I'm interrested in hearing from anyone who may be using and Ipad or Android based tablet for chart plotting. What type of hardware, software, pros and cons.
Thanks
Thanks
Navigation software
- Thread starter mmsaws
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Android Phone App
I don't use a tablet. I use a Droid X withthe Android platform. Navionics is the best thing since sliced bread. They invented the digital chart. This app does as much as nearly as much as a hard mounted unit. It even gives you your speed over ground. I plot my trips ahead of time and pull them up when I launch. No connection required. I also run Nuti Charts Light as a back up to the navionics. It uses NOAA Rasta charts and is very good as well. The folks at Active Captain. who manage the data on that app are regular people.
I am installing a power outlet in the cockpit bacause of the batery drain in GPS mode. I made this decision after a white knuckler navigating back to Westport from Cuttyhunk at 1:00 am. My wife had to keep running to the cabib to plug my dying phone in. Having a hand held chart plotter is now an invaluable resource.
I don't use a tablet. I use a Droid X withthe Android platform. Navionics is the best thing since sliced bread. They invented the digital chart. This app does as much as nearly as much as a hard mounted unit. It even gives you your speed over ground. I plot my trips ahead of time and pull them up when I launch. No connection required. I also run Nuti Charts Light as a back up to the navionics. It uses NOAA Rasta charts and is very good as well. The folks at Active Captain. who manage the data on that app are regular people.
I am installing a power outlet in the cockpit bacause of the batery drain in GPS mode. I made this decision after a white knuckler navigating back to Westport from Cuttyhunk at 1:00 am. My wife had to keep running to the cabib to plug my dying phone in. Having a hand held chart plotter is now an invaluable resource.
Mmsaws,
Depends on where a person lives and what you mean by plotter.
If a person lives (like you) on the coast or great lakes, then apps that use the free NOAA charts are available. Many more choices then.
On inland lakes, sometimes the only choice is Navionics, as they have done a great job charting inland lakes.
The downside of Navionics is that it is NOT a true charting app. It's really a map viewer that shows your position and speed. They keep the feature set low to not make the REAL customers of their charting mad (like Lowrance and Raymarine).
I would look at iNavX. We use it on an iPad but it runs on android too. Many more chart plotter features there. Much better route planning, projected course lines, and it can draw the chart course up.
It makes a great backup or Nav at a second station. But I'd recommend not using is as primary electronic aid. too many things to go wrong.
Depends on where a person lives and what you mean by plotter.
If a person lives (like you) on the coast or great lakes, then apps that use the free NOAA charts are available. Many more choices then.
On inland lakes, sometimes the only choice is Navionics, as they have done a great job charting inland lakes.
The downside of Navionics is that it is NOT a true charting app. It's really a map viewer that shows your position and speed. They keep the feature set low to not make the REAL customers of their charting mad (like Lowrance and Raymarine).
I would look at iNavX. We use it on an iPad but it runs on android too. Many more chart plotter features there. Much better route planning, projected course lines, and it can draw the chart course up.
It makes a great backup or Nav at a second station. But I'd recommend not using is as primary electronic aid. too many things to go wrong.
I use iNavX in my iPhone as a back up to the Garmin and paper. It's accurate and has pretty good features. Since its on the iPhone the screen is small so I can't really plot with it.
I do like having it available to me when I'm on someone else's boat since that's when I get to mess with it the most.
One of my favorite features is that you can import GRIB data and it puts it right on te chart so you get wind speed, wave heights, pressures wherever you're at.
I'd like to see it on an iPad for the bigger screen but it's serving it's purposes right now. I'll mess with it later and put up some screen shots.
I do like having it available to me when I'm on someone else's boat since that's when I get to mess with it the most.
One of my favorite features is that you can import GRIB data and it puts it right on te chart so you get wind speed, wave heights, pressures wherever you're at.
I'd like to see it on an iPad for the bigger screen but it's serving it's purposes right now. I'll mess with it later and put up some screen shots.
For the Apple OS-X, nothing compares to "MacENC" for 'laptop' navigation using either raster or ENC (S57) digital charting. Program also integrates AIS, radar and 0183, etc.
Of course this must be integrated with a GPS (either standalone or 'puck'). Very elegant
and non-clunky like 'WinDOZE' set ups. Of course for USA navigation, MacENC uses the NOAA (free download) charting.
Since you need multiple USB (and serial --> USB) connectivity, you really need a 'full' laptop. iPads depend mostly on 'bluetooth', etc. and the peripherals at this time mostly dont support it (radar, AIS, GPS, etc.)
www.macenc.com for both raster and ENC charts
.... for raster only www.gpsnavx.com
Compatibility - www.gpsnavx.com/MacENC/index.php?page=Compatibility
Of course this must be integrated with a GPS (either standalone or 'puck'). Very elegant
and non-clunky like 'WinDOZE' set ups. Of course for USA navigation, MacENC uses the NOAA (free download) charting.
