Login at MacSailing.net

Changes include..

- "Tracks" view adds support for Exporting tracks to www.x-traverse.com
- "Tracks" view displays cumulative distance, average speed and elapsed time
- "Tracks" view displays individual track records which can be selected to see more detail
- "Info" button on the Chart view displays info about selected chart
- "Port Search" on "Waypoints" view allows location of navaids, marinas and other items

http://www.inavx.net/

Android developer's link

I suspect that Rich is already a lot busier than reasonable with his present Mac and iPhone products.

With the iPhone sales expanding into Walmart, and the rumored new Mac Mini, he is likely to become even more thinly stretched.

- Waypoints can be exported and imported in KML (Google Earth) and GPX (GPS Exchange) formats using www.x-traverse.com

- "Scroll To" in the Waypoint view will scroll the Chart to the selected waypoint

- "Remove Waypoints" in Waypoints view will delete all waypoints

- "Tides" tab will open AyeTides (if version 1.3 is installed) to the tides and current stations list nearest the center point of the chart

- SOG and COG now computed using iPhone OS speed and course functionality

- AIS targets will use Heading if present, otherwise COG

http://www.inavx.net/

http://www.flytomap.com/index.html - $9.99

Search for "Water map navigator" in the AppStore.

This one looks like it needs a little more time in the oven.

I got my start back in 1979 with an Apple II. My high school had a couple they let students use. First I learned integer BASIC then came up to speed with 6502 assembly language. A lot of years have passed since those days.

Apple - The Early Years

On my boat, I use a MacBook with a Keyspan 4 port serial-USB adapter. Running OSX I use two serial ports, one for a GPS input for electronic charting using GPSNavX, and one for an AIS receiver input to that same application.

Using BootCamp and Windows Vista and running Airmail software, two more serial ports are used, one to do frequency control to a Yaesu FT 100D, and the other to a SCS PTC pactor III modem.

In both cases the correct drivers for both OSs have been downloaded from Keyspan and both systems run fine...just one at a time.

Yesterday I attended an excellent lecture on charting by Mark Doyle at the Seven Seas Cruising Association annual meeting, and he strongly recommended Parallels 4.0, indicating that the multiple serial port issues that existed in earlier versions had been fixed in this latest release.

Any experience with this combo and suggestions are welcome including any other OSX/Windows solutions using multiple serial ports?

73, John, W6JTB

Erica Sadun over at Ars found a little tidbit of programming joy in the form of an undocumented way to push iPhone video to an external TV display.

I think iNavX with video output would be great to have the navigation maps on an external 10" monitor.

The AV cable on gets at the Apple store is great but only allows for showing video and pictures on an external display. I've bought this cable but was disappointed not to be able to show applications (like Distant Suns, ChemTouch, Grafunc etc) .

Now these hidden functions seems to allow just that.

Here are more infos (check the video)

http://www.9to5mac.com/hidden-libraries

So what do you think of iNavX with Video Output?

Version 1.3 adds a URL schema so other programs can call AyeTides, changes the way touching a station name in any of the Find lists opens the station (it asks you if you want to open the station, add it to favorites [or remove it, if it's already a favorite], or cancel - and you can turn this off via a preference so touches immediately open the station), split Europe and Asia into their respective countries, and improved the responsiveness of the Nearest list by taking the advice of the Apple gurus when using the location services in the iPhone.

Next up is redoing the Graph view and making it interactive. Ought to be an interesting challenge

Is there anyway to get good charts of the Bahamas on the iPhone iNavX?

TIA

Not sure if this is appropriate for here, so please excuse if it's not.

We race in casual yacht race twilights, and it occurs to me that the iPhone would be ideal to set up as a countdown stopwatch. There's plenty of iPhone stopwatches available on AppsStore, but they are all designed as lap stopwatches for runners, swimmers, etc.

What I'm after is one that counts down to the start signal.

A common yacht race signal configuration is:
5 minute warning
4 minute warning
1 minute warning
Go

There are other timing configurations, but that's a common one.

Other features that would be good would be:

* Warnings on the phone that match each of the signal warnings (in case you miss hearing them, which is easy to happen if it's windy)
* A rapid reset in case you hit the 5 minute one a few seconds late, so you can reset it to 4 minutes when the next one comes around (or might be even cooler to have the ability to "advance" it a few seconds if you need to)
* Warnings during the final minute, say at 45, 30 and 15 seconds, with a cascading "countdown" series of sounds for say the last 10 seconds
* Over-riding of the phone's Sleep function, so that it stays awake during the whole start process
* Ability for the phone to continue in more conventional stopwatch mode once the race is started, so as you cross the finish line, you can hit it again, and check your total race time.
* Big fat control buttons that you can easily push wearing gloves, and use through those waterproof Aquapac phone cases (only thing I've found so far that is waterproof, and allows you to make and receive calls relatively easily).
* No interruption of the countdown process if someone calls you during the start (because generally you'll decline to take it anyway)

I can think of a few more things that would be nice to have, but that's a start.

Is this doable, and are you guys interested?