Navionics on Samsung table & GPS

[John w]

Hi All
I have a query with Ipad's & Samsung tablets.
I want a complete stand alone set up from my Garmin plotter which is on my Bavaria 36. ( just in case I loose all power)

I have looked into other threads on here but think I have got to the bottom of it so going to assume the following

You need a cellular version (ie. one that has a sim card slot) of the tablet to ensure it has the internal GPS chip as some most of the wifi versions have a version of GPS which is enabled through Bluetooth & wifi thus if you go offshore you will loose the wifi/bluetooth signal hence lose of the GPS also.

I have researched various tablets including the new ipad air my girlfriend has bought me for Christmas which is the 256gb model but wifi after a trip into Currys yesterday they confirmed it did not have its own internal GPS chip so no use for offshore use with Navionics on the boat.

Question is it me or am I missing somethings as you watch various youtube videos & they mention buying tablets for $70 dollars or £120 & use that as there primary navigation tool with navionics boating app?
Any help thoughts will be welcome.

Thanks
John

 

[mjcoon]

Hi All
I have a query with Ipad's & Samsung tablets.
I want a complete stand alone set up from my Garmin plotter which is on my Bavaria 36. ( just in case I loose all power)

I have looked into other threads on here but think I have got to the bottom of it so going to assume the following

You need a cellular version (ie. one that has a sim card slot) of the tablet to ensure it has the internal GPS chip as some most of the wifi versions have a version of GPS which is enabled through Bluetooth & wifi thus if you go offshore you will loose the wifi/bluetooth signal hence lose of the GPS also.

I have researched various tablets including the new ipad air my girlfriend has bought me for Christmas which is the 256gb model but wifi after a trip into Currys yesterday they confirmed it did not have its own internal GPS chip so no use for offshore use with Navionics on the boat.

Question is it me or am I missing somethings as you watch various youtube videos & they mention buying tablets for $70 dollars or £120 & use that as there primary navigation tool with navionics boating app?
Any help thoughts will be welcome.

Thanks
John

As the other recent thread established, even if 4 of 5 supposed retail experts say there is no GPS that does not mean they are collectively correct. Apple iPads may be tricky; I have no contact with them. But the Samsung Galaxy Tab-A 8" that I have just bought for £119 (the same price as everyone was selling it at the time) has not only GPS but the other satellite constellations as well. Even my old Tesco Hudl had GPS.

Navionics likes to tell me that my subscription to Navionics+ has expired, but I bought the Mediterranean licence originally and that allows me to download bits of coast (via WiFi; as a tablet it has no mobile signal) as I go off on holidays.

Mike.

 

[dunedin]

So you are correct that an APPLE device which is WiFi only will NOT have a GPS - you need to buy the cellular version of the iPad (at vast expense compared to other options) to get this. But this “design feature” (ie annoying constraint) combining the cellular and GPS capability is unique to Apple, as far as I can tell.

Swapping for a Samsung tablet, for example, the WiFi only ones do seem to come with GPS - but don’t ask Curry’s staff, check the specifications on the supplier website for what location technology is included in the specific version you are buying. Certainly decent Android / Samsung tablets with GPS for £100-150.

 

[Daverw]

Or use your new iPad and get gps dongle for it

 

[XDC]

Buy this with its 12 month warranty:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/352882123953

One of these:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/190826743426

perhaps one of these:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/122833240792

and a USB plug and for less than £80 you have the basis of what you want.

Add Navionics Boating app at £34.99, some free weather and tide apps for when you're in WiFi range and you have exactly what I have as a backup to my Raymarine MFD, Garmin 126, Garmin 60, iPhone with Navionics and iPad Pro with Navionics.

The last two lead sheltered lives when on board, this doesn't

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Hi All
I have a query with Ipad's & Samsung tablets.
I want a complete stand alone set up from my Garmin plotter which is on my Bavaria 36. ( just in case I loose all power)

I have looked into other threads on here but think I have got to the bottom of it so going to assume the following

You need a cellular version (ie. one that has a sim card slot) of the tablet to ensure it has the internal GPS chip as some most of the wifi versions have a version of GPS which is enabled through Bluetooth & wifi thus if you go offshore you will loose the wifi/bluetooth signal hence lose of the GPS also.

I have researched various tablets including the new ipad air my girlfriend has bought me for Christmas which is the 256gb model but wifi after a trip into Currys yesterday they confirmed it did not have its own internal GPS chip so no use for offshore use with Navionics on the boat.

Question is it me or am I missing somethings as you watch various youtube videos & they mention buying tablets for $70 dollars or £120 & use that as there primary navigation tool with navionics boating app?
Any help thoughts will be welcome.

Thanks
John

AFAIK Samsung put GPS in both their cellular and WiFi versions of their tablets. My experience is that all my Samsung devices have a working GPS - even in Airplane Mode with cellular and WiFi switched off.

Many users confuse GPS with "Location" on Android. Location is more than just GPS, Android offers "Improve accuracy" which uses WiFi, Bluetooth, Cellular and other sensors to augment GPS location. E.g. in buildings where location services still need to work for the average phone or tablet use-case. Improved accuracy relies on an online database which supplies data on locations of WiFi/Cellular towers etc. which your device can use to guess your location based on what it can "see" - no problem if you're looking for restaurants in the vicinity - but a real problem when you're trying to avoid rocks at a harbour entrance.

Have a look here .... https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/3467281?hl=en

When you have Google Location Accuracy turned on, your phone uses these sources to get the most accurate location:

GPS
Wi-Fi
Mobile networks
Sensors

When you turn off Google Location Accuracy, your phone uses only GPS to find location. GPS can be slower and less accurate than other sources.

If you are using an android tablet for navigation on a boat, I would turn "Improve accuracy" off so you have only GPS providing location. Then there is no danger of you getting a false location in your favoutrite Nav app due to a WiFi Hotspot moving etc. You also know the quality of your location and at sea GPS reception is generally pretty good - not WAAS good, but much better than getting a 30m offset because someone just moved a WiFi hotspot location.

I would buy a cellular version because it is also a backup comms device - Skype, WhatsApp, E-Mail etc. and it also provides access to the shipping forecast and other cool apps like Windy etc. The on-cost for a cellular version was a no-brainer for me. It can take a pre-paid SIM or the SIM from your dead phone (should it unexpectedly go for a salt-water bath).

The cost decision is one only you can make for yourself - is it worth the extra money for a backup comms device? - Obviously, you need good cellular coverage where you sail I'd stretch to cellular if possible.

I also have a Bav36 and a stand-alone Samsung Tab 10" and another Tab 8" ... both work very well with navionics - both have cellular and I sail northern Croatia where reception is always good.

 

[wonkywinch]

If you are using an android tablet for navigation on a boat, I would turn "Improve accuracy" off so you have only GPS providing location

I cannot emphasise this enough. My BT Homehub was playing up and kept dropping wifi connected devices. By concidence, my gf was in the process of moving in and she brought with her another BT Homehub so I swapped them over to see if it would fix my dropped wifi connections. Good news it did but the bad news is our android phones now started showing local weather from her old location, not where I lived. Somehow, Google must have associated the MAC number of her router with her old location (not the IP address). I'd never seen this before and highlighted how much monitoring is going on behind the scenes.

Turned off the wifi location part and now the weather location is correct again. Spooky.

 

[oldgit]

Earlier model Ipad 4 available on Ebay with cellular and wi-fi. 1 year warranty £115.00.
Latest Navionics £35.
Works well together.