ipad gps

[ronbo1]

Your GPS chartplotter works at sea away from cell towers, why would your iPad GPS not work. Once the navigation charts are loaded onto your device (from cell or WiFi) you're good to go.

[Ex-Calif]

One advantage of an external gps like Bad Elf is that it can be on deck and the iPad can be in the salon out of satellite view.

I have the bad elf gps only becuase I had the Gen 1 iPad with no sim card. In general with computer equipment (to include tablets) I get all the memory I can get and the most features.

No one ever says, "I wish I had less storage and fewer features."

[colemj]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

???

There are boatloads of marine apps out there for Android devices....

???

-Chris

Yes, but all the major manufacturers and app developers develop for the iPad first, and many exclusively. Look at all the chartplotter and AIS company integration - not much Android there.

There are more apps for the iPad than Android in the marine space, and they almost always come out first on the iPad. That is all I was trying to say.

Mark

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

One advantage of an external gps like Bad Elf is that it can be on deck and the iPad can be in the salon out of satellite view.

For a steel boat, that would probably work. However, if the iPad GPS can accurately follow me around in a basement of a two story house (with attic), I don't think it will have any problem being below a 1-2" fiberglass deck. At least ours have not had any problems, and we have a large aluminum structure over us.

Mark

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by colemj

Yes, but all the major manufacturers and app developers develop for the iPad first, and many exclusively. Look at all the chartplotter and AIS company integration - not much Android there.

There are more apps for the iPad than Android in the marine space, and they almost always come out first on the iPad. That is all I was trying to say.

Ah. Got it.

Have to admit, I haven't paid much attention to integration.. but that's been driven by my chartplotter and AP... which are just about one generation older enough to not have heard the words WiFi or Bluetooth. Its even easier to use sneaker net to "integrate" the onboard laptop with the chartplotter/AP N2K network. And cobbling up a wired NMEA 0183 or 2000 solution to integrate a tablet would probably be a step backwards, as well.

We certainly haven't lacked for Android marine apps, though.

And I do very much get A64's comment about Apple units costing more for the cellular-capable unit -- just to get the GPS capability (when cellular isn't required). I think Apple's GPS-enabled product we're each about $150 more than the tablets we ended up with.

-Chris

[JK n Smitty]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I didn't say you needed a cell data plan to make the GPS work, but why buy an IPAD with the cell phone if your not going to use it? Use a bluetooth GPS, get better accuracy, save money. Unless you feel you need the data plan.

In the Bahamas, Mexico, the Caribbean and I am sure other areas where wifi is not really a good option anymore due to closed networks you can buy a local SIM card with a prepaid data plan that will let you check weather and send emails. You can't do that with the wifi only and an external GPS.

[JK n Smitty]

Originally Posted by colemj

For a steel boat, that would probably work. However, if the iPad GPS can accurately follow me around in a basement of a two story house (with attic), I don't think it will have any problem being below a 1-2" fiberglass deck. At least ours have not had any problems, and we have a large aluminum structure over us.

Mark

I agree. I use my iPad below decks all the time with no issue with the GPS. This is our second year of exclusively using the iPad as our chart plotter (we use the compass and paper charts too, just not any other GPS devices). Best way to go in my opinion.

[sogin]

Originally Posted by colemj

For a steel boat, that would probably work. However, if the iPad GPS can accurately follow me around in a basement of a two story house (with attic), I don't think it will have any problem being below a 1-2" fiberglass deck. At least ours have not had any problems, and we have a large aluminum structure over us.

Mark

The I PHONE location in your basement is triangulating from towers and is not using the GPS chip. The BAD ELF is far more sensitive than the IPAD or IPHONE GPS. It even works well at 40,000 feet or anywhere on the globe at sea level.
The latest BAD ELF firmware update allows it to connect by Blue Tooth to all apple devices including laptops but it can also connect by cable.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by sogin

The I PHONE location in your basement is triangulating from towers and is not using the GPS chip. The BAD ELF is far more sensitive than the IPAD or IPHONE GPS. It even works well at 40,000 feet or anywhere on the globe at sea level.
The latest BAD ELF firmware update allows it to connect by Blue Tooth to all apple devices including laptops but it can also connect by cable.

No, it wasn't using cell tower triangulation to fix my position. I know this for three reasons: 1) there is no way cell triangulation is that precise to follow me around a house, 2) I have had the cellular radio turned off completely since I bought the iPad (saves significant battery), and, most importantly, 3) there is no cell service at all in the house I was in. One needs to walk up the street aways to get sufficient signal to connect to a network and make a cellphone call.

Doesn't matter if the Bad Elf is more sensitive - the iPad GPS works just fine, with excellent precision, below decks and at 40,000 feet (I watch our position on airplanes and it even gets the altitude correct) or anywhere on the globe at sea level.

The Bad Elf cost $149. The difference between a non-GPS iPad and a GPS iPad is $129 at full retail (Apple). The difference is a bit less at discount B&H, Amazon, etc).

Mark

[a64pilot]

The IPAD has been used for a long time in aviation, testing has shown that the internal IPAD GPS is not as accurate as a standalone GPS, not really important on a boat, but it is at higher speeds and when accuracy is more important (you don't run aground in an airplane, you crash).
This is the one I use, Amazon.com : Dual Electronics XGPS150A Universal Bluetooth GPS Receiver for Portable Devices : Aviation Gps : GPS & Navigation $83 and will work with Apple or Android or a Windows based laptop, unfortunately it will not work with an Apple and a Windows product simultaneously, it has a switch to go back and forth between the two.
Two types of bluetooth GPS's out there, Apple and everybody else

On edit the Dual works great for my laptop too for Open CPN

[a64pilot]

Apparently there is this one too, that is Glonass as well.
I wonder if it can do simultaneous windows and Apple?
http://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electroni.../ref=pd_cp_e_0

[colemj]

To be clear, I wasn't saying the iPad GPS was as accurate as standalone ones. I was just stating that its accuracy and sensitivity is well within anything you would need on a boat.

The GPS in the link cannot be mounted outside on a sailboat, so it kind of defeats the argument of being able to have it outside.

If one wants to use multiple devices with a GPS, then a standalone is the way to go. However, the OP appeared to want a single device, and for this I think a standalone is a cumbersome, inelegant and possibly more expensive solution compared to having the GPS in the device itself.

Mark

[JK n Smitty]

Why are you so concerned with the exact precision on the iPad? I don't care if its accurate to within 2 inches or 20 feet. I just need general location. I am not gong to get within 6 inches of that rock or reef just because the iPad/GPS says its ok. How close I get to the rock will be based on actually looking at the rock and giving myself as much room as possible.

[JK n Smitty]

Another aspect of the internal GPS vs. the external GPS is battery life. If you are using the bluetooth to communicate between the two then you will have shorter battery life. However, using the internal GPS with the wifi, cell data and bluetooth turned off I can get just about 10 hours of battery life out of my iPad. With the cell data or wifi on and searching for a signal it goes down to about 4 hours.