Gemeco iNstall

Application: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch iOS 6.1 or greater
Function:  Marine Electronic Reference and Tools
Rating: *****
Cost: Free

You have heard the saying, "There is an App for that"! Well if your a boater needing to design, test or install electronics on your yacht, this is the app for that.  The great folks at Gemeco and Millport Media have put together a great list of reference material and a few handy tools to help you do the job. Gemeco is a marine wholesale supplier of marine electronics located in South Carolina.

Although they do not sell retail the app can be used by anyone wanting to learn more about transducers, wiring diagrams, NMEA cables and more.  Several programs within the app help the installer with installation guides, PDF product brochures, tilt measurement, wire sizer, EDI test data and temp sensor testing.

Features:

Gemeco has put together a dozen useful reference and installation tools for the marine electronics installer and made them available on your iOS device in one slick app.

Transducer selection

This option allows the user to find the exact transducer for their specific needs.

By making a few selections from the spinner wheels the app takes you through the process to locate the product you need for you installation.

Select Type, Mounting, Housing, and Cable type to locate the transducer for you project.

Tilt Measurement

There are several apps that will give you angular measurements.  The cool thing about this is that it is included in the iNstall app for free.

This would probably work best on your iPhone so you could get into tight places on you yacht to measure the hull angle.

This handy too allows you to measure the deadrise of your hull where you want to install you transducer.  The proper tilt of the transducer is shown at the bottom of the app.

Wiring Diagram

This selection provides the transducer cable pin out wiring diagrams for all the popular companies including SiTex, Lowrance, Raymarine, Foruno, Garmin, Simrad, Navman and Northstar.

Select any diagram to view the details. Options to print or email the diagram are also provided.


Installation Guides and Brochures

These selections provide a very extensive list of PDF formatted installation guides and information brochures. 

Most of these are Airmar products.  Airmar is the major manufacturer of all sorts of transducers including, depth, temp, weather, speed and GPS devices.

In addition to all the informational sections of the app it also has some very useful tools to help you do electronic installations.

Magnetic Field

Magnetic and electric fields can influence and affect the readings or your onboard  electronic.  That is why it is good to use shielded wire and cable for installations. 

The Magnetic field meter is useful to detect the source of electronic fields and possible interference on you yacht.  If your installing sensitive devices like auto pilot heading sensors or fluxgate compasses. Use this tool to find a magnetic field free area of your boat.

Wiresizer

I have reviewed several apps that do wire size calculations.  This selection allows a quick and easy wire size selection with an entry of a few parameters.

Simply select the system, voltage, % voltage drop, and whether it is in the engine room or not. Resistance of a wire increases as the temperature increases.

Select the circuit type, length, current  and the correct wire size is calculated.

Temp Sensor Testing

Many through hull transducers have a built in temperature sensor.  To determine if your sensor is reading correctly you need to know the resistance at certain temperature readings. The temperature sensor testing tool provides a list of temperature readings and corresponding resistance readings.

Simply select the thermistor type for you model and then measure the resistance of the transducer with an ohm meter.  Select the Test Pins page to see what pins on the cable to measure with your ohm meter. Measure the water temperature and see if the resistance readings match the listed temperatures on the spinner wheel.

EDI Test Data

For the real electronics technician, test data including resistance and frequency are provided along with the measuring pin outs. This will not make much sense to the average boater unless you have some EDI test equipment around and know how to use it.  Most of us know that if the transducer is not working we pull it out and get a new one. It is pretty tough to field troubleshoot and repair these devices.

I am very impressed with the iNstall app. I like the idea of getting all the data, tools, manuals and brochures in one spot on my iPhone or iPad.  I wrote a blog post showing how to save PDF manual in the iBooks app on your iOS device. This is easy to do and you can save just the manuals you need for the equipment on your yacht.

