[C320-list] Recommendations on helm instruments

[Pat Tormey]

I like an android backup tablet cuz Navionics is easier than my Garmin 7607 and the Garmin AutoRoute requires “Premium” charts
Where did you see the GPS Spec for the a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0?
thanks

Pat Tormey 

From: Jack Brennan
Sent: Tuesday, October 2, 2018 1:20 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Recommendations on helm instruments

Thanks for the info, Frank. It's good to know it worked for someone else.

You're in Naples, I see. Taken any trips down to the Keys or up the coast 
yet? Lots to see and do. We're going through the Keys and over to the 
Bahamas in the spring with the cruising club I belong to.

Here's an earlier msg I posted that I think went astray:

After some research, I decided to take the plunge in a week or two. I’ll let 
the list know how my experiment with using a tablet with Open CPN works in 
real life.

For the record, I’m going to buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 with 32 gigs of 
memory. It’s $179. It is said to have a decent GPS and adjustable display 
for outdoor lighting.

I’m also going to buy a waterproof case and the removable rail mount for 
tablets from Amazon.  Both are available for pocket change. Lastly, I’m 
going to install a USB socket in my Yanmar instrument pod so I can plug in 
the tablet and charge it off the house bank while sailing.

When you think about it, a chartplotter is nothing more than a waterproof 
computer tablet with a proprietary navigation program based on NOAA charts. 
The Open CPN program is better than most. (You can download a free version 
on your phone and play with it, BTW.)

The small footprint on the tablet means I can avoid installing a larger pod 
and blocking my vision even more. This also allows me the luxury of removing 
the chartplotter from the helm when I’m not sailing, a wonderful feature in 
thief-infested Florida.

I’ll continue to carry a handheld Garmin as a backup, so I’m not reduced to 
dead reckoning like the old days in case of problems. I’ll also try to 
modify the existing B&G pod to accept the control instrument for the 
Raymarine EV 100 autopilot.

This is kind of fun.

Jack Brennan
Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
Tierra Verde, Fl.
Dolphin Cruising Club of Tampa Bay



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