Thread: Tablet Quandry
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Old 12-29-2013, 10:32 PM   #12
tpbrady
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City: Gooding ID/Wrangell AK
Vessel Name: Silver Bay
Vessel Model: Nordic Tug 42-002
Join Date: Sep 2012
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I have tried touch screens on a notebook running Coastal Explorer in rough water in a small boat while underway and that is a nonstarter with me. The best input was a trackball even when compared to a dedicated chart plotter with a keypad. I could keep one hand on the helm, and one hand planted on the trackball which was attached to the dash next to the helm with velcro. Even on my trawler it is much easier to lay out routes with the trackball than my finger. I used both an IPAD and Android tablet as a remote display on the upper helm from the notebook down below. My wireless trackball worked at the upper helm so I was basically manipulating Coastal Explorer from the upper helm while watching the screen display on a tablet. That worked better than using Garmin's IPAD app or Navionics on the Android tablet as Coastal Explorer is a much more capable navigation program and the trackball is easier to use than my finger.

Tom
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