Download the iNstall app, it is a no brainer. Add it to your tools folder and have it handy if you ever need to do some trouble shooting or need to select a new transducer for your electronics.

~~~ Sail On ~~~ /)
Mark

NOAA Paper Charts, New Online Viewer and 400dpi

NOAA's Office of Coastal Survey announced that starting April 13, 2014 they will no longer print lithographic nautical charts. These lithographic charts have been around since 1862 when the Office of Coastal Survey began printing the popular marine charts. Sailor, boaters and mariner have relied on these charts to navigate the coastal water of the US including the Great Lakes, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

In recent years the increased use of electronic charts and a decreased use of paper charts has been overwhelming.  The availability of electronic charts in ENC format for PC and mobile devices and print on demand chart services were some additional factors that necessitated the change.  Paper charts will only be available for purchase from NOAA's certified print on demand chart suppliers.


PDF Nautical Charts Service

NOAA has also introduced a service that will allow you to download, view and print the PDF versions of the paper like Raster charts.  This version is nice because it is portable and readable by any pdf viewer and most web browsers.  Zooming and panning of the images is allowed.

They are in the process of evaluating this service also to determine if it is useful to mariners. So if you like the PDF version of the files let NOAA know so this service will continue to be offered.

RNC 400 Dots Per Inch Upgrade

NOAA also recently announced that it will be upgrading the NOAA Raster Nautical Charts to 400dpi resolution.  The present charts are 254dpi so there will be a noticeable increase in clarity and readability of the new charts.  A test set of a limited number of 400DPI files is located on the NOAA site. The test files include Tampa Bay, Detroit, Long Island Sound, and Puget Sound.  If no issues are noted with the test files NOAA will begin upgrading all the RNC files starting in January 2014.  NOAA is taking comments on the new format at this time. If you have any comments about the new format direct them to the NOAA site.

This increase in resolution will be an added bonus to the iOS and Android marine charting apps that use these files. iOS app like iNavX, SEAiq and NobelTec are some of the top performing apps that I have reviewed and that use the RNC charts. I assume it will take some programming changes by these developers to use the new 400dpi chart formats.

Online Chart Viewer

The online chart viewer is another way you can access all of NOAA's RNC charts.  The viewer is an easy way to access charts if you have an Internet connection.  It will work on any PC or Mac web browser along with the Adobe Flash Player.  I tried to use it on my iPad with no luck do to the absence of Flash support. Darn you Steve Jobs. It should however work on any Android mobile device since they do not have that limitation.

The charts are listed by Region, number and name so it is easy to find the area you are interested in.  Regions included Atlantic Coast. Gulf Coast, Pacific Coast. Alaska and the Great Lakes.  A notice to mariners that these screen captures do not fulfill the chart carrying requirements for regulated commercial vessels under Titles 33 and 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Only official full scale nautical charts should be used for real world navigation.

Well, it appears our US government is in fact paying attention to the changes in the marine industry.  They are changing with the times to better serve the mariners who use their products.  I find it encouraging to see the government actually stopped some processes that are no longer used or required. I commend the Office of Coastal Survey for listening and reacting positively to change.

~~~ Sail On ~~~ /)
Mark

Happy Holidays

Well I woke up early this morning to the sound of reindeer on the roof. Oh, maybe not, it could have just been the snow or ice crashing off the roof. I was hoping to sleep in this Christmas morning but being over 50 I can't sleep past 6:00 am anymore. If you are as old as I am you know what I mean. I flipped on the TV to watch the Disney parade and Facetimed with my brothers and sisters in Minnesota, Florida and Iowa. My brother in Florida reminded me it was going to be 80 degrees there today.  Thanks brother, see you in a few weeks.

We had a great candle light service last night at church to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  We are so fortunate to be around family and friends in this great community we live in. I want to thank my i-Marine Apps blogger family too for reading all the geeky stuff I write.  I wish each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Each year is a blessing for me. I have a lot to be thankful for.

