying on it. She asked why I did not reply to her messages. I got it figured out now. Well the 8 year old showed me how. It is a stupid way to type! If I need to I will type a short answer to an incoming message but rarely initiate text use.
Btw Perfessor, I had a couple teachers like you while in school and learned a lot from them. Most were undeserving of any respect and showed the pupils little if any. I wish there were more like you as I have an oops daughter of 9 years old that is very smart. She is usually way ahead of the others and is held back so as to not "leave any child behind". My ex abhors home schooling and private school is too expensive. I do my best to keep the kid occupied and her curiosity satiated. Keep up the good work!
Jay

[sundog]

I'll preface this by saying that I make a pretty good living as a programmer. Just because technology exists to do something, that does not mean it's the best way to do it. For example, adding a short list of numbers is often easiest with scrap paper and stubby pencil. That is, if you know how...

[dnepr]

if I can find shooting and machining apps for a smart phone that will make the decision for me this fall when my plan is up , I was trying to decide what to go to next , get another cheap as cell, or go to an iphone style , those type of apps will send me straight to an i phone , i would love to see the reloader reference program made to work on these, I see I have some research to do in the next few months

[7br]

Hey Perfessor, how bout a chronograph? Teach Port I/O, get into a fairly simple circuit design, a little PLC programming. State diagrams, etc. I could always snag my son's iPod touch and have my own chronograph. Great thing would be that a lot of the electronics would be behind the muzzle of the gun. I would suggest three screens with a one and three ft spacing. Would give you a 1,2 and 3ft averaged velocities. Build on it next year and you could bluetooth enable it (of course, this would put more electronics down range).

Save the output to xml and then the next app is your ballistics app. You could interpolate the results of shooting tests to match current shooting conditions. First test with a load was ran at 80 degrees F. and velocity was 2650. Second test with load was ran at 60deg. and velocity was 2550. Current temp is 70deg so velocity should be around 2600 fps.

I have thought about this a little bit, but was thinking more for a laptop.

Heck, write it up for Popular Mechanics and you have a great article.

If you would like to hear a few more of my offbeat ideas, drop me a PM.

[Bert2368]

I have to agree, something that would hold more than the memory of my chrony and goes with me in my pocket would be nice. I'll have to look at the ballistics app.

For the luddites, when I'm at the gun show with an iPhone I have no trouble checking Gunsamerica, Mid South Shooters Supply or the various bullet mould libraries for price checks and other info while right at the table trying to figure out what the heck that thing is and if it''s a good price. I've also uploaded pics of targets while still standing at the firing line-

Yes, it's an electronic umbilical cord. Look for kids to be getting an implanted version with wetware interface in the near future. Then a computer virus WILL be able to make someone sneeze.

[theperfessor]

I appreciate the constructive comments and information about what currently is available for smart phones and similar devices. It will help me determine what I put on the list for consideration when the time comes. I believe a committee will decide on which apps will be chosen. I just need to write the requirements and a justification for the use of each app. I can easily justify anything in the machining and shop practices area. Another faculty member is interested in an external ballistics program and will help me write a justification for that. And I can always call a shot timer a "lab event timer" or some such and get it on the list also if necessary, although I won't submit it if it won't be a significant improvement over what currently exists. (I won't waste our resources reinventing the wheel.)

Sundog, I can appreciate the difference between what CAN be done versus what SHOULD be done. You sound like a pretty good programmer who knows the difference also. But I'm not going to turn down even the slightest chance to have somebody else write free software that serves a useful purpose.

Mroliver77, it sounds like your little girl is a gem. I share your frustration with the current educational system philosophy. Sorry I can't do much to help you, but keep her challenged and rewarded for her accomplishments. I subscribe to the starfish theory - I can't rescue every starfish that washes up on shore, but I can rescue the one right there in front of me. You challenge yours, and I'll keep challenging the students that are right in front of me every day. I learned a long time ago that I can't change the whole world, but I can change my little piece of it.

Now, without rancor, I'd like to express a couple of personal comments here. I knew as soon as I started this thread that there would be posts from people who for one reason or another have a negative view of cell phones (and by extension, other forms of emerging technology). I'm just wondering why they feel the need to take the time to make negative comments with no useful input.

I'm primarily a big bore DA revolver fan. I'm not really into muzzleloaders, AR-15s, and SA revolvers. Just my taste, they don't really interest me all that much. Other people enjoy them and that's fine with me. But suppose somebody posted a thread that said they had the chance to have a friend develop a new piece of hardware for an AR-15 that they would give away for FREE, what type of device would they be most interested in?

I'd never think of even posting comments that weren't useful to the discussion, since I don't have one and therefore wouldn't be interested in what was offered. And if I did post a comment about why I thought they were "tools of the devil" (a slight exaggeration) and why would anybody want one, I'd sound like Jim Zorn, and he got hammered bad for that.

Folks, I was just trying to see if anything I came up with to help my students might also help my friends here. For free.

I can't help seeing the disconnect between people using the Internet and a computer to comment on the negative aspects of another useful technology. Maybe its time for a few people to look in the mirror and have an attitude check discussion with the person in front of them.

