iPad for Navigation at Sea + Navionixs app

[dirkdig]

Done Melb to far qld 3 times with the ipad,so easy to use and a great reference check.
There is an accuracy difference between our raymarine system and the ipad charts.
It varies between 50 to 100 meters at times.
The raymarine with navionics tends to be more trustworthy as we were able to crosscheck with radar.
Its awesome good for estimating trip distances etc.
Very rarely did we not have internet either.
Just dont use it alone,which you should never do with a plotter either.

[FUTURE DAYS]

Originally Posted by ozskipper

the only thing I dont like about tablets is that they arent designed to be splashed etc. Unlike most plotters that can live quite happily at the helm and suffer rain and salt spray.

There's a waterproof cover avail from www.over-board.com.au facilitating use without exposure to the sea and air....hoping for some feedback although it's relatively new on the market..thanks for your response."cheers Harry

[FUTURE DAYS]

Originally Posted by dirkdig

Done Melb to far qld 3 times with the ipad,so easy to use and a great reference check.
There is an accuracy difference between our raymarine system and the ipad charts.
It varies between 50 to 100 meters at times.
The raymarine with navionics tends to be more trustworthy as we were able to crosscheck with radar.
Its awesome good for estimating trip distances etc.
Very rarely did we not have internet either.
Just dont use it alone,which you should never do with a plotter either.

Thanks so much for the positive feedback dirk....cheers Harry

[dirkdig]

No worries there are a few oher apps that work great too.
Try marine traffic or ship finder for ais info on whats around,need internet though.
Also anchor watch and dragqueen,anchoralert are a couple of anchor drag alarms.

[FUTURE DAYS]

Originally Posted by dirkdig

No worries there are a few oher apps that work great too.
Try marine traffic or ship finder for ais info on whats around,need internet though.
Also anchor watch and dragqueen,anchoralert are a couple of anchor drag alarms.

Yes I have anchor watch and pocketgrib, after reading a review in Cruising Helmsman, very clever!

[ZenithOcean]

A word of caution for anyone considering the purchase of the Navionixs App for the iPad, the Wi-Fi only version does not have an inbuilt GPS and the 3G versions use Assisted GPS which uses your cellular signal to assist it in obtaining a fix, and can sometimes give poor positions outside cellular signal range.
I'd recommend purchasing a standalone bluetooth GPS compatible with the iPad, there are quite a few around and you can then affix the GPS in a good location for the satellite signal and move around the cabin freely with the iPad.

[surfingminniwinni]

Originally Posted by ZenithOcean

A word of caution for anyone considering the purchase of the Navionixs App for the iPad, the Wi-Fi only version does not have an inbuilt GPS and the 3G versions use Assisted GPS which uses your cellular signal to assist it in obtaining a fix, and can sometimes give poor positions outside cellular signal range.
I'd recommend purchasing a standalone bluetooth GPS compatible with the iPad, there are quite a few around and you can then affix the GPS in a good location for the satellite signal and move around the cabin freely with the iPad.

I'm sorry but the iPad with both 3G & wifi has a standalone gps. Mine does I don't have a sim card and the iPad is as accurate as chart plotter. No signal at all, still accurate miles out to sea.

[cal_d_44]

Sailed from Cardwell NTH QLD to Sydney over 6 mths Navionics on Ipad was awesome very quick and acurate

[ZenithOcean]

surfingminniwinni. You are correct, in that the 3G+Wifi version does have GPS, the only ones without are the Wi-Fi only versions.

I use the iPad with chart software for private flying (VFR) as well as with navionics, and possibly due to the speeds involved, it does struggle at times to maintain a GPS signal when airbourne. But does work ok when out on the boats.

The Assisted GPS simply provides information which allows the GPS to quickly determine it's position, and without the cellular signal it can take longer (with the A/GPS it can use the information to determine the ephemeris/almanac data). It isn't a problem when you have it fully exposed to the horizon, but with any obstructions the iPad GPS can be more sensitive to a standalone GPS unit.

[ZenithOcean]

I'm not decrying the iPad, I personally use it as well and planning to purchase several others for the boats at work.
More of a word of caution related to anyone thinking of going out and buying the wi-fi only version.

[foolishsailor]

If you add a wifi multiplexor to your nmea compatible nav equipment such as

http://www.shipmodul.com/en/miniplex-2wi.html

then iNavX on your ipad can overlay all nmea content and use your ships gps signal which tends to have a 5x faster refresh rate and precision when offshore

There are also many threads on this topic such as

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...gps-78132.html

[surfingminniwinni]

Originally Posted by foolishsailor

If you add a wifi multiplexor to your nmea compatible nav equipment such as

http://www.shipmodul.com/en/miniplex-2wi.html

then iNavX on your ipad can overlay all nmea content and use your ships gps signal which tends to have a 5x faster refresh rate and precision when offshore

Does that mean I could use the iPad as a radar display?

[foolishsailor]

Same question i asked and i wish some clever spark would figure out an answer. However radars communicate utilizing proprietary communication protocols and NOT nmea. You can however overlay AIS and any other nmea info. You can also over lay gribs etc

[foolishsailor]

Also nmea is really just a series of text sentences and would not be suitable for the informatin density required to communicate the images found in radar

[ZenithOcean]

Originally Posted by foolishsailor

If you add a wifi multiplexor to your nmea compatible nav equipment such as

ShipModul Marine Electronics

then iNavX on your ipad can overlay all nmea content and use your ships gps signal which tends to have a 5x faster refresh rate and precision when offshore

There are also many threads on this topic such as

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...gps-78132.html

A very clever piece of kit, I could think of a lot of uses. From an AIS NMEA output to multiple devices.