This year's Christmas picture finds my kids in college, my wife with a new job she loves and me having worked 30 years in the electrical power industry.  It is time to leave 2013 in the rear view mirror. I am looking forward to all the new experiences and possibilities that await us in 2014.

~~~ Sail On ~~~ /)
Mark

AquaMaps US HD

Application: Requires iOS 6.0 or later, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
Function: Nautical Marine Charting and tracking
Rating:**
Cost: $2.99


The Christmas season is upon us! Our kids are home from college and my wife has been busy preparing for the holidays. My job is to set up and decorate the Christmas tree. Right now our house is a mess with Christmas presents and decorations scattered everywhere. We only have a few days to pull it all together. No stress here! Luckily I woke up early this morning and found some quiet time to write a quick blog post about a new app you will want to take a look at.

Aqua Maps is the one of the latest apps to join the long list of marine charting apps. At this point it is a pretty basic app with chart display, waypoints, tracks and GPS tracking.  I like what I see so far and I know the author has big plans to add additional features in the future.

 Features:

• Offline Charts, satellite and Street hybrid views
• ENC Charts for US, Alaska, Hawaii and USACE Rivers, New Zealand, UK&Ireland, Germany and Rivers
• Netherlands, Belgium and Canals
• Center map button
• Spot sounding, Buoys, Beacons, Sea Floor information, Obstructions, Wrecks, Rocks, Dredges areas Fishing zones
• Download detailed map by tile
• On screen zoom controls or use pinch to zoom in
• Add, modify and delete customized Markers
• Display or no display of markers
• Import of KMZ and KML tracks and markers
• GPS Track recording
• Marker coordinates
• Sharing of markers, tracks and position through Air Drop, texting, Facebook and Email
• North Up and Track up orientation
• Track detail
• Custom track colors
• Distance measuring tool
• Speed, maximum and average
• Heading
• Moving time
• Distance

Charts:

The first thing you will want to do is download some charts for the area you want to view. The Chart download icon is located in the lower left of the screen. Tapping this will bring up a chart display with a grid overlay. Simply tap the tiles you want to download and tap the icon at the bottom to start the download process. You will want to be connected to WiFi at this point or it may take a while to download all the data.  To remove the chart data from your device, go to settings and Reset the Downloaded Map option.  You can now zoom in and display the detail for the area you downloaded.

The main display is very fresh looking with many markers and symbols. The color of the charts are very vibrant and clear. Depth gradients are shown with multiple colors to easily navigate shallow waters. Cities and towns are marked for easy location. The test size of the annotations seems too large and interferes with navigation at times. It might be nice to have a setting to make the text smaller or the option to turned it off all together.

There are a ton of symbols on the charts. Aqua Maps has more symbols than any other charting app that I have seen. A complete list of them can is seen here.  The symbols appear at times to be too big in size and also interfere with navigation. Options to control the size of the symbols would be a welcome addition also. 

The main display has several control features to run the app. The first two buttons are located in the upper left side of the screen. Tapping the top Crosshairs icon once will center the chart on your current position. Tap it again to enter the track up mode. Tap it again to go back to north up chart orientation mode.

The GPS icon below that is used to start and stop GPS tracking of your position. Once selected, a pop up box opens at the bottom center of the display.  It will start recording your track on the display and provide Speed, Heading, Average speed, distance travelled and time travelled.

The track display box can be selected to bring up the Track edit feature. Here the user can edit the route name, color or delete the route. Additional information about the route is displayed including the date, time and trip information. You can share your route through the email option.

The Settings icon is in the lower right of the screen. Select this to access options for Chart overlays, Measuring units, Depth, Compass heading type and sounds.  The chart overlay options lets you change the land background to a satellite view or a street map.  This is handy to orientate yourself to city, street names and landmarks.

A handy Scaling icon on the center right of the screen allows zooming in and out of the display.

Tapping this in the center will bring up a Measuring tool which can be use to measure distances between to points on the chart. Simply place your finger on either end of the measuring line and drag them to the desired locations.

The distance will be displayed on one end of the line. A nice addition to this feature would be to also have the compass bearing of the line displayed also. By dragging one end of the line to your present position, the user can quickly make distance measurements and estimate the course to steer to a point on the chart.

The last icon on the screen in the upper right corner lists the chart data including Tracks and Markers. 

Tap any of these markers or tracks to enter the edit mode. Here you can customize the marker points to a variety of colorful icons. Tapping the Checkered Flag on a marker will put you into the navigating mode to that waypoint marker.

Markers are easily added to any point on the chart by simply tapping and holding on a location. A pink star will be then added to that point.

Tap the Marker you just made for more options. Select the checkered flag to make it your destination or select the garbage can to delete it. Tapping the center will take you to the edit mode where you can select the customized icons.

The app is very intuitive and easy to use. The chart colors are vivid and the symbols seem to pop off the screen. All the features make sense and can be quickly accessed through the on screen icons and menus.  With the addition of the few of the changes that I mentioned the app will become even more user friendly.  I look forward to the next version of the app and expect the author will continue to build on the already very functional app.

Well, I hear my wife calling, I think she needs me to sample some of her cooking. I am the designated taste tester, lucky me. Wish me luck in making it through all the madness of the holidays.  I want to thank you all for being my loyal follower and reading my blog.  I hope in some small way I have helped you understand these amazing apps.

I hope you have a "HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON" and wish you and your family the best in the new year!

