Imray charts in iPhone and iPad

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oldvarnish

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Is anyone using these? I find the interface very difficult. in fact, I can't make sense of it at all, compared with Navionics which is much more user friendly. Anyone finding the same?

No posts about paper charts, please, because I have those as well, but I do find these cheap charts packages good for planning when away from the boat. I just bought the entire Carib and South America for less than thirty quid!
 
Have you read the instructions?

Sounds obvious, but it does help

The route planning is one of the best out there, beats the pants of navionics app because it will give you distance and bearing of each waypoint from the last.

It also has lots of pretty pictures in it too:)
 
Totally agree the navionics is far superior and half the price even were it the other way round price wise is so much better
If you go into routes amend all the details are there but could be easier
 
A boffin friend of ours swears by Imray and seems to make it work effectively. The main reason for his choice seems to be that Imray is the only one that involves only one payment that he can use both on his phone + tablet.
 
snooks said:
Have you read the instructions?

Sounds obvious, but it does help
Click to expand...

Are there any more comprehensive instructions for the app than the 13 page guide that comes with it. They are pretty basic for a technically challenged navigator.

FWIW, it does seem to be very good but I feel that I'm not using it's full capacity.
 
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oldvarnish said:
Seems obvious, but I have. I thought they were pretty poor too.
Click to expand...

Then go back to the paper charts! I'm sorry, but I get really fed up with people who moan . about electronic bits and bobs loaded up by non boaty people. "Apps" or whatever they are called are put up for frankly lazy people!

I'm not against technology or moving forward - but garbage in - garbage out. I have the Memory - Map Marine charts package. Paid for downloads of updated charts only this week - result - bollox!

All the charts are out of date and if I was to use them as my sole means of planning I'd be in the ****! How do I know? I checked then against the latest paper charts. Why? because on one occasion I relied to much on what the plotter said! Result - well I'll not go there! So get the latest chart and update it from, oddly enough the web where all the latest chart corrections are published.

Trouble is, you can't update your electronic chart plotter chip as easily! Electronic navigation is great in it's base form - using it for total reliance is......................

I heard of a case today where a guy had bought a boat - shed really - not checked the engines etc, but spent £2k on plotters etc - the boat was a pile of ****! Money spent well? Not really!
 
Solitaire said:
Then go back to the paper charts! I'm sorry, but I get really fed up with people who moan . about electronic bits and bobs loaded up by non boaty people. "Apps" or whatever they are called are put up for frankly lazy people!

I'm not against technology or moving forward - but garbage in - garbage out. I have the Memory - Map Marine charts package. Paid for downloads of updated charts only this week - result - bollox!
Click to expand...

CALM DOWN, dear. It's only Scuttlebut.

If you read my post, you will note that I mentioned I had all the paper charts. This is not a discussion of the rights and wrongs of electronic v paper navigation. If it were, I'd be on your side. But take your rage elsewhere - that issue is not what I'm trying to discuss.
Now, anyone anything useful to say about the Imray App?
 
oldvarnish said:
CALM DOWN, dear. It's only Scuttlebut.

If you read my post, you will note that I mentioned I had all the paper charts. This is not a discussion of the rights and wrongs of electronic v paper navigation. If it were, I'd be on your side. But take your rage elsewhere - that issue is not what I'm trying to discuss.
Now, anyone anything useful to say about the Imray App?
Click to expand...
Sorry dear ! Just wonder why you bother asking a question you obviously know the answer to! Clearly you know what you're doing and I doubt you will get a response from Imray. I was part of the consultation team for Tough Charts and they didn't listen either. Result ? Withdrawn late last year, to expensive and not enough detail at the lower level.
Imray are good. Perhaps trying too hard to meet the "market,"
 
Solitaire said:
Sorry dear ! Just wonder why you bother asking a question you obviously know the answer to!
Click to expand...

I simply asked if others found the Imray App as difficult to grasp as I did?

I've had two useful responses, one outpouring of rage, a patronising response from Snooks, and now you!

What's wrong with everybody tonight?
 
Sorry I didn't mean to sound patronising. I was pointing out that unlike almost any other app, the imray one needs an instruction guide, a 13 page PDF one at that. But it does give info about the cursors and ways of changing the info panels, routes etc.

If you find out how to change the day on the tides can you let me know?:confused:
 
Thanks, Snooks. Understood.

At last we are getting to the root of my problem. If you buy the Imray charts from the App Store, as I did for my iPad, then you are not offered the PDF manual. So I'll now go in search of it.
It's clear this is a very good bit of software, but not intuitive without the manual, I imagine.
 
Navionics
Pros
Cheap
Fast to scroll around
Quick to find out distance of a rough route
Good clear tidal data, though not always accurate
Grib weather

Cons
No easy way of navigating to a waypoint
No course overview
No night settings
No simple way of adding a waypoint using lat/long

Imray
Pros
Familiar charts
Photos of entrances
Good day by day tidal data
Excellent route planning with waypoints, route over views
More night and display settings

Cons
More expensive
Raster charts so multiple charts of one Harbour
Only tidal data for that day
(as you can see) More complicated to use

They are both good apps. Imray is more of a chart plotter that you could use for navigation, Navionics is more for the charts to get a rough idea where you're going.
 
Having played with both I wouldn't disagree with any of Snooks' summary.

I'm using the Imray now to plan a number of "what if" routes for departure tomorrow and with familiarity it is becoming easier to use, still a bit clunky though, but that may be me!

Snooks; Re tides for longer than 24 hours, on Imray PC based plotter you bought a separate tides programme which gave you that capability, I can't find that option on the app although reference is made, bottom of page 2 "Chart information".

Still its early days these apps have only been running for a couple of years and I'm sure that some pretty wizzy improvements will be available soon.
 
johnalison said:
A boffin friend of ours swears by Imray and seems to make it work effectively. The main reason for his choice seems to be that Imray is the only one that involves only one payment that he can use both on his phone + tablet.
Click to expand...
You can do this with Navionics as well, I have it on both phone and tab. Also backed up on spare phone. Android system. When I changed phone it just reloaded from the market.
 
I have both. Imray is the one I use. Great for planning and tracking on passage, but absolutely not intuitive. I struggled for a while to get it to do everything and do think it needs a better manual.

BTW, the same publishers, Tucabo, have a tide planner TidePlan which is excellent.
 
Behome said:
I have both. Imray is the one I use. Great for planning and tracking on passage, but absolutely not intuitive. I struggled for a while to get it to do everything and do think it needs a better manual.
Click to expand...

Exactly my point. There is a difference between a manual that tells you what things are, and one that tells you how to use them. This is where Imray falls down.
 
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