Poor Man's Chartplotter install

[SailorChlud]

So, since I have been enjoying my 1972 Seafari on a budget due to having one son in college, and one son in grad school, the traditional chartplotter system will have to wait. In the meantime, I have been using a handheld Samsung Galaxy Tablet with Navionics app as my main navigation system. I do have a Garmin GPS too, but the screen is too darn small for me to use comfortably with my 50 plus year old eyes.

I realized I had a blank space on the dash perfectly sized for the tablet, but could not find a tablet holder bracket that fit close to the dash. So with some 3M 4200 and some wide velcro, voila'!

[Bikecop1]

Looks great to me. Whatever works.

[77SceptreOB]

I'm okay with that, looks good.

[lelandtampa]

Probably a real stupid question but how does the tablet get a GPS signal other than cell towers?

[SailorChlud]

Ah, not a stupid question at all. Cell reception in my area of NJ is good offshore to about 15 miles + or -, and I do coastal boating primarily, so if I ventured out past cell reception, then I would use the Garmin GPS. You can't see it in the photos, but I have a mount for the Garmin above and to the left of the tablet on the dash. The GPS in the tablet does work without a cell phone contract, so I did not add the tablet to my cell phone subscription with my (Verizon) carrier. So it might work farther offshore, but I can't tell for sure, as I have not tested its range yet.

[castnetcracker]

did that for a long time with an ipad with a lifeproof case and worked great. Ram Mount makes a cradle for most tablets and can be mounted with hardware or heavy duty suction cup.

[bigi]

The Samsung has a built in GPS receiver. It does not require cell connection as long as the maps have been downloaded. I use mine 25+ miles out. I prefer it to any plotter I've seen.

[Snookerd]

Perry’s app was great even without the updated subscription. I ran both Bahamas trips with my older Garmin with a g2 chip plus Navionics app ($20 subscription)with the GPS chip in my iPhone with no cell coverage, and downloaded map. I sure hope Garmin allows the Navionics routes and waypoints to transfer to their chart plotters. I’m going Simrad on the next upgrade if not.

[bigi]

Navionics added a GPX download capability. I transferred all my waypoints and routes to Garmins Active Captian app. From there I expect to be able to upload to my plotter.

[Vezo, Part II]

Are the kids working for the summer? You need to ask for some gas money for the boat.

Part II