Category : iPad / iPhone

iPad , cases and mounts for yachting[Update]

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In my first entry about the iPad used as a chart-plotter, I mentioned two or three essential accessories to handle on board. The mounting remained unresolved, few products was then available.

On board a boat, sailing as motor, the mount must meet several essential requirements :

  • A robust fixation, the test vessel motions can be violent in the bad weather. The iPad should absolutely not be able to win its support.
  • One possible direction in both portrait and landscape with locking position.
  • Fixation the smallest footprint possible for small boats : charts table increasingly reduced, deck-house cluttered with instruments, etc,.
  • Ability to move easily iPad.

I leave aside for the moment the question of waterproof that, to date, is fully resolved only by heavy and bulky boxes (OtterBox, Andres). Some mounts seem suited to yachting, followed by a "home" installation by experienced handymen. This may give you some ideas…

[Update 28/01/2013]
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A test onboard with Navigation Mac

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During a weekend of January a little sad, we joined the port of L'Herbaudière, Isle of Noirmoutier, via the picturesque Gois passage at low tide.

We, that is to say, a boating journalist, my wife and myself.

Welcomed by two "natives" from the country, Henry and Jean-Etienne. The latter giving us a superb Oceanis 347 for the first test board, in France, navigation applications on a Mac, iPad and iPhone. A big first, somehow. Read more …

Crossing the Atlantic with an iPad

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I cannot resist the urge to show you some pics (*) from iNavX on iPad coming across the Atlantic, from Mediterranean to Martinique. The sailor has abandoned his MacBook Air, on which he uses MacENC for several years with S-57 ENC charts. He switched to a 3G iPad, featured iNavX, Navionics Gold charts and the Apple app Numbers to write his log book.

 

ipad

iNavX in action

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Control a Mac from an iPad [Update]

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By creating a connection VNC (Virtual Network Computing) it is possible to control a navigation application like MacENC or OpenCPN from an iPad. This latter becomes an active screen repeater, and offers the possibility, not only to view the screen of a Mac (or PC), but also to control the software remotely with the touch screen. This is the solution adopted, the origin of the iPad, by several participants in the Figaro Race equipped with MaxSea or Adrena under Windows.

For Windows PC, I invite you to consult the dedicated article (¹). For Mac, the implementation is quite simple.

[Update 23/08/2020]

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iPad , a Chartplotter Killer ?

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ipad-inavxWith iPad 3G finally in hands, featured iNavX and (beta) version AyeTides XL in testing, I'm going to give you my first impression, previously to perform an extended test at sea.

Regardless of the fact that the iPad can be used for many other things than shipping, I am now totally convinced of its utility on board, here are the reasons. Read more …