I Pad Nav app?

Tata duende

Tata duende

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Dec 28, 2014
61
Hunter 280 Mandeville, LA
I inherited a hand-me-down I Pad from my g'dau (kinda shows where I am with technology) and want to load a GPS type navigation/chartplotter type app on it. Anyone done this and have recommendations as to a specific app? I have been reading up on reviews and there are a bunch of them out there, but this one seems to be highly recommended, iSailGPS for Your Apple Mobile Devices
 
Tally Ho

Tally Ho

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Jan 7, 2011
5,700
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
I use iSailGPS. It is free, and used free maps you can download from NOAA.
I am sure there are better apps out there, but hard to beat free, since I only use it to track distance, speed, etc.

A couple of screenshots below. It will calculate VMG, ETA, ETA, etc.
Available for Windows and as an app for iPad.

Www.isailgps.com

Greg
 

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quadrille38

quadrille38

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Apr 11, 2010
979
Hunter 38 Whitehall MI
Do a search of the archives using the term iPad or navigation. There on hundreds of posts on this subject. You will find a weath of information. What you will also find is that like with propellers, anchors and a couple of other subjects they are as many opinions as there are posters.

Do check out what is the most commonly asked question regarding iPads and that is whether you need cellular capable iPad or not.
 
S

Steve Kamp

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May 7, 2004
252
Hunter 38 Little River, SC
Garmin Blue Chart interacts well with Active Captain. Combine it with a blue tooth device called "Bad Elf" for satellite GPS and you can go anywhere.
 
Meriachee

Meriachee

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Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
"Dual" makes a bluetooth gps receiver called the Skypro. About 100 bucks.
 
N

Newport Bob

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Jun 23, 2013
271
Beneteau 373 Newport
Check out iSailor. I used it for a year before installing a fixed mount chartploter and still use it as backup and for planning.
 
JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,815
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
C

Ch0pp3r

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Aug 26, 2014
19
Hunter 33.5 Baltimore, MD
Regarding the IPAD, there are two types of IPAD's. One is WIFI only and the other is WIFI+Cellular. An IPAD that has the Phone chip (Cellular) in it (capable of having a data plan) also means it has built-in GPS. IPAD's without the Cellular option need an external GPS to operate properly using a GPS app.

Note: You do NOT need to have a data contract on the cellular IPAD to have a working GPS. It just need the cellular capable chip there to have functioning GPS.

Not news to some folks but maybe this is important to people not in the know...
 
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Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,711
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
I have tried almost all of the nav apps and the one I use most is iSailor. It is produced by a very legitimate company, Transas, that has been doing navigation systems for commercial shipping for 25 plus years and owns most of that market.

I have iNavX, Garmin, Navionics and iSailor loaded on my iPad and use iSailor for 96% of it and Garmin for the rest. Navionics and iNavX I rarely pull up...

I deleted iSail, Skipper and a couple of others I did not like.

Keep in mind that the Garmin app is a "planning app" not a navigation app....

As others have said you will need a cellular enabled iPad to have internal GPS capability. If you have the wifi only iPad model then you'll need and external wired or bluetooth GPS..
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Maine Sail said:
I have tried almost all of the nav apps and the one I use most is iSailor. It is produced by a very legitimate company, Transas, that has been doing navigation systems for commercial shipping for 25 plus years and owns most of that market.
Click to expand
This. The app really is that good. And their subscription GRIB-based weather service is spectacular.

The only reason I would ever suggest NAVIONICS or Garmin is if you need inland US lake coverage. Those two outfits do their own lake cartography.
 
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Mark Maulden

Mark Maulden

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Jan 25, 2011
2,439
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
What are your minuses with Navionics? I believe the Raymarine plotters are loaded with them?
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Mark Maulden said:
What are your minuses with Navionics? I believe the Raymarine plotters are loaded with them?
Click to expand
Raymarine uses Navionics cartography. The software that displays it on the screen of the MFD is theirs. Their maps are not bad and indeed I use them in our B&G plotters.

Now back to the app, it's really more of a planner/viewer. For those purposes it's fine.
 
Mark Maulden

Mark Maulden

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Jan 25, 2011
2,439
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
So you're saying the cartography on the plotter is different than what's presented on the app chart? Or is it the app features that are lacking? I have both but have not used the app for anything other than planning. I consider it a backup...
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Mark Maulden said:
So you're saying the cartography on the plotter is different than what's presented on the app chart? Or is it the app features that are lacking? I have both but have not used the app for anything other than planning. I consider it a backup...
Click to expand
No read again, exactly the opposite. The chart are the same and should/could display the same. Its the app that is different. I say 'could' because the chart is just a computer file that can be drawn any way the application wants to. That's why Raymarine screens look different than B&G using the exact same chart.
 
