Is Active Captain still useful? How to add a location.

[hpeer]

I view AC data on AquaMap. I don’t believe I’m able to add data anymore. And I don’t think I’ve seen an update beyond mid-Year 2018 or there about a.

If GARMIN has a clue they have hidden it well.

One thing for sure is I’ll never buy GARMIN products. My sense is management is wandering aimless.

[Reinhardschuman]

On my Garmin Plotter, there is an AC menu where I can synchronize my AC app with the plotter. The AC app on your phone needs to have your Garmin account info. It was a struggle to set this up and I had to call Garmin support to get through it. Call Garmin and ask them to help you. I’m disappointed in the needless complexity of their systems.

[torrmundi]

Originally Posted by SuW

Hi Captain Tom,
If you click on any existing marker, a panel opens on the left-hand side of the screen with its details. (You can also open what I call the "control panel" by clicking on the right arrow symbol that appears on the top left of the screen on the Map view.)

There is a little blue link called Add a Marker near the top right of that panel.
Then you get to enter the type of marker (and then scroll down in my case) to a Next button.
Then enter the location (a cross hairs thing appears on the middle of the visible map that you can drag). Then Next again to allow more details to be entered.

It is, in my opinion, a very poor UI design. I knew it was there, but had to look back at my previous post to find it again (several above this one, May 2019).

Good luck!

I cannot see any of the details given by SuW in the Android app, or the web app. It looks like they are making AC into a BlueChart Mobile replacement, with waypoints and route planning, but without the defining feature of the original AC! I hope this is temporary, since there is no equivalent for North America.


I also cannot get the AC Community Data to download here in the Bamahas (BTC). My last successful update was 1 Mar, in the USA.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by torrmundi

I cannot see any of the details given by SuW in the Android app, or the web app. It looks like they are making AC into a BlueChart Mobile replacement, with waypoints and route planning, but without the defining feature of the original AC! I hope this is temporary, since there is no equivalent for North America.

I also cannot get the AC Community Data to download here in the Bamahas (BTC). My last successful update was 1 Mar, in the USA.

I don't know if it's to do with your web connection, but when I login to AC, move the screen to where a marker is, then click on it, I see this image (I hope it comes out OK). I have a Chromebook which is Android based using the Chrome browser.

Then I click on the left arrow on the blue bar at the top of the side panel, and there is a small blue link on the next page "Add Marker".

[steamgoat]

I use Aqua map with Active Captain and Waterway Guide. Excellent with plenty of updated information.

[torrmundi]

SuW, you are correct - at least for the web app. The Android app still seems to lack an Add Marker feature.


But O.M.G. what a terrible UI! It is simply not worth the effort.


- android screen is almost entirely occupied by the menu, even in landscape orientation

- the zoom features limits zoom-in too much to accurately place a hazard marker

- I lost the marker when I panned to my location, and had to zoom back out to drag it to my location. App is not using GPS location.
- try to accurately set 3 decimal places of lat long with zoom limited z argh


What a sh"tshow! Well, hope that folks avoid the sunken car in Marsh Harbor now.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by torrmundi

SuW, you are correct - at least for the web app. The Android app still seems to lack an Add Marker feature.
But O.M.G. what a terrible UI! It is simply not worth the effort.
- android screen is almost entirely occupied by the menu, even in landscape orientation
- the zoom features limits zoom-in too much to accurately place a hazard marker
- I lost the marker when I panned to my location, and had to zoom back out to drag it to my location. App is not using GPS location.
- try to accurately set 3 decimal places of lat long with zoom limited z argh
What a sh"tshow! Well, hope that folks avoid the sunken car in Marsh Harbor now.

It sounds like it's not a very good experience on a small screen!

So I downloaded the Play Store Garmin AC app to my Chromebook to see how it behaves. (I do not have a GPS in my laptop, but I do have wifi).

I played around for about 15 minutes, with the very crude outline chart - the AC markers are all there when you zoom in enough and when you click on a marker, the circle with icons pie shape opens, click on an icon then the side Details panel opens. I played around with trying to edit the marker information.

I clicked on More, and selected Edit. At first it was a blank screen showing some kind of download blue bar. Nothing happened when it stopped. So clicked Back and did it again. Then again. (I'm very impatient when something looks like something isn't happening!)

Eventually the download or whatever finished (apparently) and I was at the now familiar AC home page with the photographed view over the bow of a boat.

I clicked on MAP on the top black line and I was back looking at what looked the same as the Web version of the application.