~~~ Sail On ~~~ /)

Mark

ActiveCaptain Companion - On the Cutting Edge

Application:  iOS iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and PC
Function: Marine POI and Hazard warning guidance
Rating: *****
Cost: $Free

Jeffrey Siegel and his crew at ActiveCaptain have been helping boaters safely navigate and find points of interest(POI) on the worlds coastal regions for years now. I think I can safely say that the ActiveCaptain database is the world's largest, most complete list of marine points of interest. The unique thing is that the POIs, local knowledge and reviews are crowd sourced by people just like you and me. Jeff and his team confirm and verify every entry into the database so you can be assured the data is accurate.

The ActiveCaptain website is a great tool for locating marinas, restaurants, anchorages, fuel stops and hazards.  It can be accessed through a standard web browser from your PC or Mac. If your looking for a mobile charting app that includes ActiveCaptain you don't have to look far.  iOS apps including Garmin Blue Chart Mobile, SEAiq, PolarView, SailTimer, Skipper and Navimatics Charts and Tides provide the ActiveCaptain database of POIs.  Android apps with ActiveCaptain include Jeppesen Plan2Nav, NutiCharts and SmartChart AIS.  The ActiveCaptain folks offer incorporation of their database for free to anyone who wants to add it to their marine app or program. 

The Active Captain Companion app was introduced recently and is now available for your iOS iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android devices and PC.  The best part is that it is totally free. The whole idea behind the companion is to have a digital assistant watching out for you as you cruise the coastal regions of the world.  The app is not meant to be used in place of your normal navigation practices but as an additional tool to help you safely navigate. The companion uses the extensive ActiveCaptain database and your GPS position to warn you of hazards and show other POIs that my be in your path. Hazards are the first to be implemented as warnings with other features to follow.  Hazard warnings can be set up with an audible alarm or voice notification.  Now you have a welcomed "back seat driver" that will keep you aware of the hazards around you on the water.

The app is not intended to be chart plotter but it does have some basic Streetmaps to show you the proximity of the markers.  It is not a guide book although is does provide the complete list of ActiveCaptain points of interest for you to explore. The POI database is downloaded to your device so it can be used offline while you are away from the Internet or cell service. That's right, no Internet connection required. 

Features:

• Audible alarm and male or female voice notifications
• Active Captain POI
• Marina
• Write Reviews
• GPS position following
• Anchorages
• Hazards
• Local Knowledge
• Pan and Zoom
• Search and Find POIs
• Map downloads
• GPS internal, local and remote configurations

Getting Started:

1. Create Account.  The first thing you will need to do is to create an ActiveCaptain account. This is free and can be done by simply providing an email and creating a password here on the ActiveCaptain website.  