Meriachee

Meriachee

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Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
And the lighthouse charts won't accept SonarCharts input which is a really cool thing.
 
ttac

ttac

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Aug 9, 2010
114
Hunter Passage 42 Kemah, TX
We have the Garmin Blue Chart on our iPads and I like that it works with the Active Captian. I also use isailor, and nv charts to have other views.
 
Nodak7

Nodak7

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Sep 28, 2008
1,256
Hunter 41DS Punta Gorda, FL
We use the iSailor App with the Bad Elf GPS on Bluetooth. Works great! I especially like the Anchor alarm on iSailor. That alone would be a good reason to own it. By using the Bad Elf you are not tied into a cellular system and it works anywhere. We used it when transiting across the Gulf. Good luck!
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,711
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Nodak7 said:
We use the iSailor App with the Bad Elf GPS on Bluetooth. Works great! I especially like the Anchor alarm on iSailor. That alone would be a good reason to own it. By using the Bad Elf you are not tied into a cellular system and it works anywhere. We used it when transiting across the Gulf. Good luck!
Click to expand
Any 3G capable (cellular capable) iPad has a built in GPS.

YOU DO NOT NEED A CELL PLAN FOR THE INTERNAL GPS TO WORK.

The built in GPS chip will work anywhere with no external GPS, wi-fi or cell plan.

I have never had a cell plan fon any of our iPads. If I need internet on my iPad, outside the range of wi-fi, I tether the iPad to my iPhone for internet access and use the phones 3G or 4G data. Our 3G capable iPads still operate the GPS hundreds of miles from any cell or wi-fi service just as accurately as out fixed mount plotters.

If you do not have a 3G enabled iPad, and you have the basic wi-fi only model, then you will need an external GPS but if you have a 3G iPad there is no need for any external GPS. To me the additional expense, for a boat owner, to upgrade to a 3G capable iPad is well worth the additional up-front $130.00 expense. By doing so it eliminates an additional piece of gear to rely on, that has potential to fail or drop a BT signal from or have a battery die etc. and it usually costs less than purchasing a BT external GPS..

Last spring during one of the iPad software upgrades, IOS 8.3 to be specific, many of my customers using an external GPS puck (most use Bad Elf or Dual) lost that capability. Even in the next revision, to IOS 8.4, some still had issues if they had older BT GPS models. During this time the 3G capable iPads suffered no loss of GPS use.
 
Nodak7

Nodak7

.
Sep 28, 2008
1,256
Hunter 41DS Punta Gorda, FL
Maine Sail said:
Any 3G capable (cellular capable) iPad has a built in GPS.

YOU DO NOT NEED A CELL PLAN FOR THE INTERNAL GPS TO WORK.

The built in GPS chip will work anywhere with no external GPS, wi-fi or cell plan.

I have never had a cell plan fon any of our iPads. If I need internet on my iPad, outside the range of wi-fi, I tether the iPad to my iPhone for internet access and use the phones 3G or 4G data. Our 3G capable iPads still operate the GPS hundreds of miles from any cell or wi-fi service just as accurately as out fixed mount plotters.

If you do not have a 3G enabled iPad, and you have the basic wi-fi only model, then you will need an external GPS but if you have a 3G iPad there is no need for any external GPS. To me the additional expense, for a boat owner, to upgrade to a 3G capable iPad is well worth the additional up-front $130.00 expense. By doing so it eliminates an additional piece of gear to rely on, that has potential to fail or drop a BT signal from or have a battery die etc. and it usually costs less than purchasing a BT external GPS..

Last spring during one of the iPad software upgrades, IOS 8.3 to be specific, many of my customers using an external GPS puck (most use Bad Elf or Dual) lost that capability. Even in the next revision, to IOS 8.4, some still had issues if they had older BT GPS models. During this time the 3G capable iPads suffered no loss of GPS use.
Click to expand

Mainsail,

My iPad is not connected to a celluar service but I found that the internal gps (it is 3G) does not play well with iSailor. You are correct about having a second item to drag around being a pain. I did experience the loss of my Bad Elf because of the Apple IOS upgrade. Not that it makes any difference now but mine is a 3G iPad so your statement is not entirely correct. The outage lasted 8 weeks. It was an oversight by Bad Elf and Apple. We actually were out when it happened. Works great now. BTW I see that Garmin now has put out a new GPS called GLO that works just like the Bad Elf.
 
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