April 24, 2005 16:06
Hello,
Sorry for the long post...
Some of the following ideas I did already send to the prgrammer(s) of GPSNAVX. But i think elaborating ideas in forii (or is that forums?) gives greater results, as every idea is great until you have to explain it to somebody else ;-)
May I introduce myself or better my ideas about computers and sailing.
I am a new owner of an iBook 12" which did replace my old iMAC DV. But the main idea I bought this portable MAC was GPSNAVX.
Until now I always used paper charts (and still do) and my trusty old PSION 5MX pro PDA connected to my Garmin 12, which does have some great software for drawing routes on maps and playing them back afterwards (Realmaps), programming (PsiGar) waypoints to GPS (Garmin), automatically take track of the logbook (SeaPad), calculating tides for nearly any port (Ocean 5) and some others.
I know all these kind of software is available for other computers (MAC, PC) and especially PDAs (Palm, WinCE) too. But Psion 5 PDAs do have a real nice keyboard (can be used to type long texts), a complete office package (DB, Word, Excel, FAX, Email, Webbrowser, WAPbrowser) and one can go online via GSM and print logbooks, routes and maps on a portable printer via IrDA (infrared). BTW all progs can run at the same time.
Yes I know this is a MAC Forum, but this Psion PDA did never crash and can run up to 25 hours on just 2 AA batteries. Unfortunately PSION doesn`t do any consumer PDAs anymore :-(
I tried all solutions:
PDAs (Palm, WinCE, Linux) though all have great progs for navigation, none was as usable as the progs mentioned above.
And none of these devices do run any longer than 4-5 hours when a GPS is connected. And on a sailing boat as we all know, recharging accumulators isn`t easy on tour :-)
Friends did have several different laptops all running Windows (95,98,2000, NT, XP) on our trips.
Though there is really some good navigationsoftware available for Windows, all these laptops went down after 2 hours or earlier. No way to use them during a longer trip.
We used transformers to give us 220 V from 12V but when most laptoips did access the BSB maps from CDROM (it was not possible to copy the maps to the HD) the laptop needed so much power that the transformer didn`t stop its alarm.
As i do use Macs at home and work I`m used to them and when I found GPSNAVX I did right out of my mind order my iBook 12", for the same postive and negative experiences mentioned above.
I really like GPSNAVX for it`s intuitive GUI. Though I haven`t had the time to test it yet on sea, but will do si in 10 days, during our saling trip in Netherlands seas.
Last but not least here are my ideas on how to improve GPSNAVX:
1) ENC maps (S-57 specifications )but also those used by private companies for leisure sailing. Those charts can have some more features: see point 2 C-MAX maps)
2) C-MAX maps which can display 3D views, infos about ports, arial photographs, blinking lights in real color and accuracy.
3) LandSat satellite photographs of the sea regions
available here ( https://zulu.ssc.nasa.gov/mrsid/ ) for free.
Though the landsat data file are huge (60 MB and more) the picture of a region aren`t. They do just need the middle coordinates to calibrate. As they are in wrong colors (landscapes, houses = magenta, seas are blue to black) they are very detailed.
4) I would like to have them (or other satellite or arial pictures) in GPSNAVX in a second window, where the same coordinates are used as on the map, so I can see where my boat is on the map in viewed from above.
5) The GRIB function is a great idea, which costs often extra money on other progs: but it can be improved by having the possibility to type in the URL of the desired region in weather preferences or better that GPSNAVX can download the weather GRIB infos automatically for the given region by accessing the coordinates of the GPS.
(Of course this always does mean that one has access to the internet either via WiFi (many ports do allow this already in Europe, don`t know for USA?), GSM (near coast up to 15 NM, if an external GSM antenna is put on the Ok it`s more expensive but using a prepaid SIM card in the country (EuRope) you`re sailing) or using your VHF by connecting it to a special VHF Modem connected to your USB port (GRIB files are only some KB big so no problem downloading them via VHF)
7) Having the possibilty to display the weather arrows in transparent colors so that one can still see the planned and actual route/waypoints.
