Panbo

The Marine Electronics Hub

Category: Mobile Apps

5

Mobile Apps / Monitoring & Tracking

MIBS 2024: Skyhawk Oversea, a fresh look at monitoring

Boat monitoring isn’t a new concept or product category. Heck, it’s been 17 years since Ben E. wrote up the first monitors on Panbo. So, you may be wondering what could be so new that my fellow judges and I awarded SkyHawk Oversea at MIBS this year. The short answer is a lot. The longer answer is Skyhawk took a fresh look at most of what we know about boat monitoring and came up with something very different. Will it work? Honestly, I don’t know. But I sure do love the paradigm-pushing approach they took.

81

Mobile Apps / Wireless & Apps / Navigation / Handheld / Charts

Mobile navigation app roundup

Apps running on tablets and phones have come a long way from the first, relatively primitive charting apps that debuted shortly after the turn of the millennia. Not only have the existing apps gained big functionality, but we’ve also seen many new entries into the category. This entry will attempt to review the currently available apps and their capabilities.

3

Mobile Apps / Navigation / Handheld / Charts

Aqua Map updated with no-wake zones, live sharing, and more

Two recent Aqua Map upgrades have brought several new features and the ability to share your location with other Aqua Map users. Aqua Map now displays no-wake zones, artificial reefs, and the state of Georgia’s restricted anchoring zones. Although it might not seem like a major feature, I’m most excited about the ability to display no-wake zones.

18

Mobile Apps / Wireless & Apps / Weather

Trial Run: TZ iBoat v. 2

My iPad is a veritable archeological dig of marine navigation apps. At some point over the years, I have installed just about every major release: C-Map Plan2Nav, Navionics Boating, NV Charts, iNavX, AquaMap, Garmin Bluechart Mobile (that became Active Captain), and some others lost to memory. It’s the iPad equivalent of Gizmo’s radar mast. With that history, it should be no surprise that I downloaded and installed TimeZero’s TZ iBoat app version 2 when it was released a few weeks ago…

18

Mobile Apps / Electrical & Engines / Monitoring & Tracking

Victron SmartShunt: easy install, networked, all-in-one battery monitor

I’ve found Victron’s BMV battery monitors to be simple, reliable, and easy to understand. Now, the new SmartShunt combines the BMV’s shunt and electronics into a single unit barely larger than the regular shunt with Bluetooth and Victron’s VE.Direct networking built-in. In my testing, the SmartShunt works just like a BMV. And I don’t miss the little gauge display because there are so many other ways to see and use SmartShunt battery data, suitable to boats large and small (and RVs).

2

Mobile Apps / Editors' Blog / Wireless & Apps / Navigation

Aqua Map 10 for Android & Master 2.0 with USCG LNMs, Buoys, and routes from tracks released

Aqua Map version 10 is now available for Android while Aqua Map Master 2.0 is available for both Android and iOS with several new features. The new Android version brings the same speedy map performance released to iOS the end of last year. The new features in Master 2.0 add even more features to the already feature-packed $10 per year add-on package.