Recommended Marine Apps for Tablet??????

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Recommended Marine Apps for Tablet??????

Created by

cisco > 9 months ago, 28 Nov 2014

cisco

QLD

12364 posts

28 Nov 2014 9:14am

My Aldi tablet gave up the ghost so I bought a Lenovo A8-50 tablet which has a GPS chip for $234 including 3 year extended warranty from JB Hi Fi. Seems to be a good unit.

First thing to put on it of course was Navionics. I had a good look in Google Play store at other Apps marine related.

Can anybody recommend any other marine type apps?? Is there one that will give me a lat/long read out??? Navionics does not do this.

Shotchas

NSW

87 posts

28 Nov 2014 11:59am

I like "PocketGrib".

You can download a map for any area then have data for wind speed and direction, atmos. pressure, rain, air temp (which I turn off) with five day forecasts.

Charriot

QLD

880 posts

28 Nov 2014 11:19am

I have the same question for iPad......
preferable off line
I use nice GPS readings from ....Where am I....app.

DrRog

NSW

608 posts

28 Nov 2014 2:14pm

iSailor for iOS will give lat long as will native compass app. Are you sure navionics doesn't - it's using the info constantly so surely it can display It?

Yara

NSW

1314 posts

28 Nov 2014 4:27pm

My Aldi Tablet also gave up after a year. Will check out the Lenova. A good app I use is GPS Test. It will give you Lat Long as well as similar stuff to a simple hand held GPS. it also shows which satellites are in view and use. App is free.

Thought it was too good to be true! Googled your model and it says that it has a Google based A-GPS which is not a true satellite based GPS (as far as i know). I have been looking for a replacement tablet for my Aldi, with true GPS and SIM card, and so far cannot find anything on the market.

westozwind

1416 posts

28 Nov 2014 2:00pm

I was about to mention the A-GPS vs GPS thing as well.
Assisted GPS uses telco towers and wi-fi identifiers to better triangulate your position, hence is not very accurate at sea where either or neither will be present.
A dedicated SIRF 3 GPS chipset is required if you are going to use any software with a degree of accuracy.
the iPad is A-GPS. OK for inland waters and very close to shore (in built up areas with phone reception).

LooseChange

NSW

2140 posts

28 Nov 2014 5:03pm

Maybe try Androzic, it's an Oze Explorer clone for android although I believe Des has released a beta of Oze Explorer for Android as well.

Lazzz

NSW

910 posts

28 Nov 2014 5:08pm

Some good, some not so good but most are free.

sctpc

VIC

80 posts

28 Nov 2014 5:57pm

Propwalk

91 posts

28 Nov 2014 4:39pm

If you tap the screen on Navonics it will give you the lat. long for that point/position, but no it doesn't give a lat./long. grid.

Bill

DrRog

NSW

608 posts

28 Nov 2014 8:21pm

Select to expand quote

Regarding A-GPS, which I've only learned about from this thread...

From ~~http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/archive/how-useful-is-ipad-navigation-when-sailing-a-yacht/:~~

<div class="copy-paste-block">4. How accurate was iPad navigation?
We switched off
the iPad’s roaming and 3G. If it was getting any GPS data now, it had to be
from GPS and could not be triangulated. We placed it alongside a handheld
Garmin 175C in the cockpit and it matched it 1/1000th of a minute to 1/1000th
of a minute from Universal Marina in the Hamble to Cherbourg and back. The
Garmin 192 by the nav station has its own antenna on the pushpit and it too
gave the same information. The 175 and the 192 are WAAS-enabled and the iPad
matched them. Remember that the iPad will give your heading as the direction in
which it is facing. So for an accurate heading you must line the iPad up fore
and aft. COG (course over ground) remains the same whichever way the iPad is
facing, of course.

1/1000 of a minute is a couple of metres, isn't it? That's pretty tight.

Toph

1875 posts

28 Nov 2014 5:40pm

The link above no longer seems available, so I don't know what Nav application they were using. But the comment about heading doesn't seem right to me. With Navionics (and another app I use, Jeppview), I have noticed that initially, the position inicator (a triangle in both cases), does seem to wonder a bit until a positive track has been determined. At that point, the triangle normally stays steady showing the 'track' and not the 'heading'..

Toph

1875 posts

28 Nov 2014 5:41pm

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DrRog said..

1/1000 of a minute is a couple of metres, isn't it? That's pretty tight.

DrRog, the Jeppview app I mentioned above is accurate to within 2 metres. I don't know the accuracy of Naviaonics or other nav apps.

LooseChange

NSW

2140 posts

28 Nov 2014 9:06pm

Select to expand quote

Toph said..
The link above no longer seems available, so I don't know what Nav application they were using. But the comment about heading doesn't seem right to me. With Navionics (and another app I use, Jeppview), I have noticed that initially, the position inicator (a triangle in both cases), does seem to wonder a bit until a positive track has been determined. At that point, the triangle normally stays steady showing the 'track' and not the 'heading'..