8) Another function like GRIB would be to have tides info and tidal streams drawn on the MAP as Seamax and the C-MAP can do.
(I don`t know if tidal streams info is available for free like weather GRIB files, but this would do trip planning a lot easier.)
9) Another feature I would like to see is an included logbook, where one can type in all the necessary infos (water, fuel tanks half full empty etc) for a given trip. This function should automatically do a list of all waypoint or for a given time like every 30 minutes, evey hour etc.). This way one could print out a logbook page or more for every trip with the calculated miles done. (This was a great feature of the free SeaPad prog http://p.pellot.free.fr/seapad/seapadgb.htm on my Psion PDA)
The other idea behind this automatic logbook is to have after a longer trip with first and second time passengers a ready certificate which the skipper just needs to sign and handle tem over after the trip.
(Our sailing club, needs this feature very often :-))
10) A MOB icon or button with the feature to automatically recalculating the route back to the man/woman in water, with the possibility to include tidal streams data (see point 8) and wind force so that the program can calculate the offset from the initial MOB position.
11) Being able to open third party documents (HTML, PDF, doc, pictures scanned..) for a given region. Like one can select other maps from a given map it should be possible to have another mousepointer to open previously saved documents of a given region, port etc. based on coordinates from the map. This way I could pop up a window with scanned pages from books or pages I previously saved from internet or typed in infos for a harbor, port or given region I`m interested.
12) Localisation of the program to other languages. (I would be willing to do the French and German translations :-)
OK I know this is a very long post, and the features I want are probably too much and some are impossible to do right now. But I want to know what other do think about these ideas.
My idea is to have an ituitive program which can act as navigation prog and logbook without the need to start other progs. (I know I can use any word processor to do a logbook and import the exported routes/coordinates from GHPSNAVX)
I would be willing to pay 100-200 dollars for such a program.
Thx a lot.
Good wind,
Manou
Sorry for the long post...
Some of the following ideas I did already send to the prgrammer(s) of GPSNAVX. But i think elaborating ideas in forii (or is that forums?) gives greater results, as every idea is great until you have to explain it to somebody else ;-)
May I introduce myself or better my ideas about computers and sailing.
I am a new owner of an iBook 12" which did replace my old iMAC DV. But the main idea I bought this portable MAC was GPSNAVX.
Until now I always used paper charts (and still do) and my trusty old PSION 5MX pro PDA connected to my Garmin 12, which does have some great software for drawing routes on maps and playing them back afterwards (Realmaps), programming (PsiGar) waypoints to GPS (Garmin), automatically take track of the logbook (SeaPad), calculating tides for nearly any port (Ocean 5) and some others.
I know all these kind of software is available for other computers (MAC, PC) and especially PDAs (Palm, WinCE) too. But Psion 5 PDAs do have a real nice keyboard (can be used to type long texts), a complete office package (DB, Word, Excel, FAX, Email, Webbrowser, WAPbrowser) and one can go online via GSM and print logbooks, routes and maps on a portable printer via IrDA (infrared). BTW all progs can run at the same time.
Yes I know this is a MAC Forum, but this Psion PDA did never crash and can run up to 25 hours on just 2 AA batteries. Unfortunately PSION doesn`t do any consumer PDAs anymore :-(
I tried all solutions:
PDAs (Palm, WinCE, Linux) though all have great progs for navigation, none was as usable as the progs mentioned above.
And none of these devices do run any longer than 4-5 hours when a GPS is connected. And on a sailing boat as we all know, recharging accumulators isn`t easy on tour :-)
Friends did have several different laptops all running Windows (95,98,2000, NT, XP) on our trips.
Though there is really some good navigationsoftware available for Windows, all these laptops went down after 2 hours or earlier. No way to use them during a longer trip.
