Raycontrol App

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Old Bumbulum

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I'm a bit puzzled by the economic way Raymarine describe this app.
By calling it 'control' they imply that it can be used to control the autopilot, but in the small print coyly admit that it cannot be used to switch the autopilot on and off.

Some control!

So what other utterly fundamental function can or can't it do?

Can it re-programme the a/p once it is switched on? Can it edit and control routes? Can it alter an active route? Can it programme a new one? Can it be used to control the boat's heading/route in real time?

One assumes it must do soemthing more than the Rayview app that appears to merely mimic the plotter's screen on another device but the real differences aren't t all clearly stated.

Views?
 
It's not intended to control an autopilot, it's intended to control the plotter. Which it does.

They could make it control the pilot, provided it's connected to the plotter, but apparently they specifically chose to restrict that on safety grounds. You don't want your kid in the forepeak on his phone deciding it would be amusing to steer the boat in a circle without warning.

Pete
 
Old Bumbulum said:
I'm a bit puzzled by the economic way Raymarine describe this app.
By calling it 'control' they imply that it can be used to control the autopilot, but in the small print coyly admit that it cannot be used to switch the autopilot on and off.

Some control!

So what other utterly fundamental function can or can't it do?

Can it re-programme the a/p once it is switched on? Can it edit and control routes? Can it alter an active route? Can it programme a new one? Can it be used to control the boat's heading/route in real time?

One assumes it must do soemthing more than the Rayview app that appears to merely mimic the plotter's screen on another device but the real differences aren't t all clearly stated.

Views?
Click to expand...

Afaik it’s the only thing it can’t do and it’s annoying. Garmin allows it.
 
Elessar said:
Afaik it’s the only thing it can’t do and it’s annoying. Garmin allows it.
Click to expand...

I do think Raymarine are being overcautious and the restriction isn't necessary, but the OP still seems mis-targeted. It starts from the premise that "By calling it 'control' they imply that it can be used to control the autopilot", but this is simply false. The word "control" no more implies autopilot than it implies control of the anchor windlass, the galley toaster, or the mainsheet.

It's not advertised for the purpose of controlling autopilots, it's not mentioned on Raymarine's autopilot page, the only mention of autopilots on the app's own page is to say that it doesn't control them. Why draw any connection between the two? The OP is getting annoyed about a conclusion that he's jumped to entirely inside his own head.

My car doesn't make tea either.

Pete
 
prv said:
It's not intended to control an autopilot, it's intended to control the plotter. Which it does.

They could make it control the pilot, provided it's connected to the plotter, but apparently they specifically chose to restrict that on safety grounds. You don't want your kid in the forepeak on his phone deciding it would be amusing to steer the boat in a circle without warning.

Pete
Click to expand...

+1 Raymarine did a survey on this a while ago and asked some users what they thought. I certainly wouldn't want an in-app AP control.

Apps are fun, tablets mostly communal, and kids and adults like to fool around on them. Who wants to end up gybing, heading for a rock, another vessel, or whatever, simply because nipper is larking around on the iPad? :ambivalence:
 
Well, I'm not much the wiser except to discover that I'm apparently mis-targeted - whatever that means and that I'm annoyed - but I expect prv knows best...
Silly me for leaping to the irrational conclusion that 'control' meant it would actually control something. What an idiot I must be...jumping to such irrational conclusions inside my head. It reminds me of the Monty Python sketch about the 30 minute drycleaning shop. "That's just the name of the shop, dear".
Since the plotter does control the autopilot (well, mine does, doesn't everyone else's?) it is only natural to most people's minds to imagine something that claims to 'control' the plotter will do that too.

So what does Raycontrol do please, and if it doesn't control anything how is it any different from Rayview?
 
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Old Bumbulum said:
Silly me for leaping to the irrational conclusion that 'control' meant it would actually control something. It reminds me of the Monty Python sketch...

So what does Raycontrol do please, and if it doesn't control anything how is it any different from Rayview?
Click to expand...

RayView enables the tablet user to passively view whatever is displayed on whatever MFD it is hooked to.

RayControl by comparison allows the user to flip pages on the MFD, edit screens, and basically do anything he/she wants on the MFD, with the exception of the AP control software. Raymarine are pretty upfront about this exclusion.
 
There are three apps that one can use with a MFD http://www.raymarine.co.uk/view/?id=2121

Rayview is just a passive stream of the screen to your phone or tablet with no input possible.

Raycontrol makes your tablet work like a 2nd MFD. If you click on the right hand side, the panel comes out with the rotary knob and other bits as you have on the real thing. If you look at the page with the specs it specifically says Please be aware that some additional confirmations are now included (associated with autopilot control) to prevent false activation. This is the app that I use to control my MFD

RayRemote allows you to control the MFD with a virtual remote - which I find irritating and so deleted it from my phone and tablet


Thanks to the Raycontrol app I did not bother buying a 2nd plotter to keep at the chart table, I bought a Samsung tablet instead

TudorSailor
 
dom said:
+1 Raymarine did a survey on this a while ago and asked some users what they thought. I certainly wouldn't want an in-app AP control.

Apps are fun, tablets mostly communal, and kids and adults like to fool around on them. Who wants to end up gybing, heading for a rock, another vessel, or whatever, simply because nipper is larking around on the iPad? :ambivalence:
Click to expand...

I use the app as my only inside plotter. It doesn’t matter what you want - but the option to turn it on and off in settings may pacify some.
How many garmin equipped boats are on the rocks because kids have been playing with the app?
 
When I saw this thread, I thought there was actually an App which could be useful. I can't find RayControl and assume it is now RayRemote and is just an out-of-date MFD cloner. I was hoping for something that had diagnostic ability in order to analyse errors posted by (or rather, hidden in,) the Quantum radome. I bet there is such a thing jealously guarded by Ray, perhaps a disgruntled employee could liberate it and assist all those of us who have bought RAYMARINE HOSTAGE PRODUCTS which must be fixed-price repaired or replaced. I am ranting on behalf of a family member with a boat full of Ray products. Thankfully I chose Garmin.
 
Since this old thread has been dredged up, it’s worth pointing out that since it was written the restriction on controlling the autopilot from the app has been removed.

Pete
 
prv said:
Since this old thread has been dredged up, it’s worth pointing out that since it was written the restriction on controlling the autopilot from the app has been removed.

Pete
Click to expand...
Has it? On which operating system?

On Android it says last updated 26th July 2017. And ridiculously, it doesn’t seem to be compatible with versions of Android released in the past 3 years or so, hence stopped working when I bought a (far from recent) Samsung S10 a year ago. Appalling neglect by Raymarine

PS On the Apple AppStore it says last updated 4 years ago, version 1.3.8. Rated just 2 *
 
Hoolie said:
The app seems to have been replaced by RayConnect which gets a magnificent 1.3 star rating on Google Play store :(
Click to expand...

One of the reviews was negative because of its inabiliy to control an Element MFD, even though the app states it works on Axiom, eS and gS devices

(although confusingly, Element is listed a bit later on! I'll accept your criticism)
 
I have an Element display, but since I've never tried the app it's not my criticism. It seems to be quite a recent release so hopefully it will rapidly be improved.
 
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