Swallow Yachts Forum > Technical

Side-stepping the technical silos

<< < (3/4) > >>

AndyB:
Hi Graham,
Looks like you made a good choice with the tablet.

Could you let me know please which Sailproof you went with ? Was it the 10 inch or the 8 inch and does size really matter  :)

Looking at your table does the 8 inch have the same pixel density ( 800*1280) as the 10 inch.

Best regards
Andy B

Graham W:
Andy,

I have the Sailproof 10”, which has a resolution of 800 x 1280 (the 8” is the same).  This is fairly low compared to an iPad - even compared to my vintage 2016 model (1536 x 2048).  I think that this may be the price to pay for the additional brightness without unduly hammering the battery.

If I was in the market for a smaller tablet, I think that despite the higher price I might be tempted by the robust Tripltek 8” Pro, which was designed for the drone control market.  This has a bigger battery than the Sailproof 8”, a brighter and higher definition screen, lower weight and more memory.  The only downsides are that it doesn’t pick up the more accurate Galileo satellite network and the battery isn’t swappable.  The latter might not be such an issue with an 8” screen as according to Sailproof, at full brightness their 10” tablet’s power consumption is 60% higher than their 8” model, in direct proportion to its 60% bigger screen surface area. 

See the ‘tablet comparison’ bottom attachment to the first posting on this thread.

AndyB:
Hi Graham
How are you getting on with the Sailproof?

I am thinking of buying one and wondered how it was in practice. I am looking at the moment to use Navionics but waiting to see if the Imray offering is better. The other raster chart programmes  are difficult to use in the Solent on an electronic device.

Best regards
Andy B

Philip L:
For me it was a toss up between a Sailproof 8 and an AiShell (from iTab Nav) case for an ageing iPad. I knew I would have to plug the iPad in at some stage in the day complicating things with trailing cables and with the cost of the case it seemed better to just go for the Sailproof. Since Graham originally posted in January, Sailproof have upgraded their processors so I purchased the SP08S at £585.45. The invoice from DHL for import duty was £128.47. I just couldn’t afford the larger tablet. I purchased the Rokk mini from UK sources and am experimenting with the suction cup before considering more permanent placement.
Indoors, it is almost too bright. At night you have to turn it right down otherwise it will destroy your circadian rhythm!  It has an auto brightness setting that is meant to learn your preferences but it seemed to keep it on max brightness while navigating over the 2 days I have used it so far so I disabled this and set the level myself thinking to conserve battery. However the battery would easily have lasted the two days.
It has been easy to pair with my Vesper Cortex to use the external GPS antenna and to show AIS targets on Navionics as well as depth from echo sounder.
If it is mounted on one bulkhead, you will need to alter the angle of the mount to be able to see the display form across the cockpit on the other tack. It comes with a handle that you can screw on but this interferes with the Rokk mount slightly and in any case I don’t want to leave it loose to see it disappear through the outboard well. So far the suction cup alone has been strong enough to hold well but wherever you place it (bulkhead or either side of companion way it get in the way of reefing etc (may try bottom washboard next).
No issues at all with using screen with finger even when wet but some gloves can be an issue. Rokk mini frame needs mounting slight over to one side so you don’t press on/off button with frame when clamping.
Having bought Imray Charts for Firth of Clyde, I was interested in using Imray Navigator too but had already linked the free chart subscription to my iPad and they don’t allow cross platform use. Something to do with difficulty of single logon across Google Play and the AppStore. Also their boat instruments app isn’t available for android so you can’t show tidal streams or depth etc on your Android screen so I have used Navionics which has worked fine.
I am quite happy using it at home as a tablet for the basic things I do on a tablet. It is probably not as fast as my wife’s iPad 10 but easily as good as my iPad Mini.  It definitely feels robust and is probably better than the iPad in the fanciest case.  They are very responsive if you have any questions during set up and respond quickly to email.
Given that I have only used it very briefly yet I’m sure I will be able to get more out of it in future but let me know if you have any specific questions

Graham W:
Andy,

I haven’t yet had my boat out on the water, so haven’t used the Sailproof in anger.  However, I can confirm that as Philip says, the screen at full whack is very bright indeed and visibility will be more than enough in sunlight.  Also, the battery lasts a long time and if that isn’t enough, a spare one is not expensive.

As an iPad user of many years, I’m still getting used to Android but apps like Navionics and Memory Map work similarly well on both.

I wasn’t aware of the chip upgrade for the 8” version that Philip mentions.  I wonder what improvements this brings compared to the previous chip, which still runs the 10” tablet?  I expect that it won’t be long before the 10” tablet also gets the new chip and if it offers significant advantages and you don’t want the 8” tablet, it may be worth waiting for the upgrade.

I think that I’ll have two mounting points for the 10” on my boat.  One will be where the old Garmin used to be, towards the end of the centreboard case.  I’ll have it on some sort of swivelling bracket so that I can face the screen towards me on either tack.  The other position will be just under the foredeck, also with the ability to swivel.  The nice thing is that compared to my old Garmin, the Sailproof can work anywhere, without wires.  With an NMEA to wifi transmitter it can also show data like wind and depth from my overly extensive collection of transducers.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page