Navionics: which ipad will work ???

[ForGrinsToo]

We use a 5 year old iPad Mini 2 as primary, with a 2 year old iPad Mini 4 as backup. Both are cellular capable (and linked) with internal GPS.

One nice thing about iNavX is the ability to download the latest NOAA charts ostensibly for "free"! I find the Navionics charts lacking in detail, occasionally having errors, so only use them for Canada waters. We cruise at 6 kts, usually, so there is ample time to switch NOAA charts as needed.

For the most part, we do not use the iPads' internal GPS (settings/privacy/location/off), though it can be an adequate backup. Instead, the house GPS (Garmin GPS76CSx) feeds the AIS receiver (S-H GX2150) and both feed an iMux ST wifi multiplexer. So using WiFi we get very accurate position data as well as a display of AIS information for vessels to avoid.

The only problem is frequent access (coastal waters) means lots of screen time and heavy internal battery use. I have not yet found a good location in the cockpit of the SO36i for a USB charging port, so we run a USB extension cable from the nav station.

[vettedude]

Any Ipad should work, doesn't need built in GPS or data plan. I've been using an old Ipad with a Bad Elf GPS plugged in! Navionics works on it! Easy! I'm not using my old hardwired GPS anymore!

[DavidDelRosario]

I use Navionics on my new IPad Pro 11 and my old IPad Air. They both work fantastic. I bought a Bluetooth GPS from Amazon, Dual Model XGPS150A Works fantastic! Wish I would have started with Navionics before I replaced my Chart plotter with expensive Raymarine MFD unit.

My screen is bigger, clearer, and have many more navigation options, including wind, currents and tides

Dave Del Rosario
S/V Ka PekiMei
Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

[Martkimwat]

I have an old Ipad 3 that I currently run the Navionics app on, ( I think it has stopped updating at IOS 9.??) but so long as I don't delete the app, it will continue to work. The only issue is that if running the app continuously, it will slowly drain the iPad battery even with the power cord plugged in. This seems to depend on which avionics update is current since on some updates it was fine but on the latest one it is not. I am waiting for a my new ruggedised tablet to be delivered before the end of this month (Saiproof SP 08) that runs Android, has a built in GPS and is fully waterproof. I plan to use Navionics on that and ditch the iPad which is getting a bit long in the tooth and also suffers from screen overheating in bright sunlight.

[Nicholson58]

We use Navionics on an Apple IPAD. Get one with a large storage capacity. Now bought out by Boat US. Works well

Navionics Boating

[Jon Hacking]

If you NEED to go with an iPad, that's your business. We had to leave a boat on a reef in Indonesia (it's still there) because they believed their Navionics. But as you point out, the world has changed in 10 years. There are much better options these days.

Here in SE Asia, pretty much ALL charts are pretty poor, low res & often displaced. So since 2014 we've made our own charts from satellite imagery. You need to see these to believe them. They're extremely high resolution - we usually see individual coral heads. And they're amazingly accurate, with max errors on the order of 10' or 3m. A practiced eye can tell depth & bottom type by color of water, but now we can also make CMap & Navionics charts from the same source. These aren't as accurate, of course, but they have depths. To get an idea, download Ovital onto your iPad. That will give you Google Earth & Bing imagery, but we also use ArcGIS imagery, which is often the best of the 3.

We use OpenCPN to display these (as mbTiles). We keep the computer at the nav-desk, inside, but use screen-sharing software to both see & control the screen at the helm station, using a cheap tablet.

OpenCPN is a free download, & it's pretty amazing. It won't run on an iWhatsIts, but it will run on pretty much any computer, including Mac, Win, Linix, etc. It doesn't come with any charts, so most folks use old copies of the CM93 chart database as a starting point. But what we use for real charts are our ArcGIS, Bing, & GE satellite imagery, backed up by CMap & Navionics, & finally CM93. All on the same device.

The tools to make these are all free on the web, but it does take a lot of time & internet bandwidth.

If you want more info, we're happy to oblige.

