Here is some ipad stuff
Phil: I'm not advertising... I have no relationship to these people.
I copied this form an email I received fomr Active Captain. The wireless solar windvane (that connects to your i-pad) sound svery cool.
Here is the text...
An exciting new app for iPhone and iPad was released this week and is
available right now. It's called SailTimer and it has the ability to
keep all of ActiveCaptain offline and available using the same
synchronization support that is available across a wide number of
applications for Windows, Macintosh, iOS, and Android.
SailTimer has a lot behind it. As an app, it stands alone as a wonderful
raster chart navigation product. Sailors will be especially interested
in SailTimer's patented Tacking Time to Destination (TTD) capabilities
that uses wind speed and direction to properly predict estimated time
of arrival as well as providing optimal course and tacking navigation
assistance.
SailTimer has the ability to view charts for the US and Canada with
more chart support planned for the future. You can add new region
support to the app as you need it. It runs on both the iPad and iPhone
with the same purchase - all very nice and well done.
But there's more.
They also announced a wireless, solar windvane. Now you trawler owners,
don't skip on by - there's a good use for you too. The windvane is
solar and generates its own backup power. There is no power necessary
for it to work. Just attach it and you're done. The data is sent
wirelessly to the SailTimer app for display and to automate the TDD
calculations live as the wind changes.
For motorboats, this setup represents a very nice and inexpensive way
to access wind data while underway or especially while docking. Our
own boat has had wind sensors from the very first time we stepped
onboard and I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable without it. No running
wires - just attach the windvane, pull out your iPhone, and you've
got live wind data.
There's too much to talk about in one newsletter segment. We have the
windvane and app ourselves and can now show it to others. It's quite
slick and reasonably priced.
Pricing for the app is broken up into a few in-app purchases. The
SailTimer app itself costs $13.99. ActiveCaptain support costs $4.99
and chart regions require additional purchases too.
There's a lot of extra information with screenshots and background
information. Check out these links and welcome another app into the
ActiveCaptain family:
http://www.SailTimerApp.com
http://www.SailTimerWindVane.com
aCappella's Helm - The iPad, Part 3 >>>
This is the continuation of a series we'll write this summer about the
iPad and why you should have one for your cruising. Part 1 & 2 are
archived along with all previous newsletters at:
https://activecaptain.com/newsletters/2012-06-13.php
https://activecaptain.com/newsletters/2012-06-27.php
First in new news, Garmin announced a new add-on GPS for the iPad this
week called GLO. It's a combination GPS and GLONASS receiver with iOS
support for $99. That's an incredible hardware jump for the same price
as the other iPad GPS's available. For more information:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=109827
Note that you only need to consider an external GPS for the iPad if
you have a WiFi-only iPad or you need an external GPS for placement
reasons. Cellular iPad's have real built-in GPS.
In other new news, we did receive our new Google Nexus 7 device. This
is a brand new Android tablet and it'll be the topic of a future
newsletter once we get some real time on it.
Let's continue on with other non-boat navigation apps that make the
iPad an incredible device to have onboard.
iPad app 7: HanDBase
There are so many wonderful uses for having a real database onboard.
Over the years we've created 7 databases that we use daily and one
drink recipe database that we should use daily. The 7 boating
databases are:
Projects - a list of projects and items needed to be purchased. There
are 47 items on the list now which is typical.
Captain's Log - a full log of every outing, destination, maintenance
performed, problems encountered, and more. It fully documents every
hour we've put on our engines over the last 9 years and allows a quick
search (where did we stay in Beaufort, NC in 2004?).
Engine Room Log - logs of items to check on engine room checks providing
a wonderful way to spot problem trends before they are emergencies.
Fuel Log - every drop of fuel we've purchased since 2003 with a running
total of engine/generator hours to determine gallons per hour.
Maintenance - a reminder for the 50 maintenance items on the boat by
time or engine hour.
Parts - every part with serial number, phone contact, notes, things to
remember, and more.
Spares - every major spare item. Spares are so often tucked away that
it's hard to remember how many of something is left or where it is.
These databases were started with spreadsheets in 2003 and have been
in continuous use since them. It's easy to port something simple to
HanDBase. Having some basic database experience is helpful and there
can be some programming done with it. There is an iPad and iPhone
version and they are not free although they are reasonably priced.
We could write a dozen newsletter segments about how we use HanDBase
and all the ways it saves us time onboard.
iPad app 8: Flipboard
Flipboard wins countless awards for the best iPad app available. It's
free and yet incredibly many people have never heard of it. It is used
for about 1 hour every day on our iPads. It turns web sites, blogs,
news sources, and other content into a magazine that you flip through.
It will interface to Facebook and Twitter too and provides a much more
usable way to access that content.
We use it for Facebook and to keep track of anything new that comes out
in the technology, programming, mobile, and geeky worlds. It is a
wonderful app that you should explore. Pick something you're interested
in following and let Flipboard put it together.
iPad app 9: TomTom or Navigon
Although we're staying away from boating navigation apps in this series,
we have used both of these car navigation apps a lot while cruising.
They're not just for car use - they both work well for walking when
you're on shore and need to find an address. Rent a car and these apps
are incredible.
We use them on both the iPad and iPhone. On the iPad they create a
large chartplotter surface which is wonderful for planning and exploring.
While walking, the iPhone is a better device. We'd feel funny holding
up an iPad while walking.
We use both TomTom and Navigon (one on Karen's devices, one on Jeff's).
There are others too but either of these are very good.
They are more expensive than most other apps - $40 to $60. Map updates
have been free through the 3+ years we've been using them.
iPad app 10: AroundMe, Dex
There are a series of apps that will show you businesses in a particular
area, especially around where you are at the moment. Need a pharmacy,
hospital, or ATM machine? These free apps are the ones we use when we
have those questions. There are many apps that provide this type of
functionality. Some are pretty bad. These 2 are worth having.
