Navigation App for Android?

[d design]

I use mx mariner, once i was in 30 knots of wind and heavy rain. Visibility was 50 feet. We were coming into a harbour with a narrow entrance and rocks everywere. We new exactly were we were! it was like playing a video game were the tiller was the mouse and the smartphone was the screen. We woke up the next day anchord safely in the harbour. It was a nice sunny day and was the first time we saw the harbour that we sailed in the previous night!

[conachair]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

What are Navionics charts, raster or vector?

Vector. Available online as well.


http://www.navionics.com/en/webapp

[delatbabel]

I use navionics app on the android tablet (I actually have 4 of the things, the good thing being that you can buy the app on one tablet and use it on all of the others as well), and OpenCPN on the laptop at the nav table. No complaints about either. Navionics is a useful app and it's good to have a second opinion when it comes to charts. OpenCPN has the advantage that it takes all of the data feeds -- wind, GRIB files, AIS, etc, which navionics doesn't do. However just being able to carry the tablet around to have a quick look at charts without having to go back to the nav table is worth the dollars for the app.

[READY2GO]

We use MXmariner. Only cost $6 and works great.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by conachair

Vector. Available online as well.


WebApp | Navionics

Thanks, appreciate the insight. -C

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

Can you hum a few bars about what made it "a horror" ?

We haven't used it much, maybe not enough to encounter problems... but it might help to know what to look for...

-Chris

1. pinching tosses the North off,
2. hide menu slider does not work,
3. null connectivity (no USB, no Wifi, no BT),
4. no wpt import,
5. no rte import,
6. no track import,
7. no night vision mode,
8. gray boat icon, poorly visible against the chart,
9. I did not find the way to get the thing to follow the route,
10. I did not find the way to edit wpts onscreen,

etc.

I hope this little helps.

b.

[ranger58sb]

Thanks. Haven't experienced 1 or 2, perhaps 'cause we haven't used it enough.

We anticipated 3; presumably hardware that includes a cellular or Mi-Fi connection would have solved that... but then again the Nexus we have was $150 less than other tablets that had cellular.

Haven't tried anything to do with 4, 5, 6, or 10... mostly since in our case this is simply a tertiary backup... but that's good to know.

Also haven't been underway with it at night, yet; 7 is another good to know. Admiral hasn't complained about 8...

Not sure I understand your 9; did you tie it into your autopilot?

In any case, good to see your notes; thanks.

Do some of the other tablet apps mentioned do any better on all these?

-Chris

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

(...)

We anticipated 3; presumably hardware that includes a cellular or Mi-Fi connection would have solved that...

(...)

Not sure I understand your 9; did you tie it into your autopilot?

Do some of the other tablet apps mentioned do any better on all these?

Re 3 - the App does not have connectivity, no wifi no mifi no cellular no nothing - it only uses built-in GPS (if there is one). It does not connect to your instruments, nor to your AIS.

Re 9 - Say I build a route (a planning route), then there is no way to tell the App I want to follow the route - so that things like XTE, WPT ETA, VMG, DIST, BRG, etc. are displayed and updated as I go.

Re better Apps - I marginally like NV charts, Marine Navigator and iRegatta - each of them does something well and at least their creators have some idea of what a boat plotter is expected to do. They may develop into something quite useful one day.

This much said, I have not tried Android Navionics (no demo on Play) and from my earlier experience with Navionics for iThings, it may be at this point the choice for more serious use.

I can also confirm that our friends sailing the Pacific right now use Navionics App and are happy with it.

b.

[ranger58sb]

Got it. Thought your #3 was about connectivity for chart updates or some such. None of my fixed instruments have wireless capability, so I didn't care about linking the tablet with 'em...

Have you provided feedback to the developers? Sometimes I've gotten good results from that, features included in future builds (like #9), etc.

Anyway, thanks for input!

-Chris

[Sandero]

With rare exception I find the pre planning and use of routes is hardly necessary, and more like playing video games. The capability is there in the technology, but is it really needed (in most cases?)

At best I find a library of way points useful because creating them sometimes takes too much time... but not always. On a gps plotter such as the raymarine... all you do is use the cursor position as a waypoint. Bingo... done (and numbered).

Practically unless you are in a slolum moving a high speeds down a zig zag channel... you have more than enough time to quickly set the next waypoint and no need for routes.

