Bahamas Navionics track issue

[Navicula]

we are in the Bahamas and we added Navionics to a Samsung Galaxy S2 as a back up to our Raymarine and Explorer Charts.....
We are having difficulty with the track on the tablet....it cuts off corners and goes over land....then it may work again??

The Galaxy S2 is new....I am not sure what to do...

[a64pilot]

Download AquaMap and then purchase the Explorer charts.
I have a Navionics chip in my plotter, it’s just about worthless here in the Bahamas, I can’t imagine it gets any better on a phone.

[Navicula]

just looked into it and there are 2 to choose from
AquaMap Marine
AquaMap USA Marine

I am assuming its the AquaMap Marine??

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Navicula

we are in the Bahamas and we added Navionics to a Samsung Galaxy S2 as a back up to our Raymarine and Explorer Charts.....
We are having difficulty with the track on the tablet....it cuts off corners and goes over land....then it may work again??

The Galaxy S2 is new....I am not sure what to do...

That's Navionics in the Bahamas. Do a search, lots of info.

[akprb]

Put down the phone and look up.

Not trying to be snarky but know the Bahamas are best enjoyed by eye. Sounds like you have plenty of digital support.

It is amazing crossing to Chub or cruising down the Exumas how many are precisely on “the magenta line.”

Short of that toss the Samsung and grab an apple :-)

[Tingum]

AKPRB just beat me to it! Throw the silly thing away and read the water. The Bahamas are all sight navigation. Remember, most of the coral heads are uncharted and if you have your face in the one eyed god instead of watching the water you may get an unwelcomed surprise.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Navicula

just looked into it and there are 2 to choose from

AquaMap Marine

AquaMap USA Marine



I am assuming its the AquaMap Marine??

Yes, this one, the one that says open, cause of course it’s what I already have.
I’m very pleased with it, but you have to buy the Explorer charts, $65 and they never expire, less if you let them expire I think. I was looking at something that integrates Active Capt., and this does.

[hellosailor]

Galaxy S2 is outright OLD.

I would check with Navionics to find out if there are any known issues with that, and if you decide to get other software, again, CHECK WITH THE MAKER to find out about potential problems with the old S2.

I'd suspect it is a software problem and not the phone at fault, but since the phone is taking data points and making calculations, and that requires "horsepower" on the phone...and, since Samsung really screwed up GPS on their older phones (like the Captivate, the US-AT&T Galaxy "1")...

Maybe it is worth trying the software on a newer phone, repeating it side by side, to make sure of which side of things is the real problem.

FWIW, on land or water, whatever the software or hardware has been, I've had GPSes tell me all sorts of fairy tales. I think most everyone who really pays attention to them will tell you the same thing. If there are things you do or don't want to hit? You can't entirely trust the GPS, you have to be piloting as well.

[Suijin]

Just to be clear, you’re not carting the tablet around on land with the app running in the background are you?

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Galaxy S2 is outright OLD.

I would check with Navionics to find out if there are any known issues with that, and if you decide to get other software, again, CHECK WITH THE MAKER to find out about potential problems with the old S2.

It's been my experience that Navionics is not very forthcoming as far as bad mapping goes. I've corresponded with then and got nowhere. They offered to refund me but would not comment on the errors I found on their charts. They told me they had newer charts but would not say whether the errors I noted had been corrected. I saw one of the "newer" charts and they were worse than the one I had. Apparently they had to remove the Explorer Chart data that they had "borrowed".

[zboss]

The worst part of the navionics is that it actually loses detail as you zoom in. The data is obviously there so why does the tool fail to display it? I like the sonar charts but for general navigation, the old garmin charts were much much better. Next equipment I buy won't be Garmin.

[GeneM]

I have a C120 with the Navionics chip and it works well in the Bahamas. I also use the Navionics App on my phone (Samsung GS-5) as a backup and it also works well.

[philtrick]

Check your power saving settings, this can lead to irregular GPS updates and long times between position updates.


Do you have solar panels above where you are using the tablet?


Download a GPS test or status app to the tablet, and see what that shows in the tablets normal position, you may see that you can't see a large number of satellites, which will lead to lower precision. Also, the quality of your fix affects your accuracy of your position.


I'm running the app called GPS Test, and it gives a good 12 - 15 satellites while I am indoors in my house, but I'm near a window with a newer device.


It is worth running this and seeing what you get.
Phil

[Tornadosailing]

If it's cutting off corners and running the track through land, then most likely you're losing GPS lock. When it picks up the GPS signal again, it simply draws a line from the last known location to your current location. On an older device like yours, I'm sure it happens all the time.

And like others have said, there's nothing as good as your eyeballs in the Bahamas.

[philtrick]

OK,


Just as an update to my previous post.


I have a GalaxyTabS2 8 inch with cellular as well as my phone, which is a Samsung Galaxy S9+.


Running the same app, I get 5 satellites on my phone, and 2 on the Tab S2, but these disappear regularly.


It might be worth getting a good bluetooth GPS, or just seeing if you can borrow one, which would make the quality of your GPS fix alot better.


(Maybe have a look at the Garmin GLO)



HTH,
Phil