Category : Tutorials

How to…

AIS for dummies

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With the progressive generalization of the AIS (transceivers) aboard our pleasure boats (¹), and their obligatory presence on board a large proportion of commercial ships, capacities for display and processing of targets (surrounding vessels equipped with a transceiver) have significantly improved our security. Still need to know how to interpret this information that, in high-traffic areas, can quickly become a real headache.

In such a situation, better have a quick diagnosis of the risk of collision ! (Weather4D 2.0)

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iNavX undergoes a change of ownership

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New developers, new logo, new splash page, and new website.

The version 4.7.0 has just been delivered by NavX Studios LLC, the company that bought all of Richard Ray's computer creations : GPSNavX, MacENC and iNavX.

The handover took place during the summer. New developers (there are two of them) were first focused on iNavX, for a first debugging update, performance optimization and acceleration of charts downloading with X-Traverse. We can bet that this transfer will bring a new dynamic to these excellent applications, whose creation and development have rested since 2002 on the unique Rich Ray's keyboard.

I continue to test and produce the French version of these applications on behalf of the new team.

 

NV Chart extends coasts of France from SHOM

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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).

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iNavX and iSailor always offer more functions

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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 and new Weather4D have arrived

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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 !

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Routing and usage precautions

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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. The quality of these applications is already appealing to amateur sailors, 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, Achieve the fastest route from one point to another, so leisure boaters are more focused on getting safer and more comfortable routes. For them, The notion of speed is mainly used to avoid periods of bad weather, and the optimized route to escape areas where sea and wind conditions can be dangerous. Routing is also used for this : even in powerboating, you may try to avoid too much wind speeds or wave heights to ensure ypur crew comfortable and serene trip. But what credibility can be given to routing ? Read more …

Apps de navigation : the (rares) new products in Spring 2014

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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 …