NOAA charts on a Droid?

S

smittypaddler

New member
I'm pretty sure this has been covered somewhere; I remember seeing it, but can't find it again. I just this morning activated my new HTC Incredible Droid phone with Verizon Wireless, and I'd like to get NOAA charts on it, with an app that doesn't require current phone coverage, so I can see the charts when there's no reception. So far I've looked at Google's earthnc, and wasn't terribly impressed. It reports my GPS location a good .6 nautical miles from my actual location, confirmed on my PC, and with a handheld Geko. I recalled the word Navionics being bandied about, and went to their website, and saw the same annoying $170 or better price tags on NOAA charts that our tax dollars already paid for; not for my, thank you, if I can possibly avoid it. I have my own chartplotter (http://smittypaddler.com/chartview/index.htm) that runs on Linux, but although I've heard the Droid runs a version of Linux, I doubt it has either Gtk2 or Perl, which I'd need to run chartview on the phone. Any experiences anyone had had in this area or technical advice, I'd greatly appreciate.

BTW, it's incredible the amount of time one can waste. I'm a retired programmer, so I'm not a dummy when it comes to computers, but it's taken me all day to activate the phone, configure e-mail, and explore a few gps-related apps. It's lucky I don't work for a living!
 
Go to your market or apps on your Droid and search for Pub:Navionics you will find all the various charts for the US. Maybe Central US Lakes would be yours. I have one for the PNW and Central US which covers me along coastal Gulf of Mexico. Each chart set cost 9.99 Euros or around $12 or so.

They really work great and are well worth the $$.
 
Yep, we have the Navionics app (NOT the same as buying a Navionics chip for a dedicated chartplotter) for the Droid, and it works just fine ($12). However, if there is an issue with the GPS in your phone, that will make a difference. The GPS in my Droid is accurate enough to show which side of the canal (55' wide) we're on.

For full disclosure, the Droid screen with the Navionics app seems small compared to our E-80 chartplotter, but it makes a good backup and it's strapped to my belt.
 
Wonder if there is any difference in the GPS accuracy of the Droid and the Droid Incredible? Might be a reason to not get the Incredible...

Warren
 
I found the Navionics for Androd, and downloaded the charts for the midwest. They look fairly complete, and even include charts for the Mississippi, one of my favorite cruise destinations. But how do I get the app to focus on my present location? I'm sure it's something as simple as press-and-hold on a message in my mail box to get the option to delete it, which took me about an hour to figure out, but I'll be doggone if I can find it. Charts without the ability to show where I'm at go way down in value.
 
I just noticed this:

>Wonder if there is any difference in the GPS accuracy of the Droid and the Droid >Incredible? Might be a reason to not get the Incredible...
>Warren

I tried earth/nc on my HTC Incredible, and it showed my present location about .6 natuical miles off. So then I downloaded a GPS app which shows e.g. location, speed, and direction, and it shows my present location accurately. I'm guessing there's nothing wrong with the GPS antenna in the Droid, but rather Earth/NC has a glitch.
 
On my Droid, I have 4 keys in a row across the bottom of the phone. They are from left to right: "Return", "Menu", "Home", and "Search". I press the menu key and then select "GPS" then it finds my position.
 
OK, I found it. All I had to do was get my present location on the display. Does anybody know, is there a focus-automtically-on-present-location option? BTW, it does report my location accurately, e.g. 44 13.737 n 88 33.437 w.
 
I haven't found a focus-automatically-on-current-location setting, but I did figure out how to tell it to focus on central location now, by clicking Menu, then GPS (Duh! Sometimes I feel really dumb). There's also a massive help under menu for Navionics as well.
 
Just got my Droid X and am in the process of learning to use it. One very neat function is it's capability to act as a WiFi hotspot. It will connect to the 3G network and then other things, like my laptops will see it as a connection and connect to it. It's as fast as my home network and wireless router.

Apparently it uses a lot of juice when it does this, they recommend having it connected to the charger for any long period of use.

This will be great on boat! Not sure about the range but I wouldn't need much!

Tried to download charts and got futzed up in the credit card entry and gave up (for now). Will do it again when my fingers get a little more nimble on the touch screen.

Don't anyone offer to do the entry for me if I send them my card information. I'm still waiting for my check from Nigeria... :disgust

Charlie :mrgreen:
 
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