hands free android note app

I like to take notes to update OSM while riding my motorcycle. It’s not feasible to touch the phone while riding though. I have a Sena bluetooth helmet com system to connect to my phone. I haven’t found a good hands free app to take notes though. The best I’ve found is easy voice recorder pro, but it still requires touching the phone to start and stop a recording. Anybody know of a good app for this?

As a mapper who also used his motorcycle i can just recommend Vespucci for small mobile edits.
BUT i would also recommend to park your motorcycle and then survey the area and NOT taking notes while passing by.

One app that can do audio notes, in addition to other features, is OSMTracker for Android. But unfortunately I believe it requires a button press before recording. :confused: At best you might be able to customize its UI to increase the size of that button (and I understand even that is rather technical, using XML configurations).

OSMTracker looks great, if I could get it to work handsfree. Samsung Bixby seems to have some potential, but it may require coding up a ‘bixby capsule’.

Not sure if you’re still looking, but I did get OSMtracker to work ‘hands-free’ using a headset. Hands-free as in ‘the phone stays in the pocket, no need to touch it’. I still have to push the microphone button on the headset, though.

Two things:

  • you want to check if you can operate the button with your gloves on. Motorbike gloves are bulkier than my bicycle gloves, I suppose.
  • from what I gather on the OSMtracker github, this only works for cabled headsets (with a jack cable). Bluetooth headsets are not supported, it seems.

This definitely made my surveying much more efficient: I can safely record voice notes without stopping or even slowing down. With a bit of practice, I’ve figured out a way to wrap the cable around my helmet’s chin strap such that the mic dangles right in front of my mouth.

I hope this helps!

I would love to see if voice activation could work. Although the wind noise etc certainly makes it near impossible.

I suggest using Voice Notes.
Its advantages:
1- Saves notes automatically in text files.
2- Ability to back up notes on cloud servers

At best you might be able to customize its UI to increase the size of that button.

One application that can do sound notes, notwithstanding different highlights, is OSMTracker for Android. Be that as it may, shockingly I trust it requires a catch press prior to recording. well At best you could possibly redo its UI to expand the size of that catch (and I see even that is fairly specialized, utilizing XML setups).

Tried the one you recommended, though I don’t have to ride motorcycle all the time. But yeah, liked it. Thanks a bunch.

Agree. Samsung Bixby was convinent too for me, but I did not like it much.

Nice Recommendation.