Phone as GPS

[solent clown]

Being concerned about this issue in the past I researched to see if you could protect them with a faraday cage. There's a ton of accounts of people who have had their whole boat's gadget collection wiped out and not even by a direct strike. All electronics and many electrical components destroyed whether plugged in or not and even accounts of failed oven protection. The conclusion I came to was it might help, but with a big strike that it was probably not going to help. I have a steel box inside a metal safe where I will place my back up nav (Iphone with InavX charts). The double skin works better apparently. Better something than nothing.

There are some very expensive lighting protection cut off devices available that you can buy, but I thought they were not cost effective, plus they don't protect from the EMP.

that is easy as pie to solve. Leave all electronics ashore, go and get struck by lightening. Never strikes twice after all :encouragement:

 

[jac]

that is easy as pie to solve. Leave all electronics ashore, go and get struck by lightening. Never strikes twice after all :encouragement:

Tempting fate there!!!!

 

[Daydream believer]

that is easy as pie to solve. Leave all electronics ashore, go and get struck by lightening. Never strikes twice after all :encouragement:

Tell that to my next door neighbour ( years ago) he was struck more than once & burned both times & thrown about by the bang

 

[solent clown]

Tempting fate there!!!!

that's my stock in trade :encouragement:

Back on topic in a slightly more serious way
Here is a display from a cheap garmin car satnav.
IMG_20180222_121147[1] by mark punksteel, on Flickr

 

[OceanSprint]

Get a battery powered waterproof hand held GPS. 50 quid on ebay. No messing. Phones are fine till the screen gets wet then you can't do anything with the touch screen.

Rubbery buttons on a hand held garmin work in a downpour. Have spare batteries. Ultimate back up. Have navionics on phone as a backup for when it's sunny.

 

[webcraft]

How long is the trip & how far offshore?
If it is only coastal do you actually need a GPS?
Too often people rely on such items forgetting that there are other options to electronics.
& as a total thread drift--- how is the repair of the steering oar going????

Cross Biscay and maybe out to Madeira for starters, so up to 250nm offshore. So yes, need a GPS. I've sold the sextant.

Repair of the steering oar is in hand. I have found a guy who can do it. Interestingly, he says it is not GRP, it is high density closed cell foam. He is going to do a massive epoxy repair (30-1 cut-out). He says it is uneconomic, which it is, but I am paying for it with a fancy website (also uneconomic, so it balances nicely)

- W

 

[GHA]

Cross Biscay and maybe out to Madeira for starters, so up to 250nm offshore. So yes, need a GPS. I've sold the sextant.
- W

Maybe a cheap android tablet off ebay with OpenCPN/cm93 stashed safe down below in a ziploc bag?

 

[webcraft]

Maybe a cheap android tablet off ebay with OpenCPN/cm93 stashed safe down below in a ziploc bag?

Phone battery is shagged and I am out of contract, so will probably go for Galaxy S7 (waterproof!) with 16GB data from Vodaphone.


- W