Touge
I built Touge for back-road drives. It plans twisty routes, works with downloaded maps, records the trip and shows where the rest of the group is, even without cell service when you have radios.
Touge is in Google Play testing, so it won't show up in a search. Two steps, both signed in with the Google account on your phone.
About 10 minutes after joining, tap Become a tester, then install from Google Play.
Get the appGoogle takes about 10 minutes to give a new group member access. If Play says the app isn't available, wait a few more minutes and check you're signed in with the same Google account that joined the group.
These are screenshots from a Samsung tablet and a Moto phone. The route examples around Tazewell and Floyd, Virginia, are real plans made on the bench. Group-driving screens show a demo ride with three simulated cars; radio screens show real radios on the bench. Android Auto screenshots come from the desktop head unit, with Touge running on the Moto.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Ride together
See who is ahead, who is behind and when each car last reported.
- See each car's distance along the route and how old its position is. Off-route cars use straight-line distance.
- Cars move smoothly between updates, then stop and fade if updates stop. Voice alerts warn about large gaps and silent cars.
- The phone and tablet have the same controls. Background sharing keeps your position updating while you use another app.
- Report police, hazards, crashes, traffic, closures or animals in two taps. Undo is available afterwards.
- Reports go to your ride over radio or cell. With WzSabre installed, they also go to Waze.
- Nearby duplicates merge into one pin. Reports expire by type and survive an app restart.
How positions travel
Bluetooth connects the phone to its radio. Between cars, Touge uses 2.4 GHz, LoRa and cell.
- Bluetooth: connects each phone to its radio. Incoming car positions are grouped into batches to reduce reads.
- 2.4 GHz: Heltec V3 and V4 radios with Touge firmware share positions over ESP-NOW, targeting one update per second per car. They can relay through other cars.
- Group size: the schedule has 32 slots. Simulations cover 25 to 29 cars, including joins, reboots and groups merging. Small groups can send up to four times a second when fresh GPS fixes are available.
- LoRa: provides more range and up to three relay hops. The default target is five seconds; larger groups need longer intervals.
- Cell: shares positions through the ride server when radios are unavailable. With radios connected, periodic server checks help find cars outside radio range.
- Updates use the ride's key. The app prefers fresh radio positions and rejects older copies from other links.
- The chat screen shows the 2.4 GHz channel, slot and nearby cars. A missing radio status report turns the card red.
- Each car shows its active link, update rate and signal strength. LoRa also shows signal-to-noise ratio.
- Colours show signal quality. Red names warn that a packet used the full hop allowance. The Range screen explains the readings.
- Messages show whether they arrived directly, through relays or through the server.
- Green antennas mean 2.4 GHz, blue antennas mean LoRa, and amber bars mean the server.
- Each car uses its rider's chosen model and colour. Old positions fade and show their age.
- Link diagnostics shows Bluetooth reads, position updates, batches, dropped writes and each car's update rate.
- A write is counted as dropped when the radio identifies it. The same counters are logged every five seconds.
- Start a ride, then invite people by QR code, link or radio. Each ride has its own key.
- A separate QR code configures stock Meshtastic radios for the ride's channel.
- Lock everyone out replaces the key and invalidates old invites.
- Send to group shares your stops and points along your chosen route so the group follows the same roads.
- Choose from 96 car and bike icons, including 13 bikes and trikes.
- Search by make or model, then pick a colour. The preview shows what others will see on their map.
The radio
- Select a radio and pair using the PIN on its screen.
- Configure this radio for the ride sets the region, speed, three-hop limit, owner name and encrypted ride channel.
- Choose Turbo, Short, Medium or Long. Short is the default; slower settings trade airtime for range. Larger groups and relays need more airtime.
- Done with this radio leaves the ride, restores the stock name and channel, and unpairs it.
- Hold the radio's button for four seconds to shut it down.
- Stock Meshtastic nodes on the same channel can exchange LoRa positions. Touge firmware adds the 2.4 GHz link.
Touge supports the Heltec V3, V4 and Meshnology N30. For a V4, check whether the listing is the 22 or 28 dBm version and which antenna connections it includes.