Since you need multiple USB (and serial --> USB) connectivity, you really need a 'full' laptop. iPads depend mostly on 'bluetooth', etc. and the peripherals at this time mostly dont support it (radar, AIS, GPS, etc.)
www.macenc.com for both raster and ENC charts
.... for raster only www.gpsnavx.com
Compatibility - www.gpsnavx.com/MacENC/index.php?page=Compatibility
Re Android tablets (and tablets in general)
They make great additions to nav stations. Indoors and dry. On the 367 we have a plotter at the helm, and so this is perfect.
Outdoors, you got two issues. Water and Sun.
Water you can sort of cure with a case on an iPad.
On Android I would start with a Pantech Element. Its waterproof.
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...TM)+-+Black&q_sku=sku5590242#fbid=lGHHikZ_7GZ
The sun is harder nut to crack. Good modern plotters have sunlight readable transrefective LCD displays. No tablet to date does this so they get washed out in direct sunlight.
You can turn the backlighting up, but that only helps a bit. And it kills battery life. And none of the solutions have a good waterproof/pluggedin story to tell.
sigh.
They make great additions to nav stations. Indoors and dry. On the 367 we have a plotter at the helm, and so this is perfect.
Outdoors, you got two issues. Water and Sun.
Water you can sort of cure with a case on an iPad.
On Android I would start with a Pantech Element. Its waterproof.
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...TM)+-+Black&q_sku=sku5590242#fbid=lGHHikZ_7GZ
The sun is harder nut to crack. Good modern plotters have sunlight readable transrefective LCD displays. No tablet to date does this so they get washed out in direct sunlight.
You can turn the backlighting up, but that only helps a bit. And it kills battery life. And none of the solutions have a good waterproof/pluggedin story to tell.
sigh.
I have inavx on my iPad. I used it as backup to my plotter for my Bermuda trip. I bought a waterproof bag for it. The real issue is that you can't really mount it and it is at risk. I mostly used it down below. It is no substitute for a real plotter because of mounting and water issues. I used the free charts from NOAA. I downloaded entire east coast library. If we had to skip Bermuda and make landfall on east coast somewhere, it would have come in handy. I mostly used it down below to see what was going on off watch. I also used it with a spot 2 to send short text messages. At night coming back to new York harbor it was nice to have the chart plotter Zoomed out and the iPad zoomed in. There was lots of traffic and we were all pretty tired. The software is simple to use.
I use Navionics on both my iPad and iPhone. I have started to play with iSailor, but I have used Navionics for so long, anything different is different.
As noted above, I also carry paper charts as a tertiary navigation tool.
As noted above, I also carry paper charts as a tertiary navigation tool.
I just got a 10" Android tablet and plan to use it inside the cabin with the possibility of it swinging out the hatch way. (I found some interesting mounting hardware online, kind of like a car gps mount. Just bigger) I am yet to download any navagation software to it. My plan is to watch the forums and get what seems to be liked the most.
I have a Lowrance gps/ ploter/ look at the nice fishey thing in the cockpit. The tablet is also the entertainment system.
I have a Lowrance gps/ ploter/ look at the nice fishey thing in the cockpit. The tablet is also the entertainment system.
jhnewsome17 said:
I accidentally left my iPhone in direct sunlight for an hour. I picked it up and tried to use it and it told me its too hot to use. Must cool down first. I will never leave it at the helm again.
I use the Navionics app on My HTC thunderbolt Andriod as a backup to my regular chart plotter. It will also download to my wifes Toshiba Thrive tablet. ALso have OpenCPN and Seaclear II on my laptop. Bright sunlight washout is a problem with all the devices except the Chartplotter. Still push come to shove they can be usefull.
We use SeaClear on the 12 volt computer below and have it attached to a handheld in the cockpit that we transfer waypoints to at the beginning of the day to help if the computer went down, but can also transfer new waypoints to at any time we change them. This has worked very well for us, especially in new water to us where we need precise navigation. It only uses about 20-25 watts with no batteries to replace or recharge.
I've added for under $150....
... a display that we will use in the cockpit. It will show what is on the computer's monitor below in the cabin. Haven't tried it on the boat yet, but using it outside at home as been promising. It isn't as good as a $1000 chart plotter for sure, but we have good detail on the chart for any distance up to about 3 miles from the boat with it and excellent detail in closer than that. If it is damaged it is only about $75 to replace it.
This picture is....
...full sun on it and....
... the one above is what it would look like under the bimini.
There is more on it here....
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-navigation/Comp-ChartPlot-5.html
We have a tablet, but it just isn't what we want,
Sum
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