Try this ....... www.yachtingmonthly.com/archive/how-useful-is-ipad-navigation-when-sailing-a-yacht-693

LooseChange

NSW

2140 posts

28 Nov 2014 9:08pm

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Toph said..

DrRog, the Jeppview app I mentioned above is accurate to within 2 metres. I don't know the accuracy of Naviaonics or other nav apps.

It's not the accuracy of the app that you should be concerned about, but rather the accuracy of the charts in the app, the GPS will always tell the truth but the map may not.

HaveFun

NSW

201 posts

28 Nov 2014 10:33pm

Navigon was already on my Samsung. If you select "co-ordinates" from the opening page it displays your current GPS position in either degrees minutes and seconds (which is what I use) or decimal degrees.

cisco

QLD

12364 posts

28 Nov 2014 10:48pm

Select to expand quote

Yara said..
My Aldi Tablet also gave up after a year. Will check out the Lenova. A good app I use is GPS Test. It will give you Lat Long as well as similar stuff to a simple hand held GPS. it also shows which satellites are in view and use. App is free.

Thought it was too good to be true! Googled your model and it says that it has a Google based A-GPS which is not a true satellite based GPS (as far as i know). I have been looking for a replacement tablet for my Aldi, with true GPS and SIM card, and so far cannot find anything on the market.

The Lenovo A8-50 has a GPS chip and is not A-GPS. Have a look at the display demo unit they have in the JB Hi Fi store and have a play with it. Go into settings/location access. It has GPS and network/WiFi positioning.

There are three versions of this tablet.

1. Plain Jane no micro SD or SIM slot.

2. Better Boy with micro SD slot but no SIM slot. (The one I have.)

3. U-Beaut with micro SD and SIM slot (data only, no phone app) which is apparently not available in Aus.

LooseChange

NSW

2140 posts

29 Nov 2014 12:08am

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cisco said..
Is there one that will give me a lat/long read out??? Navionics does not do this.

Navionics will give you a lat/long read out, just not a continuous readout as you travel.

If you want a lat/long reading at, for instance where your boat icon is currently, all you need do is just quickly tap on the screen at that location and a little call out pops up on the screen which has "More Info" on it which you access by tapping the call out.

You can also tap anywhere else on the screen and the same call out pops up with the same deal as before.

In order to tap accurately I recommend you use a stylus rather than a fat finger.

cisco

QLD

12364 posts

28 Nov 2014 11:08pm

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Lazzarae said..

Some good, some not so good but most are free.

I downloaded the Navionics AusNZ HD version for $60 odd which is supposed to be optimized for tablets. I did not think the resolution was that good at all so then I downloaded the $16 odd version which was just as good as the other.

I then went back into Google store and clicked "refund" on the $60 version and that has happened.

I was unable to retrieve the Navionics program that I installed on my Aldi tablet over a year ago because it was "over a year ago". It seems if you have it on your device you will get free updates for a year and after that if your device keeps chugging, so will the App but without any further updates.

If you have Navionics on an iPad, you can turn it into a sounder as well by buying a particular transducer that will communicate by WiFi with the iPad. Pretty amazing stuff.

cisco

QLD

12364 posts

28 Nov 2014 11:10pm

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Thanks for that. I will have a chug around.

cisco

QLD

12364 posts

28 Nov 2014 11:13pm

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Propwalk said..
If you tap the screen on Navonics it will give you the lat. long for that point/position, but no it doesn't give a lat./long. grid.

Bill

Wasn't aware of that. So if I tap on the red arrow (my current position) a lat /long will be displayed. Is that correct???

LooseChange

NSW

2140 posts

29 Nov 2014 12:13am

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cisco said..

The Lenovo A8-50 has a GPS chip and is not A-GPS. Have a look at the display demo unit they have in the JB Hi Fi store and have a play with it. Go into settings/location access. It has GPS and network/WiFi positioning.

There are three versions of this tablet.

1. Plain Jane no micro SD or SIM slot.

2. Better Boy with micro SD slot but no SIM slot. (The one I have.)

3. U-Beaut with micro SD and SIM slot (data only, no phone app) which is apparently not available in Aus.

With the one you have Cisco you will always be reliant for a Wi-Fi signal, which is not always easy or reliable to get.

Option 3. the U-Beaut one then makes it the same as an iPad in that no iPad has phone function either. Hence the reason I love my 10.1" Samsung Galaxy Note.

LooseChange

NSW

2140 posts

29 Nov 2014 12:14am

Select to expand quote

cisco said..

Propwalk said..
If you tap the screen on Navonics it will give you the lat. long for that point/position, but no it doesn't give a lat./long. grid.

Bill

Wasn't aware of that. So if I tap on the red arrow (my current position) a lat /long will be displayed. Is that correct???

Yes, that should be correct, that's what it does on mine

cisco

QLD

12364 posts

28 Nov 2014 11:19pm

Select to expand quote

LooseChange said..

