Open CPN and Tablets

Jan 29, 2019
37
O'day 25 Virginia
Hey Everyone,

Just curious who is running openCPN on a tablet and what tablet they are using. Ive gotten it to run very well on my laptop but the tablet well that is a different story.

Its very glitchy and sucks at loading the maps. Ive taken into consideration that the tablet isnt new but I did a factory restore on it before I got started.

So any help would be awesome .

As far as Out of Reach goes next week is bottom paint and hull oxidation removal. ughh Im not really looking forward to it but it has to be done and she will be beautiful when she is completed.

Thanks

John
 
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
I guess we can start off by identifing what tablet you have. Not much choice here; ios, android, or windows. I have an android but I do not use OpenCPN on it. I think (operative word there) I may have tried OpenCPN but eventually went with a different app. That was too long ago for me to remember details. I do know I tried several apps but only one appealed to me and that was Marine Navigator. It is free if I remember correctly and the map downloads are from NOAA.

Other than that, sorry I couldn't be of more help.
 
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Likes: LloydB
Dec 10, 2016
15
Hunter P42 16 Caribbean on the move
I have OpenCPN running on a Dell Latitude 7212 w/ Win 10. It runs smooth though it’s *EDIT* NOT incredibly fast. I haven’t spent enough time with it to be fluid with all the functions of the program but I am happy with its performance.
 
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MitchK

.
Sep 22, 2017
102
Capital Yachts Newport 28 Burbank, WA
I've been running Opencpn on a Sony Experia Z2 tablet for a year or so now. I ended up breaking the tablet (stepped on it.....), and got another one. When I loaded the latest version of the software, it would not load the NOAA RNC maps. I had purchased the Dave Register version from the app store ($9.99), so there was some tech support. Anyway version 1.0.23 had a problem. So I contacted the Dave, and shortly there after, he released version 1.0.24. which on my tablet worked fine. However, there was still some issues with the NOAA ENC maps. A few days later version 1.0.25 fixed that issue too. I had tried the free version, but the chart loader was buggy. In the interim while I was trying to decide if I wanted to purchase another tablet, I ended up buying a Panasonic Toughbook CF-31. I bought that laptop primarily because they are environmentally hardened, are fairly water resistant, but most importantly, the display is daylight visible. I mean you can read the display in bright sunlight! Can't do that with the tablet. I've worked with far too many displays that I could not read outside in the sun. It really makes a difference. Yes it is clunky, but it works great. It even has touch screen capability (stylus), though I do presently use it.
 
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Likes: Head Sail
Nov 13, 2013
723
Catalina 34 Tacoma
Has anyone paid the $9.95 for the one for Android on the Google Play store? I would think if you pay for it it would work.
 

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
Used OpenCPN for years now on different PC's with no problem but not on a tablet. It got me to and from the Bahamas in '15. I love the program and find it much easier to use than my expensive chart plotter we have now.

We are in the Bahamas now on the Endeavour and I run OpenCPN 24 hours a day at the nav. station on a ASUS laptop and also on a $35 Raspberry Pi computer that has the $75 AIS daughter board on it. So have AIS at the helm and below. The Pi is slower than the computer but still works fine and like having the AIS on a second system. The Pi also only uses an amp or so if one needs a low amperage chart plotter.

I like going to the computers for course decisions and destination decisions as it is so much easier on the big screen and using a mouse vs. the chartplotters 7 inch screen.

I started using Anchor Lite on the android phone for an anchor alarm and love it. The anchor alarm on OpenCPN sometimes false alarmed and wasn't all that loud. You can download different sounds if you want for Anchor Like and I downloaded a 'siren' sound and it will wake even me up (I hope).

Sumner
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1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
 
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Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
The stylus version of the Fujitsu T900 is sunlight readable if anyone is looking or a cheaper alternative to a Toughbook
 
May 16, 2017
63
Pearson 10 Meter 39 Westport Ma
I have been using Opencpn on a 3 or 4 year old LG tablet with Android 5. I mostly use it on the boat as a backup and at home for route planning or mentally wandering around local waters. I've used both noaa enc and rnc versions but prefer rnc.

The touch screen navigation can be a bit finicky.

I can transfer routes created on the tablet to the chartplotter .