In fact, my use of the below decks plotter is only to enter a waypoint which is repeated in cockpit displays for CTW, COG, SOG, DTW, TTG and XTE. I use a only Garmin IQue3600 with bluecharts as a hand held cockpit chart plotter for 99.99% of my navigation. It does not accept waypoints but it has a heading line which can extend up to 20 miles. So I can literally zoom out and steer the boat until the heading line is crossing the waypoint I want... up to 20 miles away. Practically I use it to steer with the AP to the next buoy/waypoint and I'm good to go. I then pop below decks to set the waypoint into the Raymarine and it repeats to the cockpit instruments for fine tuning of the course (if need be),

This approach is accurate, reliable and most of all simple. It also keeps me actively engaged in every course selection and course change. I refuse to let my GPS drive my boat. I do let it give me information for me to use in MY navigation decisions.

This suits my way of sailing and the config of my cockpit and boat. And of course I can take the IQue with me and use it ashore and it keeps a track which I can use to follow a reciprocal course or find the mothership at night in the fog even. The Ique has a brilliant screen and pans and does zooms to ANY scale and the blue charts are about as good as they get. The downside is the battery life sucks and so it's tethered to a 12v outlet when in use most of the time.

The whole route and route planning stuff is all marketing and not a sensible navigation aid. It's actually a possible danger... that is when the GPS drives the boat.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

Have you provided feedback to the developers? Sometimes I've gotten good results from that, features included in future builds (like #9), etc.

Anyway, thanks for input!

-Chris

If a serious (?) company employing whole teams of coders posts on Play a product that is poorer in features and functionality than its alternatives built by one-man developers, then I'd rather see them sink than survive. Survival of the fittest. Let it be.

Cheers,
b.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Sandero

(...)

The whole route and route planning stuff is all marketing and not a sensible navigation aid. It's actually a possible danger... that is when the GPS drives the boat.

Well, you are the computer game generation. Some here are the sextant generation. Have some mercy for the old. ;-)

The way I use plotters is I have them talking to my handheld. So I will routinely plan on the PC (now also a tablet) then I will send the wpts to the handheld.

We sail a very small boat that tends to be everywhere at the same time as soon as some swell is running. Having the ability to look up our whereabouts and our itinerary/progress anytime/anywhere is a high priority.

So, to us, the whole route planning / connectivity thing is an essential part of the package. It exists in MaxSea, Deckman, OpenCPN... It does not exist in some Android Apps.

And as far as possible dangers are concerned: they come from incompetent use, not from the tool or its functionality. If a person doesn't know how to use a spade, they may too hurt themselves. But we will not blame the spade, will we.

b.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Survival of the fittest. Let it be.

Cheers,
b.

Yep, I'm good with that, too

I had hopes MaxSea would port their stuff to Android soon; they did an iPad version, dunno if anything else in the works...

One reason I've said a tablet app is further down the list of our back-ups is because we also use MaxSea as both back-up and route planner... since I can move that data to the Furuno chartplotter...

-Chris

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Well, you are the computer game generation. Some here are the sextant generation. Have some mercy for the old. ;-)

The way I use plotters is I have them talking to my handheld. So I will routinely plan on the PC (now also a tablet) then I will send the wpts to the handheld.

We sail a very small boat that tends to be everywhere at the same time as soon as some swell is running. Having the ability to look up our whereabouts and our itinerary/progress anytime/anywhere is a high priority.

So, to us, the whole route planning / connectivity thing is an essential part of the package. It exists in MaxSea, Deckman, OpenCPN... It does not exist in some Android Apps.

And as far as possible dangers are concerned: they come from incompetent use, not from the tool or its functionality. If a person doesn't know how to use a spade, they may too hurt themselves. But we will not blame the spade, will we.

b.

If you delegate your helming to a GPS is that incompetence? or laziness? or are you being clever?

Cockpit plotter is terrific aid to positional awareness. I still don't get the whole route thing and I did agree what frequently used waypoints can live in a library. But most sailing is not a series of hairpin turns from waypoint to waypoint... especially when SAILING and not motoring.

Have you seen two boats on reciprocal course between two popular destination... on collision course? I have! And a few times with no one in the cockpit. How bout that for competence!

[Dulcesuenos]

We use a Pantech Element with the Navionics hd. It works great. We have a garmin 740s with all the vision chips and when in the bahamas we would compare.charts with eachother and with both the explorer charts etc. Ended up really using the electronics about 90% of the time.
I will add we never ever use the garmin to steer us we may set a hdg on the ap or set it to follow wind angle.