Beta Build Notes

Coastal Explorer for iPad and iPhone Beta Program
1

Watch this topic for information on our progress towards an App Store release.

2

Build 34

Changes from the last update include:

  • Made moving waypoints a bit easier
  • Added the ability to create new collections, edit and delete collections, and move objects between collections
  • More audible alarms
  • Various other improvements
3

Build 35

Changes from the last update include:

  • Fixed several problems with importing some NOB and GPX files
  • Fixed a problem with deleting objects
  • Removed “Save” buttons from New/Edit Collection pages (they are automatically saved now)
4

Build 36

Changes from the last update include:

  • Complete blog editing capabilities (internet access required for now)
  • Blogs may now be read offline
  • Fixed boundary crossing and boundary circle alarms
  • Fixed default arrival circle size
  • Fixed a problem selecting range/bearing lines
  • Delete routes when deleting the second to last waypoint
5

Build 37

Changes from the last update include:

  • Lots of improvements to the AIS Vessel list page, including selection highlighting, sorting, and searching
  • Show AIS vessel ETAs on list and details pages
  • Show age and quality of position on AIS vessel detail pages
  • Show AIS target’s home-port country on details page
  • Fixed a problem with importing tracks with elevations from GPX files
  • When an AIS target is dangerous, flash the color rather than the entire vessel symbol
  • Prevent CPA/TCPA warnings from your own ship
  • Fixed another problem that could prevent boundary circle alarms
  • Fixed an NMEA 2000 decoding issue
6

Build 38

Changes from the last update include:

  • Lots of improvements to the Settings > Electronics pages
  • Fixed problem signing in with passwords containing some punctuation characters
  • Fixed a problem that could prevent data entry in property pages
7

Build 39

Changes from the last update include:

  • Fixed a problem that could cause a Nemo Gateway to restart when Coastal Explorer started (possibly continuously)
  • Fixed a problem where the clock would show the hour as 24 rather than 00
  • Fixed problem where audio playback would be paused when Coastal Explorer started
  • Added type filter to the list of marks in the voyage plan
  • Added sorting options and a search filter to the lists of routes and marks in the voyage plan and tracks and events in the ships log
9

Build 41

(We found a problem in build 40 so it was not released.)

The focus of this build was the sensor selection mechanism which allows Coastal Explorer to automatically select the most appropriate sensors to use when multiple sensors are available and for you to override that selection if you want. This includes adding popups to the sensor status panel instruments that let you see the sensors that are available, which one is in use, and select a different one to use as well as the “Electronics > Sensor Priorities” page, and sensor lists on the Nemo Gateway port and device pages.

We have not yet completed the sensor settings features which will allow you to change the name of a sensor and to indicate where the sensor is located on your vessel, but that is coming soon.

Changes from the last update include:

  • Added “Electronics > Sensor Priorities”
  • Add popups to the Sensor Status Panels to show lists of sensors and let one be selected
  • Show GPS satellite info in the Position Sensor Status popup when available
  • Fixed a problem with the AIS collision alerts where the vessel name was never included
  • Changed “Assume stationary targets are safe” option to include vessels moving under .5 kn.
  • Fixed problem where alerts would stop audio playback
10

Build 42

Changes from the last update include:

  • Fixed a problem with drawing imported filled boundary areas
  • Fixed a problem listing marks when a broken RBL exists
  • Fixed Rose Point AIS Feed indicator showing offline when online
  • Fixed a problem that hid all of the Measurement settings
11

Build 44

(We found a problem in build 43 so it was not released.)

Changes from the last update include:

  • Instrument panel editing and synchronization
  • Enabled device orientation sensor for heading
  • Fixed some issues where chart view could appear stretched
  • Fixed an issue detecting when internal location sensor stopped working
  • Show POSN sensor in yellow when using internal location sensor with low accuracy
  • Enabled increased accuracy provided by internal location services under some circumstances
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12

Build 46

(Build 45 was only tested internally and was not released.)

  • Fixed the problem preventing the import of Voyage Plan Documents (NOB files) on some devices
  • Fixed a problem accessing Nemo Gateway port pages in Settings > Electronics
  • Fixed a problem detecting when the connection to a Nemo Gateway is lost
  • Added options for enabling/disabling locations and headings from Location Services
13

Build 47

The focus of this build has been on the tide and current prediction features which are now almost complete. We still have a few things to do, including allowing offline use and a better prediction graph that can be scrolled, but the rest of the tide and current prediction functionality is ready to use.

