![]() ![]() If you’re technically savvy about such things, this may be just the weekend project. One caveat: the USB GPS antenna and MacENC software are installed on a Mac Laptop, and connectivity from the iPad to the Laptop is through a wireless router. ![]() With the simple addition of a low-cost USB GPS antennae ($69.95 and lower), and the installation of MacENC software ($179.95, iNavX becomes a true GPS chart-plotter. Access to GRIB ( GRIdded Binary) files is by way of, which requires an account on x-traverse (, $10 for a 12-month subscription). Tides, Request/import GRIB and Parameters are powerful for those sailors who want to check raw weather isobar chart information to understand the data uderlying current weather forecasts. These criticisms aside, here are a few examples of the rich features available from iNavX.įorecast. I couldn’t figure out how to “scroll” from one chart to another, which is one of the great features of using software charts instead of paper. iNavX uses raster charts, so it must load various views because of the size of raster graphic files. The repeated “Loading” message seemed needless and helped confuse me when moving around the various features to setup simple waypoints and a course. Admittedly, I don’t have a lot of patience with software, and I expect most applications today to be rather intuitive to operate right out of the box. A very full set of online help descriptions and instructions are included in the “guide.” Unfortunately, I found was really lost unless I spent some time with the online guide. The first thing to say about iNavX ( version 3.1.6, is that it is “feature rich.” From pointing the iPad app to a specific host & port TCP/IP Internet connection to access to a tide table app and multiple settings for a dozen parameters, iNavX has included a lot of bells and whistles. My grade: Definitely an A, but with room to improve. " The information is up-loaded to Navionics servers, where it is then redistributed automatically to all installed copies of that chart. For example: "Stay about 50' from the starboard buoy. He showed me a beta version of a very cool feature called "User Generated Information." The user touches a point on the map and enters relevant observations. I had a chance to speak with Chris Gatley from Navionics at the Annapolis sailboat show in October about future enhancements. This is a bit costly, but each chart-set app is still much cheaper than a comparable set of paper charts. As with the iPhone version, each Navionics app for the iPad is purchased for a different area: “US East” (includes all of the Bahamas), “Caribbean,” and so on. ![]()
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