Ipad for dummies i.e me

FirstMate II

FirstMate II

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Hi folks
Quick question
I have a ipad mini with navonics downloaded on it. how can I use this to navigate ? Do I need to have a wifi source to give me my location if so are there portable systems
Any info greatly appreciated
Regards J
 
Lady Rachel said:
Hi folks
Quick question
I have a ipad mini with navonics downloaded on it. how can I use this to navigate ? Do I need to have a wifi source to give me my location if so are there portable systems
Any info greatly appreciated
Regards J
Click to expand...

All you need is to make sure GPS is on in settings. Navionics might switch it on automatically when you start the app.
(Assuming the ipad mini has GPS - I'm an Android)

If you don't have the gps model you may get a poor fix when in wifi range. Ideally you would need a separate GPS module (Bluetooth).
 
Last edited:
I have an iPad that takes a sim that connects to Mobile Data. It has realtime GPS i.e. mid-Channel I can see exactly where we are down to just a few feet using Navionics.

Using Google Maps at home the accuracy is down to which part of the house I am in.

My wifes iPad does not have data connection but uses the wifi signal for a location. The circle is probably >100 feet and is lost when she is out of wifi range.

I have just copied this off the net for you:


The iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G models contain an Assisted-GPS chip, which gives it location and navigation services. Combined with Google Maps, the iPad makes a great navigation device.

The Wi-Fi model of the iPad does not have an Assisted-GPS chip, but it can locate the user by using Wi-Fi triangulation. This isn't quite as accurate as Assisted-GPS, but it is fairly accurate. And because you obviously won't be using the Wi-Fi model in the car, it does the trick for automatically knowing where you are when you want to look up something on Yelp or another location-based service.
 
Bav34 said:
The iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G models contain an Assisted-GPS chip, which gives it location and navigation services. Combined with Google Maps, the iPad makes a great navigation device.
Click to expand...

Apple decided to integrate SIM and GPS module into one unit. If it takes a SIM, it has a GPS receiver.
 
No I'm afraid I have the one without the cellular . Just the basic 16gb with wifi . Tom I like the look of that unit .
Regards J
 
The unit you have found and the one Tom has will both do the trick. Triangulation is ok (ish) provided you are in range but for a boat in particular you really need the Bluetooth gps unit.
Also, not wishing to state the obvious, but GPS is free whereas data is not.
 
If you have a Wi-Fi only iPad and you want to use it at sea, then there are two options.

1) Buy a suitable GPS like the Bad Elf which plugs in to the base of the iPad. The downside of this solution is that you cannot fit the iPad in a waterproof case, the Bad Elf hangs off the bottom of the iPad (not very rugged) and your iPad Battery life will be reduced as you are powering the Bad Elf from the iPad battery. The Bad Elf GPS Pro is a better but more expensive solution - separate unit with Blue Tooth link.

2) Use a Wireless NMEA converter like our WLN10 to convert the boat's GPS in to a suitable wireless signal that a number of iPad Apps can read. The Navionics App cannot read this data, but the popular iNavX (Navionics Charts), iSailor (Transas Charts) and Imray Apps can, plus our own NavLink app. We also do a high speed version; WLN10HS which can convert AIS data if you want the App to display the AIS targets as well. If you have a newer NMEA2000 network then our NavLink wireless converter is the unit you need. The Pros of using a wireless converter are that you can make use of the boat's existing GPS, AIS, Instruments, etc., no additional drain on the iPad battery and you can use the iPad below deck with no chance of GPS reception loss. The Cons are price and finding a suitable App that can read wireless NMEA data.

This article on our blog might be interesting for you.... http://digitalyacht.net/2014/02/03/best-marine-navigation-apps-for-apple-ios-devices/
 
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