Use the web flasher in Chrome or Edge over USB. Update preserves settings; Fresh install clears them. The firmware source is on GitHub.
A V4 with the GNSS expansion module can supply location to a tablet without GPS. Touge uses it when the device has no good fix.
Other compatible Meshtastic radios, including the T1000-E, provide LoRa. The 2.4 GHz link requires a supported V3 or V4 running Touge firmware.
Getting everyone in
First setup covers your profile, the ride and offline maps.
- Set your name, vehicle and colour.
- Start or join a ride by link, QR code or radio invite. Advertise sends invites every 45 seconds for up to 15 minutes; anyone in radio range can join while it's running.
- Download maps if you want them offline. You can skip any setup step.
Choose a route
Compare travel time with how twisty each route is.
- Compare up to eight routes per leg, from highways to back roads. Each has a colour, number, travel time and TWIST score.
- The TWIST score uses bends, corner radius and junctions along the route.
- In the Tazewell example, VA 16 scores 48 at 45 minutes. Two alternatives score 49 but take 58 or 59 minutes. When scores are within two points, Twistiest puts the quicker route first.
- Routes come from Valhalla using your driving preferences. Tap a destination name to change it.
- Each route shows paved, unpaved and unknown surfaces. Gravel is marked brown, with a warning before starting in a road-focused mode.
- Live traffic adds another route option. Known closures are marked red and ranked last.
- Missing surface data is labelled unknown.
A different style for each leg
Use highways to get there, back roads for the ride and the quickest way home.
- Choose Fastest, Mixed, Back roads or Twistiest for each leg.
- Start from your current location, Home or any place you choose.
- Saved Touge plans keep their stops and leg styles. Reopen one with Route it, pick a new start and plan it again.
- Build the trip in the regular route screen and compare the ways there.
- Select the roads you want, then tap Save to keep the plan as GPX.
- The Floyd example is a 25-mile return trip with a 27-minute estimate, planned on the bench.
Edit a route
Pick the roads you want by adding points on the map.
- Long-press to add a stop or shaping point. Drag it to another road, or tap to edit or remove it.
- Reverse the route or close it into a loop.
- Save it as GPX or start navigation.
Save, share and import your routes
Keep a route you planned, send its GPX file or bring it back into Touge.
- Save in the route chooser adds your planned route to Rides and routes. The same library holds recorded rides and imported GPX files.
- The share button exports the GPX through Android's share sheet. Import opens the file picker so you can bring it into Touge again.
- Follow follows the saved road line, including roads missing from the map.
- Route it reopens a Touge plan's editable stops and leg styles, then calculates a route from the start you choose. An ordinary recorded track can also be routed with road names, lane guidance and rerouting.
- The app keeps the latest 30 recordings; imported files stay until you delete them.
Drive it
- Turn guidance includes lane arrows where map data is available. Spoken directions lower the music volume briefly.
- The map uses your direction of travel, so moving the phone at a stop doesn't rotate it.
- Speed limits work offline with a route. Without a route, the app asks the server for the road's limit.
- ETA, remaining distance and TWIST score update as you drive.
Off the route
Miss a turn and you can rejoin your planned route or choose a new one.
The prompt appears when you are at least a quarter mile off route, travelling at 10 mph or more, with a destination ahead.
After a 30-second countdown, Touge connects you to the route ahead and keeps your remaining stops.
Recalculate to the destination, keeping your preferences for each remaining leg.
Dismiss the prompt. It returns after ten seconds if you are still well off route.
- Rejoining keeps the remaining route and stops, checks known closures, and uses that leg's driving style.
- If no open connection is available, Touge offers a new route.
Stops
A card appears two miles before a stop with three choices.
- Skip removes the stop and continues to the next one.
- Later moves it to the end of the trip.
- Go on keeps it. Ignore the card to continue as planned.
On-screen directions only.
Standard spoken directions.
Just the direction and road name.
Short, shouted Japanese corner calls. Requires a Japanese voice installed.
Weather and road reports
Weather radar and reports of police and hazards ahead.
- The status chip shows the active radio link, time, signal and battery.
GPS: radiomeans the radio is supplying your location. - The Waze chip shows the last update and report count. It changes colour when updates are late; tap it to browse reports.
