iPad as MFD?

My Girl said:
Great thread. I have a quick question. My iPad does not have the cellular service. Only WiFi. Can I use a Navionics? If not is there an add on I can use? Thx
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The wifi only iPad does not have a GPS receiver built in. You can address this a couple of ways. If you hotspot to an iPhone it will share GPS data to your iPad. But the better solution is a GPS antenna that has built in Bluetooth. They are much more accurate and aren’t very expensive.

I use this one but garmin and badelf also make good units.
https://www.dualgpssolutions.com/explore-by-product/xgps150a
 
This is how I use my iPad Pro, as a monitor when I eat lunch at the table in front of the helm on Autopilot i can control the chartplotters / And the Autopliot. from the iPad. I wouldn’t use it as a primary source unless needed no radar/ true depth soundings.
8C6C8838-31C2-4EB7-BA2D-EA2143DB5E43.jpeg
 
iPad and Navionics works great and is an awesome starting point if you dont have much to work with. Make sure you have a cellular based Ipad which includes the GPS chip inside (you dont need to buy the cellular plan). At under $15 its a no brainer, and allows you to plan routes on your PC/laptop and sync
My Girl said:
Great thread. I have a quick question. My iPad does not have the cellular service. Only WiFi. Can I use a Navionics? If not is there an add on I can use? Thx
Click to expand...

You need an iPad that supports cellular, which means it has a GPS chip installed. You do not need to buy a cellular plan.

The wifi only iPads do not have GPS chips built in (last I checked).

Navionics is free to download, free to use for 30days, then dirt cheap (<$20yr) to buy. Download it and kick the tires.

If your iPad does not have GPS installed, than this significantly limits your use of Navionics. It would still benefit you from being able to look/study the charts, and view other data on the maps.
 
Just wanted to point out that the iPad gps/cellular option can often be more expensive than an external (and superior) GPS antenna.
You also offload some of the heat when moving the gps processing out of the iPad.
 
markrsimon said:
iPad and Navionics works great and is an awesome starting point if you dont have much to work with. Make sure you have a cellular based Ipad which includes the GPS chip inside (you dont need to buy the cellular plan). At under $15 its a no brainer, and allows you to plan routes on your PC/laptop and sync


You need an iPad that supports cellular, which means it has a GPS chip installed. You do not need to buy a cellular plan.

The wifi only iPads do not have GPS chips built in (last I checked).

Navionics is free to download, free to use for 30days, then dirt cheap (<$20yr) to buy. Download it and kick the tires.

If your iPad does not have GPS installed, than this significantly limits your use of Navionics. It would still benefit you from being able to look/study the charts, and view other data on the maps.
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Not so...not so. As mentioned above a bluetooth enabled GPS receiver is an easy add to a wifi-only iPad.

https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-GLO-B...628776190&sprefix=garmine+glon,aps,258&sr=8-4
 
You should consider an external antenna anyway. Their accuracy will be better as they can pull signals from more sources.
 
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Henry Boyd said:
I use Navionics charts on our Axioms and Garmin as well as the Boating app on a new IPad Pro. I use both, although the iPad is primarily for planning routes when away from the boat. Overheating was an issue with the previous iPad (on the 280), as was poor battery life. Heat has not been an issue with the Sabre, hardtop, helm AC and full glass does have its advantages.

Largest issues against using the iPad as a primary navigation device; lack of integration with depth, AIS, and radar. I’ve also added a Yacht Devices wifi gateway as an alternate nmea 2000 engine data display. This works ok except the browser based display does not prevent power save shutdowns from happening. I have found it useful as a portable display when away from the helm.

As TTmott points out, good for back up and information, not so much as main navigation tool.
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Henry, you may know this but didn't mention that the gateway also enables the ability to link the Navionics (or other) apps to obtain GPS info, depth and AIS targets (if so equipped). So it's a viable option for those with non-cellular tablets with the benefit of providing a bit more data than an external GPS dongle.
 
Havana Shamrock said:
This is how I use my iPad Pro, as a monitor when I eat lunch at the table in front of the helm on Autopilot i can control the chartplotters / And the Autopliot. from the iPad. I wouldn’t use it as a primary source unless needed no radar/ true depth soundings.
View attachment 110383
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Dude, you eating lunch watching a chart plotter? Seriously! Let me introduce you to Porn
 
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Or buy a decent outdoor rated Android tablet. Quite a bit cheaper than a Cellular enabled iPAD it seems and perhaps better suited to outdoor use? Most have GPS built in. The Samsung OLED ones are pretty easy to read outdoors and I am sure some of the others are good too.
In terms of GPS accuracy, if you want the best, get a dedicated Marine plotter. But I will say that my iPAD and my iPhone for that matter are more accurate than my C80 and faster too.
 
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Henry Boyd said:
Largest issues against using the iPad as a primary navigation device; lack of integration with depth, AIS, and radar. I’ve also added a Yacht Devices wifi gateway as an alternate nmea 2000 engine data display.
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Which gateway do you have? Was it difficult to setup?
 
I will agree with @Creekwood on this, that a nice water proof android tablet, like a Samsung, will be almost readable in direct sun light and also have a GPS chip. That said, a small 9-10" MFD will do a much better job and look nicer at the same time, not to mention the integration aspect.

That said, I do wish Garmin (who now owns Navionics) would allow it to connect with their plotters. Active captain is not that same or as functional as the Navionics app. not to mention AC only allows two devices to have it installed, dumbest restriction I have ever seen in a product.

EDIT: Had the 8" version of this tablet mounted on a snow mobile for a few years, worked great. Would be great on a boat.
 
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jmauld said:
Also what are you all using for mounts?
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I use a cheap mount that works OK as long as the bottom of the tablet is resting on the dash. I probably will get a RAM mount at some point because they are a lot more robust.

Just adding some more info. I really like RAM mounts because you can configure exactly what you want. You buy the parts separately and its infinitely customizable.
 
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Nater Potater said:
You may have just pushed me off of the iPad dime with that one. $510? Yeah, I think I could justify that.
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Great tablet, handled the extreme cold and snow/ice/rain really well. I have that written up on another forum (HCS) for snowmobiling. But can't see any reason it wouldn't do well here as well, plus it comes with a stylus. Would make routing easier, especially if you have fat fingers. It's not a fast as the more expensive one but totally usable, faster then the older Raymarines.
 
alnav said:
Henry, you may know this but didn't mention that the gateway also enables the ability to link the Navionics (or other) apps to obtain GPS info, depth and AIS targets (if so equipped). So it's a viable option for those with non-cellular tablets with the benefit of providing a bit more data than an external GPS dongle.
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A) I know, but for the life of me can’t get the Navionics iPad app to see the wifi gateway.
B) you’re right, but if you have AIS, Depth, & GPS on a NMEA2000 net you most likely have a marine grade MFD to run it anyways.

At the heart of it I think my biggest reservation is that when you need navigation data the most, the Ipad is more likely to be DOA than a marine grade device.
 
Creekwood said:
I use a cheap mount that works OK as long as the bottom of the tablet is resting on the dash. I probably will get a RAM mount at some point because they are a lot more robust.

Just adding some more info. I really like RAM mounts because you can configure exactly what you want. You buy the parts separately and its infinitely customizable.
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Scanstrut has some good stuff for mounting tablets and phones. We have one on our helm for the ipad that we have been using for a couple years. They also have bases that are detachable so you can move the ipad/phone cradle from one spot to another.
 
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