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El-Cheapo Tablet or Phone for Compass/Navigation?
PeteCress
0 Points
Emphasis on Compass..... In my itty-bitty sailboat I have something called a "SpeedPuck" that tells me how fast I am going.
What I mainly want is something to lay beside the SpeedPuck that tells me my numeric heading - so I can vary the heading with a given sail setting and see what heading gives the best speed for a given sail setting.
Problem with an analog compass is that this little boat gets thrown around a lot in chop and the motion makes an analog compass hard to read.
Nice-to-have would be the ability to run a basic nav app, but the compass is the main thing.
I tried something called GPS Test on my Samsung Note-1 and it had a problem with Pitch and Roll adversely affecting the heading.
OTOH, tried the same app on my new Note-4 and Pitch/Roll did not degrade the heading.... so I guess there's some variability among devices and the way they implement the magnetometer. (??)
Bottom Line: Has anybody been here?
No way I am risking the Note-4 on the water.
I'm thinking screen size between 5 and 7 inches and price $100-150.....
What I mainly want is something to lay beside the SpeedPuck that tells me my numeric heading - so I can vary the heading with a given sail setting and see what heading gives the best speed for a given sail setting.
Problem with an analog compass is that this little boat gets thrown around a lot in chop and the motion makes an analog compass hard to read.
Nice-to-have would be the ability to run a basic nav app, but the compass is the main thing.
I tried something called GPS Test on my Samsung Note-1 and it had a problem with Pitch and Roll adversely affecting the heading.
OTOH, tried the same app on my new Note-4 and Pitch/Roll did not degrade the heading.... so I guess there's some variability among devices and the way they implement the magnetometer. (??)
Bottom Line: Has anybody been here?
No way I am risking the Note-4 on the water.
I'm thinking screen size between 5 and 7 inches and price $100-150.....
Comments
Never seen such a device.
Even the high dollar marine gps's available for recreational sailing that contain an actual flux sensor do not provide a steady enough signal IMHO. When I need to compare my sailing performance to a heading I always use an actual magnetic compass. If you are on a small boat that doesn't have a mounted compass, then you can probably buy a good portable compass that's gimbaled for that price.
Just pulled the trigger on one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001Q8BGJ4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 which others with a similar boat report success with.
The hope being that I am over-thinking the consequences of getting thrown around in chop...
I do find a GPS chart plotter almost indispensable for quick navigation and reassurance of my position while sailing. If you have a small boat with no electrical system, then one of the Garmin marine handheld chart plotters is a good choice.
I still use a ten plus year old GPSmap 76csx for a backup/emergency use. If I were in the market for a new handheld though, I'd probably take a good look at the Garmin On the Trail handhelds. I think they have the same water resistance that the marine handhelds have, typically IPx7. But much larger screens and more versatile use. Whether you loose any specific marine trip planning or not, I've not looked into. (tide tables, celestial, anchor drag alarm, man-overboard quick mark button and such)
Secondarily, for convenience: once I get the sail trimmed, looking at the compass to maintain heading is easier than craning my neck to check the telltales - albeit wind shifts break that little paradigm....
Lineups on the shore don't work very well for me in the venue I sail the most.
Many sailboats don't have them. It looks like a pain with much tedium to make your own, IMO. But if you are a racer, then they can invaluable to back up your decisions to go one way when the others are sailing the other way.