2. eBoatCard login. The next step is to login to the eBoatCards.com website.  Use the same email and password that you used for your ActiveCaptain account. eBoatCards.com is the ActiveCaptain's social networking site for boaters. It allows members you to create group, post pictures, links, status updates, photos and blog if you like. Be sure to create your own electronic boatcard.  This requires your boat name, hailing port, flag, name, model and time zone. Other information including captain, crew, boat details and use can also be filled out.

3. Download the ActiveCaptain Companion app from the iTunes store and tap the Star located in the lower right corner of the main display. This will bring up the Main Menu display. Select the ActiveCaptain Logo next to login to your account. Once logged in, download the database.  This may take a few minutes so it is best done with a WiFi connection.

4. Download Detail Maps.  The app comes with a base world map.  More detailed maps can be downloaded with the Map/Tile Download selection in the Main Menu. Simply tap the tiles on the map where you want more detail and hit Tap here to Download at the bottom of the screen. These add finer detail but may still appear blurry if you zoom in too far.  Remember that the app is not a chartplotter. The maps are just used for general reference.

5. Review Settings.  The settings page provides options to select for the sound and voices, display, units, proximity hazards and GPS/NMEA settings. Review these to customize the display options.

Now that you have the app downloaded, your logged in and you have downloaded maps you are ready to put the companion to use.

The Main Menu also has a selection called Find.  Tap this feature to locate a specific marker, GPS location by latitude and longitude or by US waterway mile maker.

Once the item is found you can drill down into the selections for greater detail including name, address, phone, facility type, contact info, dockage, fuel, services and reviews. You can also add or modify your own reviews from within the app.

Each selection found has a Go
button next to it, tap this and it takes you to the map location.  One thing I found annoying was that I had to re-type my search criteria in each time I went back to the Find page. I wish the app would keep my last search so I could keep reviewing the POIs in that area.

The main map view is shown in the upper portion of the display.  The Plus and Minus controls on the right side of the screen allow the user to zoom in and out of the display. The pinch and spread features will not work for zooming.

Use your finger to Pan around the display map.  Tap any point on the map to center it on that location.  Tap any marker to center it in the Red cornered selection box. You can then select the POI to get additional details about each item.

Two large boxes are displayed across the bottom of the screen.  The top Up Ahead line shows the Hazards that you will encounter on your current heading. Tapping the Up Ahead line will show a list of all upcoming hazards.

To the right of the Up Ahead list is a multi colored Overlay box. This  allows customization of the display to filter the view of marinas, anchorages, hazard and local knowledge. Tap the box and check the options you want to display.  The box will display open and grayed if the display is zoomed out too far. It will have an X in it if you have not logged into your ActiveCaptain account.

The Route Display is listed below the Up Ahead display line. It presently shows a compass because the GPS icon is not being followed. To follow your GPS position, tap the Return icon in the lower left of the screen. Tapping this will center the GPS icon on the screen and begin following it. The Route line should now show Proximity Mode. Proximity mode means the app is looking for hazards up ahead of your present location. To get out of Proximity Mode tap anywhere on the screen. There is no options to select the Route mode in this version. These capabilities may be added in a future release.

The compass bar can be used to change the orientation of the map. Simply tap and drag your finger left or right to change it.  Double tapping the compass bar brings the orientation back to North Up.

ActiveCaptain is pushing the envelope with this new Companion app.  They have created a new and totally novel approach to providing additional safety at sea.  If your a coastal cruiser definitely download this app and add it to your smartphone, tablet, iPad or laptop.  The next time you set out turn it on and be amazed and amused when it calmly warns you of upcoming hazards. 

I know Jeff and his crew have many additional features planned for the Companion App.  I would like to see a Gas Buddy like feature that would give me diesel fuel prices when I pull into an area.  How about a list of top rated marinas or restaurants as I cruise the intercoastal? What features would you like to see?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  I hope you are surrounded by family and friends for this festive day. It is a time to truly give thanks for the abundant lives we have.

~~~ Sail On ~~~ /)

Mark