- The weather radar shows NEXRAD within 100 miles, with distance rings. It refreshes every five minutes or five miles, and supports a custom tile feed.
Police alerts are filtered to within half a mile of the route or road ahead.
See the road, distance, estimated arrival time, report age and confirmations.
The three nearest relevant police reports appear below the weather radar.
Spoken warnings are filtered to your road and, when a heading is supplied, your direction of travel.
Pins show their type and age, fade over time and expire according to the report type.
Tap a pin for distance, age and confirmations.
Alerts you control
- Each report type has separate map and voice switches on one screen.
- Choose a warning distance from half a mile to two miles, with at least 20 seconds of notice at speed.
- An optional chime comes before speech. Silent mode disables spoken alerts.
Valentine One Gen 2
Show detector alerts on the map and change its logic mode automatically.
- Connect a Valentine One Gen 2 over Bluetooth to show signal direction, band, frequency and strength on the map.
- Touge selects Advanced Logic (L) in dense urban areas and Logic (l) elsewhere. A manual change on the detector lasts until Touge changes modes or reconnects.
- Extra muting covers saved false alerts, weak signals and speeds less than 10 mph over a known limit. X/K muting in town is optional.
- Close JBV1 first: the detector connects to one app at a time.
Tire pressure
Watch tire pressure and temperature, with alerts for leaks.
- Assign supported Bluetooth sensors to each wheel: Zeepin/TPMSII, DJTPMS or Tesla.
- Alerts cover pressure below 20 psi, a 2 psi/minute leak, a 10 psi drop from peak pressure, or temperatures above 158°F.
- A red warning strip and spoken alert identify the tire.
Maps, search, and your own server
- Download a state, a region such as Blue Ridge, an area around you or a corridor along your trip.
- The app calculates the download size first. Multiple packs display together and share an offline search index.
- Downloaded maps don't expire.
Enable on-device routing to calculate routes without signal. It needs extra storage: about 300 MB for North Carolina. Touge uses the server when available and labels the route source.
TomTom supplies traffic colours and incidents, refreshed every two minutes. Add a TomTom API key in settings. Duplicate closures from TomTom and Waze merge.
Routes on forest roads and tracks, including offline. It records your trail and lets you leave the planned route without reroute prompts.
- Search all downloaded packs, including places outside the current map view.
- Fuel, food, coffee and viewpoints have shortcuts. Along a route, results are ordered by when you'll reach them.
- Recent and starred places appear before you type. Food search filters chains and checks opening hours when available.
Rides are recorded automatically as GPX and saved in Rides and routes.
Install the WzSabre proxy app for Waze reports through SABRE, the same connection used by JBV1.
My Valhalla server covers four states, with FOSSGIS as a fallback elsewhere. A subscription of about $3/month covers the server, or you can enter your own Valhalla URL.
Show navigation, group positions, weather and relevant police reports on the head unit. Group, Routes, Search and Tires are available as car screens.
Search on Android Auto
Find a town or street address from the car's search screen.
- Enter Tazewell, VA or Floyd, VA to distinguish the town from local roads with the same name.
- Search uses downloaded places and an online fallback. Online town and address search also works without a local place index.
- While a new lookup runs, the screen shows Searching… and clears the previous rows. Clearing the text or leaving search cancels the pending lookup.
- Include the street number, town and state. The checked Floyd address returns the courthouse.
- If no downloaded place matches, address search needs an internet connection. An unavailable lookup settles to Nothing found.
The settings screen
Seven categories, searchable settings and a summary of each category.
- Settings are grouped into navigation, group and radio, sound, display, devices, recording, and app data.
- Each category shows its current setup and any missing configuration. Less-used controls sit under Advanced.
- Server addresses and keys have Save and Cancel buttons. Backup and restore transfers settings, including the ride key, to another device.
- Search by setting name, category or current value.
- Results show where the setting lives and what it's set to.
Choose how much road is visible, from a quarter mile to 15 miles.
Set the tilt from 30 to 60 degrees, or switch to a flat map.
Automatically zoom closer as you approach a junction or stop.
Move your car on the screen to leave more room ahead or behind.
The Touge icon: a car on a mountain switchback at night.