We used transformers to give us 220 V from 12V but when most laptoips did access the BSB maps from CDROM (it was not possible to copy the maps to the HD) the laptop needed so much power that the transformer didn`t stop its alarm.
As i do use Macs at home and work I`m used to them and when I found GPSNAVX I did right out of my mind order my iBook 12", for the same postive and negative experiences mentioned above.
I really like GPSNAVX for it`s intuitive GUI. Though I haven`t had the time to test it yet on sea, but will do si in 10 days, during our saling trip in Netherlands seas.
Last but not least here are my ideas on how to improve GPSNAVX:
1) ENC maps (S-57 specifications )but also those used by private companies for leisure sailing. Those charts can have some more features: see point 2 C-MAX maps)
2) C-MAX maps which can display 3D views, infos about ports, arial photographs, blinking lights in real color and accuracy.
3) LandSat satellite photographs of the sea regions
available here ( https://zulu.ssc.nasa.gov/mrsid/ ) for free.
Though the landsat data file are huge (60 MB and more) the picture of a region aren`t. They do just need the middle coordinates to calibrate. As they are in wrong colors (landscapes, houses = magenta, seas are blue to black) they are very detailed.
4) I would like to have them (or other satellite or arial pictures) in GPSNAVX in a second window, where the same coordinates are used as on the map, so I can see where my boat is on the map in viewed from above.
5) The GRIB function is a great idea, which costs often extra money on other progs: but it can be improved by having the possibility to type in the URL of the desired region in weather preferences or better that GPSNAVX can download the weather GRIB infos automatically for the given region by accessing the coordinates of the GPS.
(Of course this always does mean that one has access to the internet either via WiFi (many ports do allow this already in Europe, don`t know for USA?), GSM (near coast up to 15 NM, if an external GSM antenna is put on the Ok it`s more expensive but using a prepaid SIM card in the country (EuRope) you`re sailing) or using your VHF by connecting it to a special VHF Modem connected to your USB port (GRIB files are only some KB big so no problem downloading them via VHF)
7) Having the possibilty to display the weather arrows in transparent colors so that one can still see the planned and actual route/waypoints.
8) Another function like GRIB would be to have tides info and tidal streams drawn on the MAP as Seamax and the C-MAP can do.
(I don`t know if tidal streams info is available for free like weather GRIB files, but this would do trip planning a lot easier.)
9) Another feature I would like to see is an included logbook, where one can type in all the necessary infos (water, fuel tanks half full empty etc) for a given trip. This function should automatically do a list of all waypoint or for a given time like every 30 minutes, evey hour etc.). This way one could print out a logbook page or more for every trip with the calculated miles done. (This was a great feature of the free SeaPad prog http://p.pellot.free.fr/seapad/seapadgb.htm on my Psion PDA)
The other idea behind this automatic logbook is to have after a longer trip with first and second time passengers a ready certificate which the skipper just needs to sign and handle tem over after the trip.
(Our sailing club, needs this feature very often :-))
10) A MOB icon or button with the feature to automatically recalculating the route back to the man/woman in water, with the possibility to include tidal streams data (see point 8) and wind force so that the program can calculate the offset from the initial MOB position.
11) Being able to open third party documents (HTML, PDF, doc, pictures scanned..) for a given region. Like one can select other maps from a given map it should be possible to have another mousepointer to open previously saved documents of a given region, port etc. based on coordinates from the map. This way I could pop up a window with scanned pages from books or pages I previously saved from internet or typed in infos for a harbor, port or given region I`m interested.
12) Localisation of the program to other languages. (I would be willing to do the French and German translations :-)
OK I know this is a very long post, and the features I want are probably too much and some are impossible to do right now. But I want to know what other do think about these ideas.
My idea is to have an ituitive program which can act as navigation prog and logbook without the need to start other progs. (I know I can use any word processor to do a logbook and import the exported routes/coordinates from GHPSNAVX)
I would be willing to pay 100-200 dollars for such a program.
Thx a lot.
Good wind,
Manou
