SUN SEEKER - Frequently Asked Questions

There are quite a few videos available which feature Sun Seeker - some created by us and many others created independently by enthusiastic users.

Here is a playlist of some of the best, starting with our very own promo/demo video.

• Map View - Use the Map view to search for the required location, by entering an address or place description. You can drag and drop the place marker to make small adjustments to location if necessary. Then tap on the location pin's callout to save the location. You are given the option to edit the details further if you wish. Tapping Done saves it to the list of saved locations.
• Database search - Tap the Here button, and then choose "Search for Location" and type in a city or town name. This filters the list of available locations according to what you type in, and you can tap on one to save it to the list of saved locations.
• Manual entry - Tap the Here button, and then choose "Enter New Location". You can enter all the location details manually, including it's latitude and longitude and timezone. Tapping Done saves it to the list of saved locations.

[iOS] If the 3D view is entirely stuck or randomly rotating, then please check the following setting:

Scroll right to the bottom and then choose

Make sure that both Compass Calibration and Motion Calibration & Distance are switched ON. If these settings are off, then apps are unable to access compass headings relative to true north, including Apple's own Compass app, and device attitude calibration may also suffer.

If the flat view compass (on Sun Seeker's main screen) is entirely stuck and permanently pointing N to the top of screen, then please check the following settings

If both of these are ON and Sun Seeker's compass is still stuck, then reboot your device. If rebooting doesn't fix it, then also check the Apple compass app to see if that is also stuck - this would indicate a possible hardware/software problem with the device.

The app's solar calculation is very accurate (typically better than 1 second of arc in the Sun's position), but the weak link in the chain is the device's magnetometer which is prone to two types of issues

1. If there is any magnetic interference, then (like a standard needle compass) the device compass will be adversely affected. For example, being inside a car will likely cause major deviations to compass readings, but also being near a computer or electrical device may do too. Please note that if you have any kind of magnetic material or clip on your device cover, then this can also dramatically interfere with the compass accuracy.
2. The magnetometer can drift and become mis-calibrated. You can get an indication calibration quality by checking the quality bars at top/right of the screen - 1/red = poor, 2/orange = fair, 3/green = good. However, even when this signal indicates good calibration, the calibration can never-the-les still be improved. See the FAQs below for instructions on how best to calibrate the compass.

Note - Sun Seeker also allows you to set the direction of the sun in the 3D view manually by overriding the device compass. See the following FAQ for more details.

Note - [iOS] In some cases, upon first opening of the 3D view, the compass direction may appear to have a very large discrepancy. This can usually be remedied simply by exiting and then re-entering the 3D view, or else by switching to gyroscope-only mode, and then straight back to compass mode.

There is a feature which allows you to switch off the compass, set the direction manually, and then rely only on the device's inbuilt gyroscope to maintain correct alignment.

This option is useful provided that you are able to set the correct heading of the device, either by matching the app's sun icon with the actual sun's position in the sky, or else by using the "Azimuth Finder" features to align the 3D view's azimuth heading with the direction of a visible landmark. For a detailed explanation of how to do this, please view this blog post.

It is also useful even if the compass is working accurately, as it eliminates minor automatic recalibrations that iOS makes to the heading from time to time.

To switch to gyroscope-only mode [iOS]:

To switch to gyroscope-only mode [Android & iOS]:

You may then use your finger to drag the heading to a new position. The cursor heading and latitude/longitude grid will rotate with your finger until you lift it from the screen.

Once you have set the heading that you want, the device will continue to run in gyroscope-only mode until you tap on the gyroscope icon to switch it back to compass mode. You may notice a jump in heading after you do this, as the device returns to using the heading reported by the compass, instead of your manually-set heading.

Note - The 3D view always start with the compass enabled. You must switch manually to gyroscope-only mode every time you re-enter the view, if you wish to keep using it. This is necessary because there is gyroscope drift over time, whereas the compass heading is generally more stable over time.

For both iOS and Android, it is possible to calibrate the compass despite there being no built-in tool to do so. Here is a video clip explaining how you can calibrate the compass to get optimum performance.

Doing this should ensure that you get best possible accuracy from Sun Seeker, as well as from all other apps that use the magnetometer.

[iOS] Please note that Apple's own magnetometer accuracy specifications indicate that the compass is only accurate to within +/-25 degrees. However, this is a worst case scenario and you can normally obtain much better performance than this through calibration - often to within a few degrees or better.

[iOS] Although earlier version of Apple's compass app allowed you to calibrate the device accelerometers, this feature is no longer included in recent iOS releases. Instead, the device is largely self-calibrating. However, you may need to ensure that the automatic calibration has not been disabled.

Scroll right to the bottom and then choose

Make sure that Motion Calibration & Distance is switched ON. If this setting is off, then apps are unable to calibrate their accelerometers.

[iOS] Widgets are displayed in the iOS Notifications view. Sun Seeker has its own widget which you can use to see current solar information without having to open the app. For an explanation of widgets and how to add them, please see this helpful guide from iMore.

Please view this article explaining how you can use Sun Seeker to analyse the sunlight availability of any window in a house or building.

If so, then please Contact Us by Email and let us know what device model and OS and app versions you are using. If possible, it is better to email us via the app's Info page, as this will automatically include the necessary information as an attachment to your email.