Orca (Nav app) experience?

[Mark-1]

Auto routing is usually just a guide. Between Scotland and Portugal we have used Navionics auto routing but rarely follow that course. It's a great guide as to how long your passage is but rarely reflects the realities on the ground. No app will be perfect but in evaluating Orca and Cmap Vs Navionics, perhaps Navionics stranglehold on tablet navigation might be slipping .

Yeah, I was really negative about Auto Route for years but as a fast way to measure the length of a passage it is utterly superb. I suspect most people use it exclusively for that purpose. (Mobo-ers might be different!)

 

[ylop]

Yeah, I was really negative about Auto Route for years but as a fast way to measure the length of a passage it is utterly superb. I suspect most people use it exclusively for that purpose. (Mobo-ers might be different!)

And the Orca one is better in that regard - because it does account for wind/polars and tide, so you can quickly sit in the morning and say "how long to get to X", and (for me more importantly) what options do I have for tomorrow and the day after etc, - essential if you have to get back home at some point. That's why I find it frustrating that it is unaware of the tidal gates (even if they were just "strong tidal gate check timings"). But after this thread I did fire it up again at the weekend and there was a nice feature I've not noticed before - showing "nearby anchorages" which I think may be new. It doesn't have all the ones in the pilot book but it did have a good range which again provides for that "where do we want to go for lunch" type question.

 

[Guillemot592]

I might be a bit late to this thread. I received this response earlier from the Orca help desk:
"AI assistant answer

:
To configure the Orca app to send waypoint data to your Simrad TP22 autopilot via your N2K network, ensure your TP22 is set to "System mode" (hold TACK, STBY/AUTO, and NAV keys while powering on). Then, set Orca as the Navigation Data source on your autopilot's head unit display. In the Orca app, create a route and select "Nav" mode from the autopilot controls—this enables the autopilot to follow waypoints, not just compass bearings. Orca will prompt for turn approvals if required by your autopilot, and you can pre-approve turns for smoother navigation."

I have two questions for you all: what/where is the 'autopilot's head unit display'? And, can I drive the Simrad TP22 from my iPad as the operating platform for the Orca app even though I do not possess the Orca Core. I do have a a bi-directional multiplexer with wifi, plus a full set of sensors all connected via a N2K backbone.

 

[ShaneO]

I wouldn’t expect remote control to be available without a Core talking directly to the autopilot, although I don’t know for sure. I’m not familiar with your equipment but maybe this page provides another clue or two:
How do I control a B&G, Lowrance or Simrad Autopilot? | Orca Help Center