[dfok]

Using the iPad wifi version with a Verizon MyFi (wireless wifi router) on the northern Chesapeake this weekend, I could not get a gps position. The iPhone gave me position with the wifi, but seemed better with the edge or 3G connection.
Oddly, location services came back on the iPad for a while when I was tied up in Rock Hall, then disappeared again, both while using the myFi.
Checking online I found references to a service called skyhook that registers the ip address as mobile or something, but the references were from some time ago.
And the fact that the blue bubble on the iPad can follow me all over the place in my car but not in my boat is confusing.
I tried it with innavx, charts and tides, and google maps and the inboard map app. None of home like being on the water as far as I can tell.
What am I doing wrong?

[GPSNavX]

I would assume MyFi triangulates between cell towers. As such the accuracy would vary wildly and certainly be virtually useless away from land. iPhone 3G and iPad 3G have a GPS receiver so it is not dependent on cell tower triangulation. One does not need to have cell service (i.e connection or contract) to use iPhone 3G or iPad 3G GPS functionality. As such for iNavX use we recommend the 3G devices. The other option is to use MacENC or GPSGate on a Mac or PC to broadcast an interfaced GPS data to iNavX over WiFi.

[AugustH]

Using the iPad wifi version with a Verizon MyFi (wireless wifi router) on the northern Chesapeake this weekend, I could not get a gps position. The iPhone gave me position with the wifi, but seemed better with the edge or 3G connection.
Oddly, location services came back on the iPad for a while when I was tied up in Rock Hall, then disappeared again, both while using the myFi.
Checking online I found references to a service called skyhook that registers the ip address as mobile or something, but the references were from some time ago.
And the fact that the blue bubble on the iPad can follow me all over the place in my car but not in my boat is confusing.
I tried it with innavx, charts and tides, and google maps and the inboard map app. None of home like being on the water as far as I can tell.
What am I doing wrong?

You're not doing anything wrong. The Wi-Fi version uses multiple wi-fi hot spots with known locations to give an estimate of your position. It's not a GPS fix. When you're out on the boat, you have no known wi-fi locations to get the estimate. The same thing would happen if you had the 3G model but were out of cell tower range - the A-GPS in the iPad won't give a location if it can't find a cell tower first. This happens to me on the iPhone when it shows me that I have no service.

I've read reports that the iPad camera connection kit includes a USB port that seems able to accept much more than just a camera. It may be possible to plug a USB GPS unit to the iPad, but since I don't have an iPad I can't verify this.

[dfok]

I was hoping the MyFi, which is after all a cell phone with a router built in, would give me the equivalent of a 3g ipad, and on land it pretty much does.
There seems to be conflicting views as to the GPS in the 3G Ipad. If indeed it is "true" GPS reading from satellites as opposed to assisted GPS reading cell phone towers the choice is clear.
So will the first owner of a 3G ipad please turn off the phone/data connection and let me know if you can get a position fix?

[ActiveCaptain]

So will the first owner of a 3G ipad please turn off the phone/data connection and let me know if you can get a position fix?

I turned off the Cellular Data setting in the Settings app and am looking at the GPS reported data - 16' of accuracy. The position is dead on correct in the maps app and other apps.

[dfok]

great! Thanks for confirming that

[AugustH]

Did you also turn off wi-fi?

[ActiveCaptain]

Did you also turn off wi-fi?

Same result with WiFi and cellular off.

From my understanding, all WiFi and cellular can do is speed up the time to first fix. With everything off, it took about 40 seconds to get a good 16' accuracy fix. From then on though, it didn't lose the lock and continued to report it.

[GPSNavX]

And the iPad 3G has great battery life that can be extended further by turning "Off" Cellular Data and/or WiFi in the "Settings".