[Lee]

Opinions. Everybody has them. And in a free society, they should be allowed to express them. (That freedom stops at the point of expressing the opinion "Fire!" in a crowded movie theatre.) Now not all positive sounding opinions are good, and not all negative sounding opinions are bad. It's up to the recipient to sort them out and evaluate them. But then, that's just my opinion......Lee:coffee:

[sundog]

Hey, Perfessor, there's another part to what I mentioned. Utility software (unlike system or process software which provides core services) is a great thing, a time and error saver, mostly. The other side of that is the user really needs to know how and when to revert to manual mode when things go awry. I agree with your comments that well written utility software, especially the free stuff, is a great enhancement to out lives. btw, I'm a bit of a pragmatist in my analysis and code design. More of a 'getter done' kind of guy, good solid, error free programming, without a whole lot of bells and whistles. It's like I tell folks at work, "this programming stuff is really tough on a country boy who grew up in the 50s."

[Lloyd Smale]

is most of topic expressed here greak to anyone other then me. Its sure hell to be a dumb ass all alone.

[theperfessor]

Hey sundog, I understand where your coming from. I don't like a lot of dancing baloney and useless **** either. Software ought to be a sharp knife and not an unwieldy club. And paper will never go away. I start virtually every mechanical design with a pencil, ruler, and a fresh sheet of engineering graph paper. It may end up on a CAD system eventually, but it starts on paper. And I have access to a variety of math programs and still I end up doing a ton of hand calculations on paper. Its all in using the most appropriate technology.

Lloyd, nobody knows everything about everything. I've been to professional seminars where I haven't understand diddly squat about what the speaker was talking about.

A "smartphone", whether its an iPhone or one of many other brands is really nothing more than a tiny computer that interacts with built in hardware to perform many functions besides just handling cell phone communications. You can browse the web, take pictures, send and receive emails, text messages and "tweets". You can also run small programs called "apps" (short for applications) that perform specific functions. Some typical apps include note pads, calendars, location and route mapping, sound recordng, and so forth.

Programmers like sundog make everything work, by writing the digital code that tells the computer how to use the hardware to accomplish some task. Because the hardware on many smartphones is similar to the hardware on many other dedicated devices (shot timers for example, where you need a microphone and a timer/clock) the software writers can make smartphones do a lot of things nobody really anticipated.

Some people like cellphones, some don't. Mine is the handiest single tool I've ever had, one that will do about 80% of the things I need to do on a daily basis, about like a Swiss army knife to a camper. Not the best for every task, but good enough for most things to be very, very handy.

And if I have the chance to get free blades that work better in my knife, then I want them, and I'd like to share them with anybody else that might want them too.

[Lee]

Till today, I never realized that a phone app might be available to calculate boolit trajectory. Always thought it was just moronic games and twitter poop.
That said, I'm still pretty much with the dinosaurs who don't have a c-phone. Or those who do and don't know what their c-phone number is. And can't understand text when a phone is for "audio" calls. I actually do have one, don't know my number, and don't text. And have the GPS turned "off" (as far as I know!!)
AND, watching phone companies upgrading to I'net/4G/text/etc. all with a steady increase in price continues to convince me that some of these c-phone luxuries are generated by the carriers interested in larding their coffers, helping themselves to the contents of my wallet. I'm almost to the point of a Jitterbug or throw-away use on demand cell phone just for those "emergency" issues. I did manage to survive the majority of my life w/o a c-phone. I think I still could now. Any emergency I might find myself in, I'm sure some busy-body with a c-phone will report my predicament for me, with or w/o my request or consent. I still don't believe there was anything wrong with the mil-dot paper taped to the stock of the rifle.
Just my humble opinion..................Lee

[7br]

Ok, I have been wanting a digital reloading log. I have thought about a java app. Not sure if application/applet or jsp/servlet. I have started laying out the base classes. Anyone on the board want to help?

[longhorn]

It's mostly Greek to me, too, Dale--same as raising the hood on my truck; I recognize the dipstick and the radiator, but.......I know very little about software, but I sure like some of the things it does, like this forum. An external ballistics calculator/program could be real handy.

[Lee]

longhorn,I agree, it disgusts me that I have to decipher the stuff under the hood. Is English not good anymore??

I have to listen to Spanish poop on my phone? Why must I submit to symbolistic poop when I lift my hood?
I can spell decipher, why can't they???

OK, out in the field. Open up your app, poink in your data, and as a sniper, are you comfortable your adversary isn't watching your c-phone flashes and targeting YOUR position?? Hey, just a question!!.......................Lee

[longhorn]

I was thinking more in terms of calculated versus observed trajectories, and therefore ballistic coefficients and various bullet/boolit characteristics. What I've calculated for my loads (and I don't claim to be any sort of a mathematician) sure doesn't match up with observed trajectories, etc. The only "sniping" I might be doing is at prairie dogs.......

[462]

theperfessor,
Please disregard my negative comments. PM sent.

[Marvin S]

One does not necessarily have to have a monthly money pit to take advantage of apps when you use an I-touch as it runs off a Wi-Fi connection. Once you have bought the thing it is paid for and done unless you wish to add apps to it which are a one time cost of anywhere from free to about $5.00. I got a whole dictionary on mine for a buck or two.