Several other low-cost charting programs are available for the iPad and iPhone. They are designed to leverage the superior reception of an installed nav system – an interesting option that extends the versatility of your chartplotter by allowing a wireless repeater virtually anywhere on the boat. New iPad apps are available from Raymarine, Furuno and Simrad, but instead of being fully functional nav apps they are repeaters and viewers of the information on compatible plotters and MFDs from their respective manufacturers. To show the route line, you upload the information to one of several of Garmin’s best- selling plotters using a special Wi-Fi adapter. When under way, it is limited to showing you the position of your vessel but will not display your planned routes. This program is designed as a planning tool.
Then there are programs such as the new Garmin BlueChart Mobile, also free, with the option to pay for specific chart regions such as North America at $44.99. The program is free, but chart data for different areas is an additional $19.99 to $29.99. If your plotter uses Jeppesen C-Map chart data, you may be interested in the Jeppesen Marine Plan2Nav. If your current plotter uses Navionics chart data, you may be best served by purchasing the Navionics Marine and Lakes: US and Canada HD app for about $55 in the Apple App Store. How do you choose? A good approach is to start with the navigation charting display you are most comfortable with. But as with any tool, it is important to understand the true capabilities and limitations of nautical apps available for the iPad.Īt the top of the list of iPad capabilities is navigation and there are a number of good apps available for purchase. The versatility of the iPad for use on a boat is truly remarkable and the price of the nautical apps is very tempting compared to typical marine electronics.
The large, high-resolution touch-screen of the iPad rivals chartplotters and multi-function displays costing thousands of dollars. In this article, we’ll consider the following questions: Is the iPad safe to use for navigation? Can it be used for AIS reception? Does it work when you’re away from an Internet connection? Most importantly, should you carry one on your boat?
#Navionics app review software#
Capabilities once costing hundreds of dollars for navigation software on the PC are now about $50 on the Apple App Store.īut sometimes the apps seem too good to be true.
#Navionics app review full#
A full range of apps for use onboard is available, covering navigation, tide and current data, AIS reporting, cruising guides, reference books and more. Nautical software apps on the iPad are the big news in marine electronics this year. It offers versatility for charting, navigation and cruise planning, and there’s a fast-growing world of choice in practical helmside apps.
With big SOG and COG readings (Figure 2, right).Overnight, the iPad is revolutionizing the field of marine electronics.
#Navionics app review free#
Track and build your own depth chart (Figure 2, left) with free SonarChart Live feature, as well as use your smartphone or tablet as an informational display If the data server is configured correctly, the Navionics App will use the position and depth data provided by the gateway (see Figure 2). You should configure one of the servers to stream NMEA 0183 data on UDP port 2000.įigure 2. When your mobile device is connected to the NMEA gateway's Wi-Fi, everything should start work automatically without any settings.Īnd it does, but you need to tune the gateway's settings as it shown in Figure 1 (right). Unlike many other mobile apps which allow specification of the IP address and port of the NMEA 0183 data server, their "Connect a Device" page onlyĬontains instructions to connect Wi-Fi (see Figure 1). Navionics is not only Raymarine's chart supplier, it became very popular thanks to the free Navionics Web App which allows viewing of marine maps online.Īre also very popular thanks to inexpensive maps, which cost ten times less than the version for a chart plotter. Screenshots of Navionics App for IPhone (left) and Wi-Fi Gateway (right) settings Of the gateway's servers to stream NMEA 0183 data from UDP port 2000. We are glad to confirm that our gateway is compatible with the popular Navionics Boating App. SeptemUsing Navionics Boating App with NMEA 2000 Wi-Fi Gateway