GALILEO and Apple mobiles

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Less than a month before the launch by Ariane 5 of four new satellites carrying the GALILEO constellation to 18 satellites, manufacturers of tracking components have already presented their new tracking chips supporting European GNSS. This allowed the Spanish company BQ to offer the first “Galileo-ready” smartphone at the beginning of September., equipped with processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 652, l’Aquarius X5 Plus.

We might have expected to find the same chip in the iPhone 7 from Apple, which has since fitted the iPhone 4S and the iPad 3 all of its mobile devices with Qualcomm communications processors, integrating GPS reception (US) and GLONASS (Russian), it's nothing. With this latest smartphone, Apple reconnects with Broadcom, sidelined since 2012 to perform these functions, by integrating a chip BCM47734.

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Miniplex-3Wi-N2K : Major updates

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ShipModul manufacturer comes to provide on his website two major updates to dowload for its multiplexer Miniplex-3 :

  • Firmware Miniplex-3 V.1.17
  • Firmware Wi-Fi V.1.5.0.3

The two update files, featured with a procedure (in English), are packaged in a single folder WiFi V1.5.0.3. Download. The implementation can only be done with the configuration utility MPX-Config V.2.1.0 minimum, available in PC and Mac versions. Read more …

The Weather4D 2.0 new is arrived

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No developer vacations ! I talked about testing the new features to come during our Long journey from Corsica to Normandy last May. After several weeks of finalization, and mainly to adapt early to future iOS 10 Available this fall, here is the delivery of the new version 2.0.15 in Weather4D 2.0. An addition of long-awaited new features.

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stairs – the digital version of Bloc Marine

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At the beginning of this year I wrote the greatest good I thought of the Digital Almanac, the digitized version of Reed’s Nautical Almanac. The Figaro group, Publisher of the website www.figaronautisme.fr, owner of Météo-Consult / The Weather Channel and Logbook – Marine Block, Published since the end 2014 "Stopover Guides", the digitized version of the Marine Block on the iBook Store. Read more …

Roseanor, 2000 nautical miles against the grain around Europe

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Conveying a boat from Corsica to Normandy in May, it's a bit like going around the world upside down from East to West, but more modest. Two thousands nautical miles on the water against winds and tides, four and a half weeks at sea, with thirteen days forced stopover awaiting for good weather conditions, three hundreds and fifty hours of engine to support the sails, 1000 litres of diesel oil, multiple Corsican, Spanish and Portuguese wines bibs, to calm our nerves, A few packs of water to quench thirst, and hundreds of hours of testing the new features in development of… Weather4D Routage & Navigation !

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Navionics Boating 9.0 update on what's new

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Updated on 17 May, Navionics Boating presents some modifications, in presentation and functionalities.

First of all only subsist Navionics Boating for iPhone and "Boating HD" » for iPad. The old names have disappeared, happily because confusion was great. Version purchased with built-in charting has the name of the region, for example "Europe HD" for iPad. On the other hand, there is a free version called "Seas and Lakes" which allows to test then buy a chart of the area of choice, and additional options. Read more …

2016 Year of GALILEO

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Since my first post on GALILEO end 2011 (¹), space Europe has made significant progress. Despite economic uncertainties and numerous budgetary restrictions, Course and schedule have been maintained thanks to a community political flawless. This is to be welcomed because many other areas of European action didn't have the scoop.

The year 2016 has already been dubbed "the year of GALILEO".. This was the clear message of the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit (²) early March. The Munich summit covered all GNSS systems, but the focus this year was squarely on Galileo. Read more …

Weather4D 2.0.11 A bunch of new features and improvements

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Delivered in AppStore this morning after two weeks of revisions and contre-revisions of Apple services, Always more picky, The new version is finally available. On the menu and in bulk : AIS via internet with AISHub, direct access to Geogarage and cache memory chart management, new model of GRIB weather forecast from Meteo-France AROME HD for inshore races, Full-screen mode, advanced distance calculations, the most visible. Under the hood also a lot of optimization for routing and power consumption. Detailed review to follow… Read more …

The Miniplex-3Wi-N2K is finally available

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We had been waiting for it for almost two years, hoped more, we despaired… but here it is in my hands. Alleluia ! Multiplexer Wi-Fi NMEA0183, gateway NMEA2000 and translator SeaTalk1 is available in France (¹).

The same size and light as its little brother, Miniplex-2Wi (²), its plug terminal is significantly neater : No need for screwdrivers, Connectors have spring clamps. The signage is also much more legible in color, and 4 LED lights allow at a glance to check the operation : strings scrolling NMEA2000 and/or NMEA0183, connection to a Wi-Fi device, and overflow if applicable.

But the apparent simplicity is misleading and the thing hides a real potential.

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