Garmin or iPad?

C

creeklife

New Member
Mar 12, 2012
3
st johns river, fl
Boat Info
2002 280
Engines
twin 5.0EFI
What are the thoughts on a Garmin 541 vs an iPad? Seems the apps for the iPad are pretty advance in regards to a GPS. The iPad is a little more when all is said and done, waterproof cover and a sea sucker mount etc. I have a 280DA, mostly crusing inshore. Any ideas would be appreciated.
 
If it's an either or, then I would go with a marine GPS first. The iPad is great in addition to a marine GPS, but shouldn't replace it.
 
Navonics. I used it this weekend, it works better than my Garmin GPS and was much easier to use.
 
Turtlesboat said:
If it's an either or, then I would go with a marine GPS first. The iPad is great in addition to a marine GPS, but shouldn't replace it.
Click to expand...

+100. If the screen didn't have so much glare and it didn't shut itself off due to overheating in direct sunlight then the iPad would be great. Also, the screen is unreadable in portrait mode with polarized sunglasses and barely readable in landscape mode.
 
I bought the 541s and is great. I agree with others who say buy a marine gps first and use iPad as backup. The iPad is annoying with it shutting off and hard to read in the sun. it is tempting with the big screen but for me I like the dependability and accuracy of the marine gps devices.
 
Also (if i have my facts right), some iPads use cellular towers/WiFi to get their fix, not actual GPS satellites. If your model does not have "AGPS," and there are no cell towers nearby, you don't get a fix. You'll have to check your specs.


-Seth
 
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The Continuum said:
Also (if i have my facts right), some iPads use cellular towers/WiFi to get their fix, not actual GPS satellites. If your model does not have "AGPS," and there are no cell towers nearby, you don't get a fix. You'll have to check your specs.


-Seth
Click to expand...

The iPad needs to have the 3G to have an enabled GPS then it works off of the satellites.
 
The Continuum said:
Also (if i have my facts right), some iPads use cellular towers/WiFi to get their fix, not actual GPS satellites. If your model does not have "AGPS," and there are no cell towers nearby, you don't get a fix. You'll have to check your specs.


-Seth
Click to expand...

HUMPH said:
The iPad needs to have the 3G to have an enabled GPS then it works off of the satellites.
Click to expand...

Both of these are correct. The Wifi-only iPads do not have actual GPS. They use wifi triangulation to get your location which works great if you are stationary but will be useless on the water. As Ken mentioned, you need the 3G version with the wifi chip.
 
Tonka Boater said:
Both of these are correct. The Wifi-only iPads do not have actual GPS. They use wifi triangulation to get your location which works great if you are stationary but will be useless on the water. As Ken mentioned, you need the 3G version with the wifi chip.
Click to expand...

If you have the wifi only version, you can use gps tracker such as the one from bad-elf.com or Dual makes one as well. Figure about $100 for either one. The key to these is you need to have preloaded maps on your iPad. I have the Bad Elf unit and like it. I have used it with the Garmin app for street navigation, but have not tried it with the Navionics app as of yet.

That said, I would still buy the Garmin marine GPS over an iPad. I have a 530s on my boat and would not trade it for an iPad.
 
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With the older gps (Garmin 210) its been difficult to learn and use. My iPad has up to date weather radar and with the gps it's been a great help as I continue to work with the Garmin. The Seahorse has a hard top so glare and over heating haven't been a problem yet. With all that said, I will be replacing the older GPS and installing Radar this off season
 
Tonka Boater said:
Both of these are correct. The Wifi-only iPads do not have actual GPS. They use wifi triangulation to get your location which works great if you are stationary but will be useless on the water. As Ken mentioned, you need the 3G version with the wifi chip.
Click to expand...

My kid has a 3g Ipad but we have not activated a plan yet (he uses it in wifi mode only - will the gps work? or do I need to select and activate a data plan
 
Ididntdoit said:
My kid has a 3g Ipad but we have not activated a plan yet (he uses it in wifi mode only - will the gps work? or do I need to select and activate a data plan
Click to expand...

The GPS will work but the maps won't update unless you download them first.
 
Navionics on the iPad is what I use. Mounted in a Ram/SeaSucker mount at the helm in an OtterBox case. I keep it out of direct sun or it will shut down due to heat.

I have a glare reducing screen protector on it. I set autolock to off, turn off auto brightness and turn the brightness slider up to help with visibility.

I use the Dual gps as I have a wifi only iPad.

Love it.
 
Is there a USB port on the Ipads to use a GPS stick or dongle device to enable the wi-fi only iPads to get true GPS?
 
My advice is to have good marine MFD as a primary unit and cool (non-marine) toys like iPads should be used as a secondary/backup units.
 
I wouldn't classify an ipad as a "toy", it's an extremely powerful tool. It just wasn't built for marine use. Not saying you can't use it in a marine environment, you can, just know it has limitations in this environment and that having a dedicated marine GPS is best to have first and then you can add something like an ipad to enhance it.
 
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