Rick (01-11-15)
im very new to boating navigation , and paper charts are difficult to use in small boats , so yesterday i bought a 7" Pendo pad and the Navionics boating app. i'll also get a waterproof case for the Pendo so can leave it running on the boat while out.
i noticed battery life is quite reduced while the GPS is running so will run the pad off the boats 12v outlet .
has anybody got any good / bad experience with this sort of setup? Navionics seems to have plenty of features which im not familiar with as yet , but will over time. Ive found the maps a bit slow to update so far .
Rick (01-11-15)
Look Here -> |
have used in the past and is pretty accurate and will do if
you have no sounder gps unit.
dont say linux if i wanted it id install it
thanks , im happy with the low cost option so far. $65 for the Pendo and $23 for the app .
the boat came with an old Navman 4000 sounder but its not working real well - depth readings keep swinging wildly even when at anchor. that may be a sensor issue , not sure.
check that the transducer is fixed properly at the rear of the boat
and is not just flopping up and down which would give you the false
depth readings .The base of the transducer should be only a few mm
below the hull and should be fixed so it does not flop up and down.
dont say linux if i wanted it id install it
VroomVroom (04-10-15)
thanks , ive checked it and it secure. i noticed some red sealant around the join so quite possible its been apart for some reason. a new one is $150+ so better off getting a portable one off ebay for $55 and just dash mounting it.
If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!
VroomVroom (05-10-15)
update - the app is still working well. a larger , say 10" screen would be great when travelling at speed but when cruising the 7" Pendo works fine. the GPS is power hungry as expected so i installed an additional USB port to keep the battery charging . also installed an app which keeps the screen awake while navionics is running , and only navionics.
i need to add the numerous "go slow" areas to the chart , havent worked that out yet i just avoid them in the meantime.
I also fixed the depth sounder , the boat fitters installed it too close to the bottom chine ( 5M tinny ) and angled the wrong way. all good now , surprising how accurate it reads on both the hard and sandy bottoms in this area.
still havent caught any fish though
It is an awesome bit software, and once you get used to it you'll love it even more, I use it, it is very accurate on returning to waypoints, check some of these vids out very handy tips for using
VroomVroom (01-11-15)
Is it a 2 amp port ? Tablets need this , otherwise you may find over a period of time that the tablet will discharge itself and wont boot up. Pendo are, how do I say, not of the highest quality, so its likely.
I realise its cheap and easily replaced, but could be a pain if you have stuff on it that could be lost and hard to replace aso its easier to just make sure you have 2 amp.
I found out the hard way a couple of years ago with my wifes Samsung galaxy tablet. She was just plugging it in to any charger, usually phone chargers that are 1 amp. Over time it undercharged itself (sounds strange I know, wouldnt have believed it if I hadnt seen it and had to Google to fix it) went in to a reboot sequence and then refused to turn on.
GPS programs really do suck the juice, when I went to tassie earlier this year I was running Google Maps on my Nexus 10 tablet and it was going flat despite being plugged in to a (correct amp) charger while we were driving.
yes its definitly a 2 amp port , i learnt that lesson years ago with a Palm Treo. I know that Pendos are not great quality , this was more an exercise to see if the tablet on a boat concept would work, which it does. If for some reason i need to change tablets , the play store has a record of what i bought , so it will let me download once more for free. but for $23 its a cheap app anyway , for what it does.
Might be time to put your hand up for a early chrissy pressy my recommendation is the Lowrance Elite 7 HDI, nice 7 inch screen, very easy to use, you can pick up really good 2nd hand units for around $6-800, but its all down to how much you fish, mine got a hell of a work out when I installed it into my BarCrusher
Second that!
A very nice unit.
Don't know what waters you fish, but this crowd might be of interest:
As you can see, their charts work with sounders, phones, and tablets.
I have the Elite 7 HDI and have Lake Hume and Lake Mulwala charts from the above blokes - very nice. I'm just sweating on them doing Dartmouth.
It's good to see stuff like this being developed in Australia for a change - and right here in NE Vic, as a bonus.
Tight lines.
Rick (02-11-15),VroomVroom (02-11-15)
I have the Navionics HD Sonar Charts overlaying my Gamin BlueCharts on my Gamin Etrex 20.
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