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  Scubacat

  January 2015 edited November 2015

  Hi Roy, 

  Scubacat has a Raymarine instrument setup, and some years ago I added a Brookhouse "IMUX" WIFI NMEA conversion hub to allow my phone and pc to connect wirelessly. This hub collates all ship data (including NMEA from the ship GPS) and makes it available via WIFI. I got it before I got an IPAD, and had some issues with connections- It worked with a PC, but not Android (to be fair it says this in the Brookhouse website). (I made a bluetooth interface and it worked fine - about £5 from Ebay) But I've now got an IPad, and it connects fine via Wifi. 

  With this setup, you can use the Ships GPS for location on maps. I have found INavx is one of the best, but also got Navionics (Actually the charts on both are Navionics). It works well, and INavx can display AIS targets on screen as I have a NASA AIS connected to the IMUX box (when the NASA AIS is working!). The INax application can also send steering information back via the wifi to the autohelm- but I've not used that yet.

  
  

  For a simpler setup, you can get bluetooth and hard wired GPS's designed to work with non GPS fitted IPads. BADELF make some that have very good reviews,and are supposed to be better than the internal GPS on the 3G Ipads.  but there are cheaper options. 

  
  

  There are also some new AIS receivers that have a wifi output specifically for IPads, I think they also take in GPS at the "box" and send it to the IPad (meaning yu do not need the IPAd to know its location. Digital Yacht do one, and there is also the "ExNC 101", and "Weatherdock easyAIS". Depends on how much you want to spend!.

  
  

  To actually answer your question, the most cost effective answer would probably to get a very cheap Bluetooth GPS and use it with a simple charts app. The question then is: "whats the best chart app"- Personally, I have tried SeaNav UK - which has very slow screen updates on my IPAD mini, but uses Admiralty charts and displays AIS if you have it. I also have the Navionics and INavx chart apps. Navionics will not display AIS, but has some interesting extra features over the Charts on INavx. 

  Overall if I only had one, it would have to be INavx for its AIS, despite it being the most expensive, but if you are not interested in AIS, the Navionics app is very nice. 

  There is a comparison of some chart app features here : digital yacht comparison 

  All the best 

  Dagnall

  Scubacat.

  
  

  
  

  
  

    
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  CHATEAUCAT

  January 2015

  Thanks Dagnall very helpful.

  
  

  Roy
  

  
  

  
  
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  Dragonslayer

  July 2015

  Roy
  There is a very good article in the June issue no.1311 of Yachting Monthly that covers all these issues.
  Aleck