Changes from the last update include:

  • Tide and current improvements
  • Fixed issues dealing with certain weather related NMEA 2000 PGN’s that could cause instruments to blink
  • Made the gear button for editing instrument panels easier to tap
  • Fixed a problem when activating a route not at the first waypoint
  • Fixed a problem calculating ETA in the Route Monitor
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14

Build 48

Summary of changes:

  • Added a new way to select a region for downloading charts (and other data)
  • Removed the old way of selecting chart regions
  • Let tide and current predictions be downloaded for offline use
  • Let Active Captain places be downloaded for offline use
  • Show tide and current predictions on all visible chart symbols
  • Fixed a problem with navigation object and instrument panel synchronization

Fixed Problem with Navigation Object and Instrument Synchronization

We found and fixed a problem that was causing some synchronization problems with navigation objects and instruments. As part of this fix, you might automatically be signed out of Coastal Explorer after installing this update. Be sure to sign back in while you have internet access! If you are not automatically signed out, we recommend signing out and back in manually after installing this update to ensure you do not have problems related to this fix in the future.

Offline Charts and Data

The ability to install the large NOAA-defined chart regions has been removed. If you have downloaded any of these regions, they will still work, but we recommend you remove them as soon as it is convenient for you to use the new chart download mechanism.

The new download mechanism lets you select the area for which you want charts and data as well as which charts and data you want to download. For now, the options include NOAA RNC, NOAA Tide and Current Predictions, and Active Captain. We will be adding more options in the future.

The new download mechanism not only lets you define a region that is more appropriate for your needs, but also allows for the data within that area to be updated much more efficiently. (Updates must still be initiated manually, but will become automatic in the future.)
Known limitations of the new update mechanism include:

  • Limited selection of charts and data to download
  • Updates must be initiated manually
  • Only one month of tide and current predictions are downloaded
  • Data is not currently removed from local storage as the download options are changed

More Tide and Current Improvements

In addition to now supporting offline use, the tide and current prediction feature has been updated to automatically show predictions for all stations visible on the chart rather than waiting until a graph is displayed for a station.

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15

Build 49

Network Ports

We’ve added the ability to use connect to devices such as Vesper XB-6000 and XB-8000 AIS Transponders, the Comar i300W gateway, and anything else that can send NMEA 0183 data over Wi-Fi. You’ll need to know the IP address and the port number your device uses in order to make a TCP connection (the most common), or just the port number to use UDP. Please check with your device’s documentation to find the appropriate values. (Shameless promotion: One BIG advantage of our Nemo Gateway is that you don’t have to know its IP address or port number, or even what those mean.)

NMEA 2000 Autopilot Control

If you have a Nemo Gateway, then Coastal Explorer can now send course updates to your NMEA 2000 compatible autopilot. We’ll be adding NMEA 0183 autopilot control too, but it’s not ready yet…

Let There Be Dark

Coastal Explorer now changes colors if your iPad or iPhone is in dark mode. We’ve also added dusk and night mode colors which you can select from the Settings page. We still have some tweaking to do with these new colors but they’re ready to use.

Other changes from the last update include:

  • Sped up chart data downloaded
  • Detect and recover from changes in network configuration
  • Keep boat fixed on the screen when a follow-mode is active and zooming on or out
  • Keep chart tip point fixed on the screen when zooming in or out
  • Show POSN in yellow when getting low-accuracy fix for own-ship from AIS
  • Improved ActiveCaptain pages
  • Added place type filter to Places browser
  • Added ability to post ActiveCaptain reviews and comments
  • Show nearby observations on Conditions page
  • Accept more synonyms for units when entering values
  • Fixed some problems with saving changes to instrument panels
  • Various other fixes and enhancements
16

Build 50

NMEA 0183 Autopilot Control

If you have a Nemo Gateway, then Coastal Explorer can now send course updates to your NMEA 0183 compatible autopilot. (NMEA 2000 autopilot control was added in build 49.)

Please let us know how it goes if you get a chance to try running your autopilot with Coastal Explorer!

More Instruments

We’ve added a few new instruments and added some new instrument-specific options too.