[CaptainRivet]

My Advice from sailing with ipads the last 10 years:
Ipad pro 10.1 Wifi 1st or 2nd gen (still with the headphone plug) and wifi only!
Reasons:
- Big Screen to comfortably navigate with
- biggest battery in relation to battery use (screen is beside gps the 2nd most energy consumption on an ipad) of all ipads=longest battery life of all
- wifi only version as 3G gps is inaccurate, eats battery like mad and 150Euro more expensive then wifi only
- suggest garmin glo or glo2 as external GPS bluetooth, proven to work with all marine apps for ipads... Not cheapest nor best but simply works.
- min 128GB memory, low memory slows it down significantly, needs more battery and with offline maps you need storage
- gen 1 or 2 still has a bigger frame, very comfortable to hold compare to gen 3 ones and waterproof cases are easyly available... Suggest Ainet case, freaking expensive but ridget and waterproof as hell
- ios pro is better then ios for navionics and marine use.

I suggest to buy a slightly used 256 or even 512MB memory wifi only one. you cannot have enough memory and my MacBook is hardly used since I got my 12.1 gen 2 2017...i love the bigger 12.1 screen but value for money and battery life is 10.1 pro...

Ps i also have an Ipad 9.7 Gen 2 from 2009 running as a plotter mirror running.. Just need to jailbreak it and put ios 12 on... Slow but works and mirroring the plotter is more then ok.

[sengland]

I have an iPad (6th generation) 2018 Model A1893 so does not have cellular, therefore no GPS.
Does anybody know of a plug in GPS that will work I can buy?

Thanks

[davenrino]

Originally Posted by sengland

I have an iPad (6th generation) 2018 Model A1893 so does not have cellular, therefore no GPS.
Does anybody know of a plug in GPS that will work I can buy?

Thanks

I have been using this for 7-8 yrs. It has WAAS and GLONASS and an internal battery life well over 24 hrs. It will connect to 5 devices via bluetooth so it stays dry down below. It usually gets 12 or 13 sattelites here in Hawaii.


https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Elf-2200-...s%2C259&sr=8-1

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by davenrino

I have been using this for 7-8 yrs. It has WAAS and GLONASS and an internal battery life well over 24 hrs. It will connect to 5 devices via bluetooth so it stays dry down below. It usually gets 12 or 13 sattelites here in Hawaii.


https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Elf-2200-...s%2C259&sr=8-1

Bad Elf is good but expensive. Proven to work with Navionics (and nearly all other nav apps and iPads) and much cheaper is the Garmin Glo or Glo https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B07M9...s%2C341&sr=8-1
I have 5 I pads on board, 3 of them are WiFi only on purpose, from the iPad mini gen1 till iPad Pro 12.1 gen 2 and they all work with the Glo2. Tested it with isailor,Navionics,nav x,TimeZero and CMap. Huge advantage it’s much more precise (Up to 1m) then the internal GPS (average 30m, often more) and enlarges battery life of the iPad enormously. You cannot switch the iPads internal GPS off,even in flight mode it is on.
My 12.1 Pro WiFi with the external Bluetooth glo2 runs without charge for 17h straight while the 3G Version with internal GPS makes hardly 7h. Screen on and Navionics running permantly.

[davenrino]

Originally Posted by CaptainRivet

Bad Elf is good but expensive. Proven to work with Navionics (and nearly all other nav apps and iPads) and much cheaper is the Garmin Glo or Glo https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B07M9...s%2C341&sr=8-1
I have 5 I pads on board, 3 of them are WiFi only on purpose, from the iPad mini gen1 till iPad Pro 12.1 gen 2 and they all work with the Glo2. Tested it with isailor,Navionics,nav x,TimeZero and CMap. Huge advantage it’s much more precise (Up to 1m) then the internal GPS (average 30m, often more) and enlarges battery life of the iPad enormously. You cannot switch the iPads internal GPS off,even in flight mode it is on.
My 12.1 Pro WiFi with the external Bluetooth glo2 runs without charge for 17h straight while the 3G Version with internal GPS makes hardly 7h. Screen on and Navionics running permantly.

I am curious if the GLO will connect to multiple devices at once? The Bad Elf does connect to 5 devices at once.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by davenrino

I am curious if the GLO will connect to multiple devices at once? The Bad Elf does connect to 5 devices at once.

