robmcg
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know if any developer has produced a weather fax software app for an android tablet? I know you can download them onto a laptop with software but has this ability migrated across to android?
Weather fax software for tablets?
- Thread starter robmcg
- Start date
Storyline
Well-Known Member
There are a couple in the Play Store which work by listening to the audio of the radio through the mic. They both say 'designed for phones' so that is a bit suspicious. If they were good on a tablet one would have thought they would have said.
GHA
Well-Known Member
I was dubious about this one but very surprised indeed just how well it worked across Biscay just sitting next to a degen 1103. Getting audio in via bluetooth is proving a bit more difficult so inbuilt mic and radio speakeronly for now. Not so great for the off watch crew sleeping. There's a rtty decoder as well which does a fine job recieving the text forecasts from DWD on 10.1Mhz, handy for the North Sea.Does anyone know if any developer has produced a weather fax software app for an android tablet? I know you can download them onto a laptop with software but has this ability migrated across to android?
http://www.wolphi.com/marine-apps/hf-weather-fax/
ShinyShoe
Well-Known Member
No experience of any of them but quite like the idea.
Does your tablet have a microphone socket by any chance? Phones often will and you would be able to wire a supplementary wire from the HF Radio to the phone to improve quality... My tablet has a headphone socket but doubt it is a microphone too.
Specifically mentions tablets:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wolphi.wefax
Mentions android device:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blackcatsystems.weatherfax
You might also be interested in:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blackcatsystems.navtex
Decodes navtex in the same way.
You will need a HF radio for the faxes and a VHF radio that can tune to the navtex for navtex.
If you were simply hoping to download them from online (e.g. http://weather.noaa.gov/pub/fax/ ) then you don't need any of this - you can just download the image as an image file. Never found a navtex log file anywhere till you made me look again. Try: http://www.navtex.no/navtex-archive.html
Does your tablet have a microphone socket by any chance? Phones often will and you would be able to wire a supplementary wire from the HF Radio to the phone to improve quality... My tablet has a headphone socket but doubt it is a microphone too.
Specifically mentions tablets:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wolphi.wefax
Mentions android device:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blackcatsystems.weatherfax
You might also be interested in:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blackcatsystems.navtex
Decodes navtex in the same way.
You will need a HF radio for the faxes and a VHF radio that can tune to the navtex for navtex.
If you were simply hoping to download them from online (e.g. http://weather.noaa.gov/pub/fax/ ) then you don't need any of this - you can just download the image as an image file. Never found a navtex log file anywhere till you made me look again. Try: http://www.navtex.no/navtex-archive.html
markdj
Well-Known Member
AFAIK you can plug in to the mic input of your phone using a4 way jack plug so you get a better SNR than using a speaker and mic.
oldvarnish
Well-Known Member
I used this (the Mac version) on an iPad through most of the north Atlantic. Here's the android version:
http://www.blackcatsystems.com/droid/hf-weather-fax.html
http://www.blackcatsystems.com/droid/hf-weather-fax.html
robmcg
Well-Known Member
Many thanks for the suggestions - I was wondering if a tablet would slowly start to replace many of the usual functions a laptop performs on board. Good to hear it has worked for some people, will make an interesting addition to the sailing apps for the future.
peter2407
Well-Known Member
Old varnish - any tips on getting this to work please? I have a Sony ICF SW7600 GR radio, with this on an iPad, and physically connected between the radio and the iPad. To be fair, I am doing this on land so reception may not be the best, but I am getting lots of noise.
Vara
Well-Known Member
When I got my I pad the laptop with its two sticky out dongles...GPS and 3G...was quickly dumped, an IPad...3G version happily does all that the laptop did, with better battery life and greater portability.
And it's easier to waterproof.
Last edited:
ShinyShoe
Well-Known Member
Do you have Upper Side Band enabled?
Are you hearing noises like a modem or fax machine or just static?
What frequency are you listening to at what time?
Have you tried not being physically connected and using the iPad mic? Does the sound show up on the iPad via the wire...
Pye_End
Well-Known Member
HF Weather Fax from Playstore on a Nexus 7.
Having played with various programs on pc and netbook before using leads I was rather sceptical about putting the microphone somewhere in the vicinity of the output from my small Sony portable SSB radio, and initial results using just the telescopic antenna rather than something bigger and plugged in are quite remarkable. The software allows detection of slant and start/stop, and will save the files as it receives them. There are also timers so can get it to start automatically. You can adjust the dark/white balance so that it is all rather more readable, and produces pictures from scruffy fax signals that would have been messy using other programs. Well worth it for the small amount of £'s for the program, and the small amount of amps it requires to pull it in. The Nexus seems to produce no noise compared with a netbook, so can put it close up without upsetting anything.
Have added a coax lead to the AIS receiver, so can use an external whip as an input. Seems worthwhile, and doesn't seem to upset the AIS.
Might try NAVTEX using the same setup.
