My old C80 chart plotter is out for repair again, so after reading around on this site, I downloaded the highly recommended iSailor for my iPhone to give it a try. From a couch-view perspective, it seems like a great app. Took it sailing yesterday and I sort of balanced it in the open Navpod shell above the helm, where my plotter usually sits. All was well until I started tacking. 4 tacks in a row, the app/iPhone would lose GPS fix when I tacked! As far as I could tell, it wouldn't get the fix back again until I closed down the app and restarted it, at which point (to the app designers credit) it would pick up exactly where it left off, including the track I had started. Having had a similar problem with the C80 for years (usually losing GPS once per outing, and having to power cycle the C80 and GPS to get it back), I was sort of bummed out to have this happen again.
So I experimented by moving the iPhone away from the helm, sitting it on the seat next to me. Tacked a couple more times: no problem. The only thing I can think of to explain this is that I was sailing solo, so I used the auto tack feature on my autopilot. This causes a quick whir of the motor as it changes heading by 90 degrees or so for the tack: I guess it was EM interference when the iPhone is too close to the autopilot motor (maybe 1.5 or 2 feet away).
Anyway, has anyone else noticed this problem? I don't think it has much to do with iSailor, but more with the whole concept of using an iPhone or iPad at the helm. I've been debating whether to get a new plotter, vs. trying an iPad, but I'm not wild about the thought of the iPad having to reload the app every time it loses GPS.
So I experimented by moving the iPhone away from the helm, sitting it on the seat next to me. Tacked a couple more times: no problem. The only thing I can think of to explain this is that I was sailing solo, so I used the auto tack feature on my autopilot. This causes a quick whir of the motor as it changes heading by 90 degrees or so for the tack: I guess it was EM interference when the iPhone is too close to the autopilot motor (maybe 1.5 or 2 feet away).
Anyway, has anyone else noticed this problem? I don't think it has much to do with iSailor, but more with the whole concept of using an iPhone or iPad at the helm. I've been debating whether to get a new plotter, vs. trying an iPad, but I'm not wild about the thought of the iPad having to reload the app every time it loses GPS.