Also 5 devices at once with Glo2.
With the Ipad pro pads you need to download and install the garmin pilot app as this installs the drivers for the Glo2, with the ipads it works plug&play. If you go into the garmin pilot app you can choose between the different GPS sources that are available on your ipad and the pilot app displays the accuracy of each GPS available when you select it. And the Glo2 is the best on my boat, i can even see where it is located in my boat... even better then B&G internal 10Hz one.
Heard with the Bad Elf you don't have to do that garmin pilot app installation on the Ipad pro as it is apple licensed with pro. Had the Glo before getting the Ipad pro.
Using the Glo2 since years in car racing with Ipad mini as a laptimer as the internal Ipad GPS is to inaccurate and slow when you race and with 250kmh and more a 5Hz GPS like in the ipads the position updates are too slow too, you need real 10Hz. Also used as my mobile yacht delivery setup, so i am independent whatever chart plotter with unknown chart age is on.

[davenrino]

Originally Posted by CaptainRivet

Also 5 devices at once with Glo2.
With the Ipad pro pads you need to download and install the garmin pilot app as this installs the drivers for the Glo2, with the ipads it works plug&play. If you go into the garmin pilot app you can choose between the different GPS sources that are available on your ipad and the pilot app displays the accuracy of each GPS available when you select it. And the Glo2 is the best on my boat, i can even see where it is located in my boat... even better then B&G internal 10Hz one.
Heard with the Bad Elf you don't have to do that garmin pilot app installation on the Ipad pro as it is apple licensed with pro. Had the Glo before getting the Ipad pro.
Using the Glo2 since years in car racing with Ipad mini as a laptimer as the internal Ipad GPS is to inaccurate and slow when you race and with 250kmh and more a 5Hz GPS like in the ipads the position updates are too slow too, you need real 10Hz. Also used as my mobile yacht delivery setup, so i am independent whatever chart plotter with unknown chart age is on.

Ha...I tested the Bad Elf at much faster speeds as a backup to the 2 internal GPSs in my 737-800. I was also very impressed with it's internal antenna, as older GPSs needed an external antenna to receive through all that aluminum and thick double pane windows. Once turned on and satellites aquired, I put it back in my flight bag on the floor. It worked great on all my Pacific routes with a worldwide Pilot Atlas app on my iPad.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

We have an iPad Pro running Navionics and AquaMaps with a Bluetooth GPS unit. BTW the gps batteries will last 8hrs if used constantly. The external gps is more accurate than the internal in my experience. We also can access the gps in our Vesper AIS via its dedicated WiFi for the highest accuracy.

I check the accuracy by looking at my location in the marina on the various gps inputs. The internal will show me which part of the marina, the Bluetooth will show which dock and the Vesper will show which slip.

Hi,
How do you get the iPad Pro to use the external GPS instead the internal one? Neptun received my 2017....and I got a 2018 pro with 4g.
I have the BT Garmin Glo2 GPS which is tested to work with Navionics and work seamlessly with all the iPads 1/2/3 and Mini but not the pros.
I tried: a) iPad Pro 2017 wifi only. I had to download Garmin Pilot App and start it everytime so it connects the bt garmin glo2 gps. But connection wasn’t very stable and dropped from time to time, on battery 12h though. Not reliable enough as chart plotter replacement or 1st backup.
B) iPad Pro 2018 4g Version. It connects to BT harming glo2 GPS BUT still uses the internal GPS for Navionics. Means draining battery like crazy and even connected to a 3A usb plug cannot keep the battery charged. I downloaded again Garmin Pilot and can see Pro is using internal gps even an external is connected.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by davenrino

Ha...I tested the Bad Elf at much faster speeds as a backup to the 2 internal GPSs in my 737-800. I was also very impressed with it's internal antenna, as older GPSs needed an external antenna to receive through all that aluminum and thick double pane windows. Once turned on and satellites aquired, I put it back in my flight bag on the floor. It worked great on all my Pacific routes with a worldwide Pilot Atlas app on my iPad.

Does the bad elf gps works with the IPad Pro out of the box?
It turned out that after a software update on the pro the Garmin Glo2 works with all iPads but not with the pro reliably, always need the Garmin pilot app as driver install for the Glo2 and Connection not very stable...internal driver fighting each other I suppose.