Ipad plotter - excellent

[stuartwineberg]

Just had first day out using new navionics ipad plotter. Absolutely delighted. I have an old Raymarine unit that was in the boat when I got it (small screen and in completely the wrong place in the cabin) that is integrated into the radar etc so all I needed was a clear, large plotter screen in front of me to tell me where I am and where I am going and at what speed and this is exactly what it does. Large speed display, very clear mapping, autocentring of the boat as you move along, simple touch screen pan and zoom. Also if you activate the tracking function it gives you distance run (over the ground admittedly), average speed, peak speed, total time.

Cost - £266 for a second hand 32G wfi 3G ipad, about a tenner for the excellent screen mount and whatever Navionics are charging for the app plus the £2-99 optional navigation addon

Also very pleased with the range of the charts - all of UK, France down to Brest, Channel Islands, Holland and a lot of Germany. The ability to plan routes at home is also lovely. We are hoping to go to Poole later in the month and it took less than 5 minutes to get a coffee, touch the screen a few times and arrive at route, time and fuel usage for the projected trip - and most of that was waiting for the kettle to boil.

Downsides - screen reflections and of course not waterproof but we are in an enclosed cabin which minimises screen glare and removes the water problem.

One tip - take the time out to download the chart segments for all the areas you want to visit, at home on wifi. The app appears to give you access to the range I describe above but it is all greyed out and as you zoom in on an area it downloads that part of the chart into the ipad memory - takes a while to "paint" the whole chart into your plotter so you can access all the chart area offline

 

[rustybarge]

Thanks for the info.....I've got my sons old iPad so I will be doing the same as you and buying the Navionics app.

Good to know it works well, unlike some of the other features on the iPad.

 

[AIDY]

Thanks for the info.....I've got my sons old iPad so I will be doing the same as you and buying the Navionics app.

Good to know it works well, unlike some of the other features on the iPad.

your be pleased to know that you can use the camera with the navionics chart to take pictures (upside down) and it will mark the position on the chart

 

[Cookee]

I have the same app and it synchronises with the Raymarine E140 W on the race boat - a great report on the Ipad showing its few shortcomings as a replacement for a real chartplotter, it seems to suit you perfectly!

 

[penpal]

Do you need 3G to work this?

 

[jrudge]

Sort of, only the 3G ipads have GPS - it will run without the GPS but will use triangulation of Cell towers for position which is not that accurate - but more importantly no use when out of range!

 

[stuartwineberg]

Do you need 3G to work this?

Just to be really clear on this and to reinforce the other reply to the question. The hardware GPS and the 3G SIM mechanism are integrated on the ipad. This means that in order to get GPS functionality you need the 3G version. I made this mistake and had to buy another ipad. You do NOT need a SIM card or an account with a mobile provider for the GPS function to work properly if you have the 3G version. If you do not have the GPS chip in there (ie wifi only) it will do its best to locate you on the globe but only approximately using whatever function is in range - such as wifi. IMHO this is not a safe option for navigation purposes. I have invested in a SIM card anyway - I am on Vodafone and for fiver a month they let me share my mobile phone data allowance with the ipad (and add 250Meg) so I can access weather forecasts and the like. This is not though required to make the Navionics app funciotn properly.

 

[stuartwineberg]

I have the same app and it synchronises with the Raymarine E140 W on the race boat - a great report on the Ipad showing its few shortcomings as a replacement for a real chartplotter, it seems to suit you perfectly!

Thanks - nice to be able to provide some useful info to the Forum instead of begging favours all the time, which is what I usually do!

 

[Chumley]

This means that in order to get GPS functionality you need the 3G version.

If you've got a wifi only iPad you can tether it to an iPhone to get an accurate GPS fix. Not ideal, but an alternative to replacing your iPad.

Correction - no you can't!

 

[Cookee]

If you've got a wifi only iPad you can tether it to an iPhone to get an accurate GPS fix. Not ideal, but an alternative to replacing your iPad.

Have you actually done this? As I understand it you will get 3G via an Iphone but the phone won't pass on position information.

 

[stuartwineberg]

Have you actually done this? As I understand it you will get 3G via an Iphone but the phone won't pass on position information.

That's my understanding as well. I thought you were essentially using the iphone as a 3G hotspot - either cabled or wireless to piggy back onto the mobile signal of the iphone and do whatever a 3G signal or wifi will let you do. As far as I know there is not GPS connection between the devices

 

[BlueSkyNick]

I had Navionics on my iPhone and bought an old iPad with 3g for use on board.

So far I have only copied the app from phone to pad and use the 2x button to make it bigger.

Am I missing out on anything by not having the iPad app itself?

 

[benjenbav]

I had Navionics on my iPhone and bought an old iPad with 3g for use on board.

So far I have only copied the app from phone to pad and use the 2x button to make it bigger.

Am I missing out on anything by not having the iPad app itself?

It was ages ago that I downloaded the Navionics app but I thought it was for iPhone or iPad. Probably wrong.

 

[BlueSkyNick]

It was ages ago that I downloaded the Navionics app but I thought it was for iPhone or iPad. Probably wrong.

I'll show you mine, if you show me yours.

 

[benjenbav]

I'll show you mine, if you show me yours.

I was doing that with one of your temporary customers at the weekend.

 

[DavidJ]

Just to high-jack the thread a little. I've heard that with the waterproof case the ipad gets too hot. Has anyone direct experience of this?

 

[Chumley]

Have you actually done this? As I understand it you will get 3G via an Iphone but the phone won't pass on position information.

Well I thought I had but I've just tested it again and it didn't work. It must have been getting a wifi fix from somewhere when I tried it before.

Sorry for the duff info.

Incidentally, I didn't rate the Navionics app (on iPhone) for a number of reasons, but principally because you can only see distance and bearing to a mark if the mark is visible on screen. Does the nav module sort that?

(Arguably) less important, it doesn't timestamp the track so you can't impress your mates with how fast you were going when you export it to Google Earth.

Regarding screenglare/waterproofing, does anyone know if these are any good?

http://www.lifedge.co.uk/product/waterproof-case

 

[Chumley]

I had Navionics on my iPhone and bought an old iPad with 3g for use on board.

So far I have only copied the app from phone to pad and use the 2x button to make it bigger.

Am I missing out on anything by not having the iPad app itself?

The iPad (HD) app is higher resolution and around twice the price.

 

[Chumley]

Thanks for the info.....I've got my sons old iPad so I will be doing the same as you and buying the Navionics app.

The Imray app is worth a look as well before you part with your cash.

 

[bozlite]

Just to high-jack the thread a little. I've heard that with the waterproof case the ipad gets too hot. Has anyone direct experience of this?

Mine's overheated after a couple of hours in the sun - without a cover.