The blog
How to…
With the appGPS2IP, we can use (temporaly) the GPS of an iPhone to transmit the position to a Wi-Fi iPad that does not have GPS.
But this method should only be seen as a temporary repair for the reasons which will be mentioned later.. NMEA position data will be sent by GPS2IP using TCP/IP protocol through cellular tethering.
In a previous entry I presented the SHOM raster charts provided by many publishers on iPad. For several weeks the German nautical chart publisher NV Verlag offers two new areas ending coverage of the coasts of France Atlantic and English Channel. These charts are usable both with iNavX on iPad/iPhone, only with GPSNavX and MacENC on Mac. We can therefore, unlike Navionics, use the two available copies of each region on two different media (iPad , iPhone ou Mac).
The year 2015 barely started, the developers are already giving us the developments of their applications, probably made between two glasses of champagne during the holidays. I consider iNavX and iSailor as the two best navigation apps so far under iOS. These are the ones that offer the most extensive functions and the selection of the best charts. They each have their qualities and faults., and I take advantage of the new features brought by their recent update to try a quick function/price comparison.
Warning, this exercise is associated with a snapshot vision, valid today but quickly obsolete tomorrow, as changes are rapid in this domain. On the other hand, it is always difficult to distinguish between objective and subjective aspects in a comparison., I was already confronted in the past (¹). Read more …
iPolar 2.0 arrives with several improvements, including one expected from the beginning : the possibility of exporting fleeces by email. Done, and moreover the export of fleeces (single or multi-sail) is systematically done in 3 file formats : CSV, TXT and POL. Enough to reuse the fleeces with any application on Mac, PC or other mobile devices.
The dream !
With iNavX, with iPhone like iPad, charts update goes through two processes. It is necessary to distinguish individual charts update, and update full charts folders with a new edition. Read more …
With the advent of powerful weather-routing applications on our tablets and smartphones, as Weather4D and SailGrib WR, at truly affordable prices, routing is becoming more popular for pleasure boating. La qualité de ces applications séduit déjà les régatiers amateurs, and even some high-seas professional riders, but also a growing number of leisure boaters. Riders use the routing in the essential interests of performance, réaliser la route la plus rapide d’un point à un autre, so leisure boaters are more focused on getting safer and more comfortable routes. For them, la notion de vitesse sert surtout à éviter des périodes de mauvais temps, et la route optimisée à échapper à des zones où les conditions de mer et de vent peuvent être dangereuses. Le routage sert aussi à cela : even in powerboating, you may try to avoid too much wind speeds or wave heights to ensure ypur crew comfortable and serene trip. Mais quel crédit accorder au routage ? Read more …
The least I can say, it’s that the new things don’t jostle. After the frenzy of announcements of 2013, the developers seem to be marking time. It is likely that the proliferation of navigation apps should not promote their profitability, and that the financial return on investment in development and maintenance time should not be obtained by everyone. Navionics charts remains the undisputed leader. By creating its new “Boating” formula to complement and/or replace “Marine” (¹) it revives sales which were probably starting to run out of steam. iNavX remains the best-selling independent application in the USA, and the rest of the world through combination with Navionics cartography, and particularly in France thanks… to the strong promotion to which I contribute. Its developer multiplies very regular updates, which ensures good positioning on the AppStore and user satisfaction, despite the questionable ergonomics of certain functions. Read more …
iNavX 4.0.0 greatly improves the display of raster charts : continuous seamless tiled charts (¹) and access to a new Navionics Gold chart : the 50XG covering almost the entire Pacific Ocean. Read more …
With the basic 1.3.3 and PRO versions 1.3.9 delivered last November, Weather4D had replaced the GRIB files fine grid from Great Circle by its own files based on the U.S. model WRF (¹), computed under his own steam. Ces fichiers couvrant l’Europe, Greece, Canaria, les Açores, Greater and Lesser Antilles, offrent une résolution de 0,1° (6 NM) up to 96 hours by 1 hour steps. Les données fournies sont les mêmes que le modèle GFS (¹). At the same time, le prix d’abonnement annuel a été réduit de 60 down to 30 €.
Grâce à la mise en place de nouveaux moyens, les prochaines mises à jour qui viennent d’être soumises à Apple Store vont fournir encore plus de détails. Olivier Bouyssou explains :
« Pour info, App4Nav uses 6 different servers, 2 for the calculation of WRF model and 4 for distributing GRIBs : 2 pour la région US+Asie et 2 for Europe. At this time 8000 GRIBs are distributed per day and triple during the season… ”
This now enables to provide, for the French coasts, including Corsica, ultra-fine grid to 0.04 °, that to say 2,4 NM. It also adds to the GFS and WRF files new data evaluating wind gusts. Read more …
The relationship of a recent experience of an iNavX user and Weather4D PRO routing function invites me to bring a warning to the attention of novices boaters in computer use.
A regatta course, départ de St Hélier (Jersey) to arrival Granville, optimized with Weather4D PRO using fine grid GCWF model and MyOcean currents prediction, donnait la route suivante dans iNavX :
The optimized route transferred to iNavX
