Phone GPS any good at sea?

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sjchilde

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I'm thinking about getting a mobile phone with a GPS in it.

All the adverts and descriptions show them with maps like the car satnavs. I was wondering, what do they give you when at sea, and presumably off the coverage of the road atlas or googlie map?

I would like to get lat/long, range and bearing to waypoint, save current location. They must have those functions inside somewhere but do they tell you in a useful way? It would be handy to have Ordnance Survey co-ords as well. Do they speak OSGB?

Has anyone tried this?

Don't worry, I am not planning to use this as my main method of navigation, I have paper charts etc.

Many thanks
 
Don't know and will be interested to hear any knowledgable replies - but bear in mind that mobile phones are easily destroyed by water! I always suggest to all crew that they stow their phones below wrapped in something to protect them.

Rob.
 
hi there
i've got the iphone sport which just put gps mark some 20 mile out to sea with no phone single in sight, so much be gps.
its new but am working on it has for the other items you asking about
yours steve
 
sjchilde said:
I'm thinking about getting a mobile phone with a GPS in it.
Click to expand...
Do a search on Iphone and Navionics and you'll find lots on a deal that seems pretty difficult to beat for getting navionics charts for the whole of the UK. If the things could do nmea output to our Yeoman plotter they would be on the wishlist :)

Our Blackberry can provide lat and long... but the option of real time tracking against a decent basemap (works OK) appears to be dependent on subscription service. Browsing before purchase suggested that independent applications capoable of making the GPS facility more useful DO exist... but we haven't tried any.
 
Mobile Phone GPS at sea

With the right applications, the phone will work as a chartplotter, but it can be a total nightmare trying to use it with only the basic phone GPS applications to navigate to an accurate waypoint you just setup. (Nokia N95 used because my Garmin GPS48 had flat batteries).
In that case setting up the waypoint graphically ( couldnt enter lat/long ) was in a 'Map' application, but the bearing and range that I required was in a different 'GPS' application. In the end I gave up and borrowed another 'proper' GPS for the racing mark laying I was doing.

Then you need to consider poor battery life, robustness and waterproofing. A Nokia N95 manages about 4 hours as a GPS. A Garmin 48 manages 24 hours as a GPS on one set of batteries.
I smashed the LCD on the N95 when it was in a waterproof bag while using it on a RIB. Similar treatment of the unprotected Garmin results in a few superficial scratches on the heavy plastic cover for its LCD.

Another factor is that the GPS receiver software used in some phones can be land-centric because they can use the mobile network's base stations for position aiding, and the assumption you are on a road stored in its street map database means that they can tend to 'jump' to nearby roads if close to shore. Using proper chart plotter software would avoid the road problem.
 
forethought said:
Then you need to consider poor battery life, robustness and waterproofing. A Nokia N95 manages about 4 hours as a GPS.
Click to expand...

I returned my N95 due to the poor battery life as I was having to charge it daily. The N78 is a big improvement. With Google maps installed you get a rough idea where you are and what's nearby. You can plot the Lat/Long on a paper chart for accuracy.

I found it particularly useful on the Broads and the Caley canal with the ability to locate pubs/restaurants etc. Combined with a 3G browser for weather forecasts and an email client, I'd say it's a worth opting for a smartphone.

The iPhone/Navionics deal looks good but the iPhone contract is more than I'm prepared to pay.
 
I have a Mio 168 PDA with OziExplorerCE on ... full GPS capability, OK it's not a phone but basically same.
I also have a Qtek9000 phone / PDA and that has OziExplorerCE on it as well, bluetooth GPS engine to give data.

If using in cabin out of sunlight - ok, but sensitivity is less than a full blown GPS engine and I sometimes have trouble with sat lock inside ... If I take outside to use ... it's ok if grey day or evening / night-time but a sunny day - useless. You just cannot see the screen detail at all .... and last thing you want to be doing is trying to find a shaded spot to see that screen when you need to be looking out around.

The GPS apps on phones / PDA are very good, but having tried them on board - they don't cut the mustard ....
 
On various O2 XDAs, which run WinMo, I've used GCC and got some good kml tracks to upload to google maps mobile while on the Broads last week - it's also useful for checking your s.o.g. to comply with the speed limits :)

If you want sophisticated waypoints I've used GPS Skinner which also allows you to use scanned maps or charts.
It navigated us to within about 50m of the Levkas canal entrance buoys before I got nervous and checked that the helm was actually looking where we were going ;)

These are both free apps (EDIT: sorry GPS Skinner is free to try but disconnects the GPS every 10 mins until registered) which use the phones internal GPS chip, beware of "AGPS" (assisted GPS) which may merely attempt to locate you relative to the nearest phone cell.
Google maps mobile allows you to select "Use GPS" to avoid this error.

I agree with the comments about poor screen brightness, but the XDAs (HTC phones by any other name) all have USB charging which is seemples init from a 12V car type socket, so charging isn't an issue.
 
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That's a good question. If you google "Geocaching, phones, UK" you'll get a fair bit of useful info.

IPhones, Blackberries and phones/PDA's running Windows mobile are covered but there's apparently also software available for Nokia phones.

There may be others if you try looking for GeoCaching Apps for a particular phone.
 
I use a Nokia N82 and it's great for general navigation. Offers position, speed, trip, bearing, etc, all in the native app. I get about 12 hours of constant GPS use with the screen on.

I've scanned a chart and have waypoints marked for fishing. My accuracy is limited by the chart and not by the GPS.

The N82 (and others) runs Symbian operating system and there are loads of apps available. Just search "free symbian apps" and you'll get some idea.

Amazing usability given the size of the device and the screen (2 x 1.5").

HTH
 
I got the Nokia N95 rather than buy a handheld backup GPS. Gives the Lat Long fine at sea (provided can convert degree and decimal to degree and minute by simple maths using inbuilt calculator). Keep a 12v charger on board so doesn't go flat

Wouldnt recommend for anything other than emergency backup use, but also provides
* MP3 player and FM radio
* 5mp camera & video
* internet - great for getting weather or checking mail - via wifi or 3G signal so location specific
etc
Great value gadget. Also got OS maps for walking ashore for £20 for a wide set
 
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