open cpn with mobile phone

[wee_jonny]

hi all
i am starting to use Open CPN for passage planning and some local navigation in familiar waters. I am using it on a laptop with a Garmin Etrex pluged into the USB port for the antenea....works fine but the Garmin looses signal below deck. However my mobile phone GPS has a good signal below deck so i was wondering if anyone has used a mobile phone with built in GPS for the antenea....I have a blackberry

[jonasaberg]

Hi,
I had a Nokia E71 cell phone earlier and used it successfully as an (emergency) GPS hooked up to OpenCPN. You need to run an application on your phone that connect to you computer via a cable or bluetooth and sends NMEA data.
I have no idea if such an application exist for a blackberry...

Generally I consider a phone to be a poor replacement for a proper GPS mouse that connects via RS232 or USB, they are quite cheap and probably much more sturdy than using a phone.

/Jonas

[hellosailor]

jonny, depending on what your deck is made of, you might want to install a GPS on deck and run the cable below through a proper fitting. Or, look for a GPS "puck" or stick for your computer than says "SirfStar 3rd Generation" or "4th Generation" as those last two are far more sensitive than the older GPS units and much more likely to work below deck. Should be available for $25-50, they've been around for maybe ten years now.