I can get to the Add Marker by selecting a marker then clicking on the blue bar at the top of the Details panel (search).

It is clunky, and I don't have a good model for what is actually going on, tbh. Some "loading, please wait" stuff would be nice!

The Details panel only shows a few items, the rest are below the fold and I can't seems to get to them (missing scroll bar). This wasn't the case with the crude map outline version.

I'm not sure if I have any insight, except there was a slow download process going on at one point.

[torrmundi]

SuW, correct again! I selected an existing marker (that's a stupid approach, right at the start), then the More hamburger icon, then Edit.


That opens a blank browser page within the app, that eventually leads the AC Community page from the web. Scroll down the page to find the VIEW MAP hyperlink enclosed in a rectangle. This leads to the online map (completely different appearance than the app's native map theme). This map has the ">" tab at upper left side, which pulls out and contains the Add Marker hyperlink.



This is an incredibly convoluted hack that allows Garmin to reuse the AC Community features from within the Android app. It means they can rush to market not having actually programmed the feature natively. It also means it is impossible to buffer a new marker for later upload if the internet is down or unreliable, as is often the case on bboats. Anyone without sufficient patience (me) will get confused and give up. Only a cretin would approve a product of this design. I still have a (faint) hope for improvement.


Thankyou SuW for helping me!

[CaptTom]

[QUOTE=torrmundi;3140286This is an incredibly convoluted hack that allows Garmin to reuse the AC Community features from within the Android app. It means they can rush to market not having actually programmed the feature natively. It also means it is impossible to buffer a new marker for later upload if the internet is down or unreliable, as is often the case on bboats. Anyone without sufficient patience (me) will get confused and give up. Only a cretin would approve a product of this design. I still have a (faint) hope for improvement.[/QUOTE]

I guess we can hope. I could have entered or reviewed dozens of markers on a recent trip, but it was just too much effort. And from what I can see, I'm not the only one. Updates are few and far between lately. It's too bad. AC was a really great idea, and started out with a very good design. But Garmin's gonna Garmin.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by torrmundi

SuW, correct again! I selected an existing marker (that's a stupid approach, right at the start), then the More hamburger icon, then Edit.
That opens a blank browser page within the app, that eventually leads the AC Community page from the web. Scroll down the page to find the VIEW MAP hyperlink enclosed in a rectangle. This leads to the online map (completely different appearance than the app's native map theme). This map has the ">" tab at upper left side, which pulls out and contains the Add Marker hyperlink.
This is an incredibly convoluted hack that allows Garmin to reuse the AC Community features from within the Android app. It means they can rush to market not having actually programmed the feature natively. It also means it is impossible to buffer a new marker for later upload if the internet is down or unreliable, as is often the case on bboats. Anyone without sufficient patience (me) will get confused and give up. Only a cretin would approve a product of this design. I still have a (faint) hope for improvement.
Thankyou SuW for helping me!

No probs torrmundi! Like you, I really, really want this to work!

You say "Only a cretin would approve a product of this design." I say, "Engineers are rarely gifted UI designers"

I do like the web-based application. I think that is better than the original in many respects.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

I guess we can hope. I could have entered or reviewed dozens of markers on a recent trip, but it was just too much effort. And from what I can see, I'm not the only one. Updates are few and far between lately. It's too bad. AC was a really great idea, and started out with a very good design. But Garmin's gonna Garmin.

Well, I guess they could give away something of value in return for useful information...as if!

Let's hope they get their act together.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by SuW

Well, I guess they could give away something of value in return for useful information...as if!

Let's hope they get their act together.

I was promised a hat before Garmin got it!

[SuW]

Originally Posted by Group9

I was promised a hat before Garmin got it!

lol...I got a hat but it was for someone with a tiny head!
I was thinking of some free access to charts or a discount coupon or something.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by SuW

lol...I got a hat but it was for someone with a tiny head!
I was thinking of some free access to charts or a discount coupon or something.

Garmin? Give away something for free? That was the best laugh I've had today.

I also earned a hat but never received it. Glad to hear it wouldn't have fit my big head anyway

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

C-map has Explorer data, which is great, but Aquamaps has the actual Explorer charts, not just the data, which is better.

Actually C-Map is licensed by Explorer to use their charts. My C-Map chip for the Bahamas shows the Explorer depth charts, waypoints, shallow routes - everything. Here is more info, right from the Explorer website

https://explorercharts.com/index.php...ectronic-data/