Navionics-am i missing something?

[billyfish]

Why is there no anchor alarm ?

 

[billyfish]

I've got one on my axiom running navionics but it eats amps and I want it on my phone, in my bunk . Grumble Grumble

 

[onesea]

From android point of view I think there are issues with software and an hour apps being seen as trackers.
I certainly would be intrested in peoples views on free android anchor alarms. Also an app where I can track the position of a phone left onboard the boat.

 

[jlavery]

I used Anchor Lite last season. With good success.

There's a problem with Android turning GPS access off when an app is in the background, which the author warns about. If I recall correctly, shouldn't be a problem if you set 'never to to sleep while charging' on the phone, and plug in to a power supply.

I think the pro version allows two paired phones (one on the boat, one with you) to give a remote function. I haven't used the latest version, which should be an update after Google wanted more explicit warnings about apps which track location (which this obviously does).

 

[billyfish]

I have a tag. Maybe that would work ,just leave it on the boat, don't think it will have spot on accuracy as works by mobile

 

[Refueler]

Appreciate the wish for ... but given that most dedicated plotters do not have Anchor Alarm either .... ????

Anchor Lite is free ... as are various other ...

 

[billyfish]

Just tried anchor lite ...it couldn't get a fix...looks the business though. Try again

 

[billyfish]

Just got it going now, but is it really using gps or just mobile data

 

[wonkywinch]

Just got it going now, but is it really using gps or just mobile data

Yes, it uses GPS, see home page. It would be very difficult to get an accurate mobile fix on the sea (worse triangulation between base stations).

Anchor Lite works without any mobile signal in my experience anchoring in bays in the Whitsundays.

I also use "set advanced distance" which allows you to set the actual anchor position as a bearing/distance after you've laid your scope so the alarm boundary is centred around the anchor, not the boat.

This means you get more sensitivity as it won't alarm as you swing normally around the anchor.

 

[ylop]

Appreciate the wish for ... but given that most dedicated plotters do not have Anchor Alarm either .... ????

Really? Its been a feature in chart plotters I’ve owned for at least a decade… of course, designed with all the usability of any chart plotter feature - so requiring so many obscurely named menus and button presses that unless you use it every week then it’s useless.

 

[Tzu]

I used Anchor Lite last season. With good success.

There's a problem with Android turning GPS access off when an app is in the background, which the author warns about. If I recall correctly, shouldn't be a problem if you set 'never to to sleep while charging' on the phone, and plug in to a power supply.

I think the pro version allows two paired phones (one on the boat, one with you) to give a remote function. I haven't used the latest version, which should be an update after Google wanted more explicit warnings about apps which track location (which this obviously does).

Thanks for the recomendation/prompt. I'm now anchored in the office with a current position 10m away from the anchor at 144deg in the front garden. I'll be testing today and checking I get an alarm when I stray into back garden later but not when i head for the kitchen for coffee!

(went for the paid Pro version after a brief view of Lite as it looked good enough to brave a fiver)

 

[Plum]

Thanks for the recomendation/prompt. I'm now anchored in the office with a current position 10m away from the anchor at 144deg in the front garden. I'll be testing today and checking I get an alarm when I stray into back garden later but not when i head for the kitchen for coffee!

(went for the paid Pro version after a brief view of Lite as it looked good enough to brave a fiver)

I also use the Anchor Watch Pro version and it works very well.
Anchor Watch Pro / Alarm - Apps on Google Play

 

[wonkywinch]

Thanks for the recomendation/prompt. I'm now anchored in the office with a current position 10m away from the anchor at 144deg in the front garden. I'll be testing today and checking I get an alarm when I stray into back garden later but not when i head for the kitchen for coffee!

(went for the paid Pro version after a brief view of Lite as it looked good enough to brave a fiver)

Don't forget to set a more sensitive sector so you don't bump into the coffee table!

now anchored in the office with a current position 10m away from the anchor at 144deg in the front garden

Nice 5-6x scope assuming you're 1.9m tall

 

[jlavery]

Appreciate the wish for ... but given that most dedicated plotters do not have Anchor Alarm either .... ????

Anchor Lite is free ... as are various other ...

The Raymarine Axiom has an anchor alarm, but it's attached to the 'wizard' which calculates scope etc. and requires you to ping your position when you drop the anchor. Answers on a postcard please for how this is impractical and inaccurate. (I'll start the ball rolling - where did the anchor end up when it actually bit and held?)

All it needs is the design that Anchor Lite/Pro uses.

 

[oilybilge]

I used to use a freebie app called Anchor Alarm. Its most useful feature was the ability to draw an experimental 'swing circle' with your boat outside it, to check that your phone was actually going to sound the alarm. Inevitably some busybody programmer has now eradicated this 'bug'. Harrumph, is all I can say.

 

[fredrussell]

Silly question really, but do these phone anchor apps keep going with screen on phone off at night? I’ve always assumed they do but never actually checked.

 

[ylop]

Silly question really, but do these phone anchor apps keep going with screen on phone off at night? I’ve always assumed they do but never actually checked.

It’s not a silly question at all, because whilst that’s obviously what you want the operating system does clever stuff to save battery etc. for developers android phones are all slightly different so even more complicated… and different versions of OS add new features that can break thinks the worked before.

If it’s paid it probably works. If it’s free you’d want to test it by setting up and going for a walk with your phone asleep etc. Note - the “backgrounding” isn’t necessarily instant either so you will want to leave it asleep for a while first.

Then whichever you use you need to understand how alarms/alerts work on your phone. Eg many phones will have a do not disturb mode, some apps can override that but need you to go and explicitly tell the phone you want that to happen…

 

[GHA]

Silly question really, but do these phone anchor apps keep going with screen on phone off at night? I’ve always assumed they do but never actually checked.

from memory pretty sure the screen will turn off but the gps keep receiving position which uses a bit of power, best to keep it plugged in.
Then start to recognize the Anchor app siren alert going off in dinghies heading ashore from everyone forgetting to turn it off

 

[Plum]

Silly question really, but do these phone anchor apps keep going with screen on phone off at night? I’ve always assumed they do but never actually checked.

The Anchor Watch Pro that I use on an android tablet does keep working and monitoring when the screen is off and at night.

 

[Mark-1]

I use Anchor Pro on Android and it's superb. One of the few apps I've actually paid for. (Anchor Pro is the paid version of Anchor Lite, so the key functionality is the same and I only paid for the 'upgrade' out of gratitude.)

Whether you actually need an anchor alarm is a different question... In my case depends how I feel on the night.