Changes from the last update include:

  • Added NMEA 0183 Autopilot Output (not well tested yet)
  • Added horizontal compass instrument
  • Added rudder angle instrument
  • Added Nearby AIS Vessels instrument
  • Added Large Text option to digital instruments
  • Added local/UTC and 12/24hr options to analog clock instrument
  • Added Show Seconds option to digital clock
  • Disable button instruments when appropriate
  • Added sync/update status to Settings home page
  • Fixed problems with internal compass on a rotated device
  • Disable internal location checking when an NMEA sensor is available
  • Handle sentences that are received in pieces from an NMEA 0183 Over TCP device
  • Made it possible to dismiss a flashing alert bar
  • Improved the layout of some Settings pages
  • Various other fixes and enhancements
17

Build 51

Ship’s Log Improvements

The Ship’s Log now has an Overview page that combines all of your blog entries, events, and tracks into one list. From here you can easily convert an event to blog entry, start a new blog entry, or just see what’s happened recently.

We’ve also made several other minor improvements to the Ship’s Log browser, such as adding more information to the detailed track list, adding the “Convert Track To Route” command to the Track Properties page, and splitting long blogs into pages.

Auto-Lock Prevention

You now have a lot more control over when Coastal Explorer will prevent your device from Auto-Locking (going to sleep). These options are on the new “Settings > General” page.

AIS Improvements

We’ve added tracks to AIS vessels and SAR aircraft. These tracks are limited to 60 mins and can be hidden or shown with an option in “Settings > AIS”.

We’ve added an AIS vessel information database that stores AIS “static data” such as the names, callsigns, and sizes of vessels that Coastal Explorer receives. This database allows Coastal Explorer to display this information about vessels right away without needing to wait up to six minutes for the information to be sent by the vessel’s AIS.

Other changes from the last build include:

  • AIS vessel information database
  • AIS tracks
  • Show total time, average speed in track list
  • Ship’s Log Overview page
  • Show blogs in pages
  • Added Options > General Page
  • Added options to prevent Auto-Lock
  • Use iOS Dynamic Text (size) setting
  • Fixed a problem with sending some NMEA 2000 PG’s
  • Allow hyphens as separators in coordinates (lat/lon values)
  • Improved Virtual Time controls on tide and current pages
18

Build 52

Changes include:

  • Added an option to disable two-finger rotation (Settings > General > Allow Two-Finger Chart Rotation)
  • Blog entries can now be created and edited offline and sync’ed later
  • The browser buttons now go back to the last page used on the first press and the ‘home’ page after that
  • Fixed air pressure values from NMEA 0183 MDA sentences
  • Handle lat/lon values provided in NMEA 0183 sentences that are missing leading zeros
  • Various other bug fixes and performance enhancements
19

Build 53

Changes include:

  • The tide and current graphs on the station detail pages can now be scrolled and zoomed
  • Fixed a problem where tide and current predictions were not available for part of the last day of a month
  • Reduced flashing of tide/current station symbols
  • Added size limits to the browser
  • Fixed a problem with returning to the correct page in the Voyage Plan browser
20

Build 54

Help!

Documentation is now available on the Main Menu (tap the menu button to find the blue and white help button). We still have some topics to write and some editing to do, but it fairly complete now.

Instruments for iPhones

The top of screen will now show some basic instruments when Coastal Explorer is used on an iPhone in portrait orientation (or in a narrow pane on a iPad with a split screen).

Synchronization Indicator

A synchronization indicator has been added to the Settings button. This works just like in Coastal Explorer on the PC; when Coastal Explorer is synchronizing your data, two small arrows will rotate in the top-right corner of the settings button.

Changes from the last update include:

  • New help system (access from the Main Menu)
  • Added attributions for map/chart sources
  • Updated the icon color
  • Recorded tracks are much more efficient now
  • Fixed a problem that could cause Location Services to stop working
  • New instruments for iPhone portrait orientation
  • Adjustable waypoint properties
  • Synchronization indicator on the Settings button
  • Various other fixes and enhancements
21

Build 55

We’ve added vector charts! The new vector charts are almost fully functional and can be downloaded for offline use. Use the chart type menu to select Vector Charts to check them out.

Other changes include:

  • Added vector charts
  • Improved raster chart downloads a bit
  • Scale indicator on chart controls
  • Better Chart Type menu (bullets and checks)
  • Fixed problem where HDG status panel didn’t appear on iPhone in landscape orientation
  • Various other fixes
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