Having played with various programs on pc and netbook before using leads I was rather sceptical about putting the microphone somewhere in the vicinity of the output from my small Sony portable SSB radio, and initial results using just the telescopic antenna rather than something bigger and plugged in are quite remarkable. The software allows detection of slant and start/stop, and will save the files as it receives them. There are also timers so can get it to start automatically. You can adjust the dark/white balance so that it is all rather more readable, and produces pictures from scruffy fax signals that would have been messy using other programs. Well worth it for the small amount of £'s for the program, and the small amount of amps it requires to pull it in. The Nexus seems to produce no noise compared with a netbook, so can put it close up without upsetting anything.
Have added a coax lead to the AIS receiver, so can use an external whip as an input. Seems worthwhile, and doesn't seem to upset the AIS.
Might try NAVTEX using the same setup.
peter2407
Well-Known Member
Shiny - haven't played with it for a while so can't remember the specifics, but I think I got 'half a weather chart' with the bottom half more static than anything else. If I rerun it on these crisp clear nights, what frequency and time should I try?
Pye_End
Well-Known Member
Frequencies and schedule here: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/o...n/VolumeD/Radiofax/Metarea1/Northwood_GBR.pdf
Try different freqencies as will depend on time of day etc. My ones above were done at the higher frequency early afternoon.
Barbican
Well-Known Member
Pye_End
I use the same APP and have had some reasonable charts, but those are better! - I also use Droid Navtex which works very well, even at the house where reception is poor. Radio is a Grundig G3 and could do with a better ariel if I knew how!
I use the same APP and have had some reasonable charts, but those are better! - I also use Droid Navtex which works very well, even at the house where reception is poor. Radio is a Grundig G3 and could do with a better ariel if I knew how!
Pye_End
Well-Known Member
That is interesting - I will try the Navex. I used to be able to get it consistently inside using a 10m wire outside, but in recent years I have not been successful - perhaps there is just too much interference from other devices these days.
The fax pictures do look good, but the true test is whether they will be similar when I want to pull them in, rather than just having a quick play which may have been lucky!
ShinyShoe
Well-Known Member
I don't currently have a HF receiver and its been a long time since I did. Last time I actually downloaded a weather fax was before the internet existed!
I don't venture far enough off shore to need it and can either get a forecast from VHF or the internet. But with modern 'tech' I quite like the idea of getting at least navtex and possibly both navtex and weather fax onto my phone/tablet... just because I can!
I understand there are UK transmissions on 2618.5, 4610, 8040 and 11086.5kHz, but that you need to subtract 1.9kHz when programming your set.
There is pretty much something transmitted on the hour every hour (not on 2618 or 11086 they are pretty much day light only), plus other stuff at other times.
Germany transmits on 3855, 7880 and 13882.5kHz which may be easier to pick up as you need the signal to bounce off the stratosphere and back, so bouncing the HF transmitted from the UK back to the UK is tricky depending where you are in the UK. I gather they transmit from London.
As a rough rule for every 1000kHz the signal will travel 100NM during day time.
At night it will travel further. You might get toward 250NM at night. Conditions will vary all of this.
REMEMBER its got to bounce so being 100NM away when it will travel 1000NM is no good!
If you are on the South Coast from London I guess you'd want to try 2618 during the day and not sure what'll happen at night - it may miss you completely?
I don't venture far enough off shore to need it and can either get a forecast from VHF or the internet. But with modern 'tech' I quite like the idea of getting at least navtex and possibly both navtex and weather fax onto my phone/tablet... just because I can!
I understand there are UK transmissions on 2618.5, 4610, 8040 and 11086.5kHz, but that you need to subtract 1.9kHz when programming your set.
There is pretty much something transmitted on the hour every hour (not on 2618 or 11086 they are pretty much day light only), plus other stuff at other times.
Germany transmits on 3855, 7880 and 13882.5kHz which may be easier to pick up as you need the signal to bounce off the stratosphere and back, so bouncing the HF transmitted from the UK back to the UK is tricky depending where you are in the UK. I gather they transmit from London.
As a rough rule for every 1000kHz the signal will travel 100NM during day time.
At night it will travel further. You might get toward 250NM at night. Conditions will vary all of this.
REMEMBER its got to bounce so being 100NM away when it will travel 1000NM is no good!
If you are on the South Coast from London I guess you'd want to try 2618 during the day and not sure what'll happen at night - it may miss you completely?
oldvarnish
Well-Known Member
I'll tell you what I did: I held the iPad close to the speaker on the radio (which radio you use wouldn't make much difference in an area with a good signal, like the UK - that Sony of yours is pretty much ideal). That's all. It just worked. You may have to go into the iPad settings to make sure the internal mic is enabled.
That's all. Come back if you're getting nowhere.
franksingleton
Well-Known Member
Is there a ny reason why you should not connect the headphone output from the radio to the sound input of the iPad?
Last edited:
Buck Turgidson
Well-Known Member
You need an adapter if I remember correctly. You can get one for the headphone jack or use the camera kit with a usb mic in the big plug. I did the same as old varnish and just put it close to the radio. You need to find an RF clean area on your boat as things like transformers and other electronics all radiate noise which may effect the picture quality.
oldvarnish
Well-Known Member
Frank, I don't know if the iPad has an audio input. If so, you could easily link the two.