Toph said..

DrRog, the Jeppview app I mentioned above is accurate to within 2 metres. I don't know the accuracy of Naviaonics or other nav apps.

It's not the accuracy of the app that you should be concerned about, but rather the accuracy of the charts in the app, the GPS will always tell the truth but the map may not.

Yes, that is exactly my concern. I want a lat/long readout that I can plot on the paper chart so as to compare with the app map, also to have a record on paper.

Charriot

QLD

880 posts

28 Nov 2014 11:22pm

sound good unit, next step is download app offline map
and test GPS.
should be as good as any other Nav. device.

not sure how friendly is an accesses to ext. micro sim, but
but we found on latest Samsung 10.1 system blocks to use it
unless you "rooted" that looses a warranty and open unit to virusis.

LooseChange

NSW

2140 posts

29 Nov 2014 12:31am

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cisco said..

LooseChange said..

It's not the accuracy of the app that you should be concerned about, but rather the accuracy of the charts in the app, the GPS will always tell the truth but the map may not.

Yes, that is exactly my concern. I want a lat/long readout that I can plot on the paper chart so as to compare with the app map, also to have a record on paper.

If worst comes to worst you go and buy a small hand held GPS like a Garmin Etrex and use that as a backup GPS. The etrex can track both GPS and GLONASS satellites simultaneously.

Johnny Appleseed is great to deal with. ... www.ja-gps.com.au/

cisco

QLD

12364 posts

28 Nov 2014 11:39pm

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LooseChange said..

Definitely not. It does have a GPS chip and gives me position without WiFI.

What it also has is GPS EPO assistance (Extended Prediction Orbit) which is "one of MediaTek's innovative proprietary off-line server based A-GPS technology. It supports up to 30 days satellite orbit prediction, which can be used to greatly enhance user experience by improving GPS Time To First Fix (TTFF)."

I did my research before buying and you should know by now that I am a lousy bustard and you need a crow bar to get $234 out of my pocket.

LooseChange

NSW

2140 posts

29 Nov 2014 12:43am

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cisco said..

LooseChange said..

With the one you have Cisco you will always be reliant for a Wi-Fi signal, which is not always easy or reliable to get.

Option 3. the U-Beaut one then makes it the same as an iPad in that no iPad has phone function either. Hence the reason I love my 10.1" Samsung Galaxy Note.

Sorry, you misunderstoof, I didn't mean that it needs the WiFi for GPS but rather it needs it for data transfer.

cisco

QLD

12364 posts

28 Nov 2014 11:50pm

Select to expand quote

LooseChange said..

If worst comes to worst you go and buy a small hand held GPS like a Garmin Etrex and use that as a backup GPS. The etrex can track both GPS and GLONASS satellites simultaneously.

Johnny Appleseed is great to deal with. ... www.ja-gps.com.au/

I have an old,old Magellan GPS Pioneer which works OK but it's accuracy is not great, 200m out often.

Also have an Apelco (Raytheon) GPS 11 which is just as bad on accuracy, needs 4 AA batteries which it chews up in half the time it takes for the Magellan to chew up 2 AA batteries.

So yes, a new handheld is on the shopping list.

cisco

QLD

12364 posts

29 Nov 2014 12:05am

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LooseChange said..

Sorry, you misunderstoof, I didn't mean that it needs the WiFi for GPS but rather it needs it for data transfer.

Yes I have got you now but the Navionics maps exist on the device and therefore the unit does not need data transfer except if you want to look at the photos where the camera icons are on the maps.

That is the beauty of Navionics. It is stand alone without network of any kind as long as the device it is on has a built in GPS chip. It will not work for navigation on say a lap top with a USB plug in GPS puck.

For real time navigation, the device it is on MUST have a built in GPS chip for it to work outside of network range.

Toph

1875 posts

29 Nov 2014 12:07am

Select to expand quote

cisco said..

LooseChange said..

Toph said..

DrRog, the Jeppview app I mentioned above is accurate to within 2 metres. I don't know the accuracy of Naviaonics or other nav apps.

It's not the accuracy of the app that you should be concerned about, but rather the accuracy of the charts in the app, the GPS will always tell the truth but the map may not.

Yes, that is exactly my concern. I want a lat/long readout that I can plot on the paper chart so as to compare with the app map, also to have a record on paper.

I just finished a RYA theory course and was amazed to learn that some soundings were made over 100 years ago using lead lines... Paper charts it seems, can be rather inaccurate as well. That being said, the link above talks about digital nav as PRIMARY means, and I don't believe in that either.

The Jeppview chart I was referring to above, is used in a professional capacity. The charts are verified and it cost my company $600,000 something per YEAR, for all us employees to have this 'app' on our iPads. When the iPad believes it does not have the information requied to give an accuracy of 2mt, an alert is given and we are not allowed to use it...... Even with this accuracy, it is still NOT our primary means of navigation......

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