SailTimer API™ vs Display0183M Usage & Stats
An API is a digital toolkit; this one handles the Bluetooth 4 LE connection to the SailTimer Wind Instrument™ (SailTimerWind.com).
You can let this app run in the background. It hands off the wind data to other wind gauge or chartplotting apps for display (even if the screen is turned off to conserve power). It converts wind data from magnetic to true north, from Apparent to True, from wind direction to angle, and to NMEA 0183 marine electronics format. Streaming data is shown in green text as the wireless data arrives from the Wind Instrument to show you when the connection is made. There is a Pause/Play button in the upper right of the green text.
The app uses the sophisticated new NOAA-British Geological Survey geomagnetic model for compass declination (the angle between Magnetic and True North), since magnetic north has been moving around faster than usual in recent years. The Wind Instrument can also get over-the-air updates with this app, for new electronics functions that may become available in future.
After scanning for your Wind Instrument, you can rename it with an identifier like your boat name. No-one else can see this, but it ensures that you are connecting to your own Wind Instrument in a marina. The app reconnects to yours from then on.
The API tries to reconnect automatically if the Bluetooth signal is lost. In the upper right corner there is also a circular Dis/Connect button. That is handy when leaving the boat, or also if you want to save power in the iOS device and in the Wind Instrument when not in use. Your iPad/iPhone also use less power when the GPS (Location Services) and Bluetooth are shut off with the Disconnect button. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. This app may use your location even when it isn’t open, which can decrease device battery life.
Logging in gives you the option to display wind conditions at your location online. That is handy if you want to share your location with others for safety. And if you want to check wind conditions and temperature at your boat from home. You can Register the first time in the API or at SailTimerMaps.com. Then you can simply log in to the API, and you won’t have to log out or log in again.
The Settings menu also lets you set the transmission rate to 1, 3 or 5 times per second (Hz). Wind gauges move more smoothly with faster transmissions, but numerical displays may change too fast. You may want fast transmissions for an autopilot, or may prefer to conserve battery power in your Wind Instrument with fewer transmissions.
There is a Smoothing option over the number of transmissions per second. Increase this damping if a wind display is too jumpy (especially at faster transmission rates) because of mast vibration, boat pitching etc. More information on this in the SailTimer newsletters at http://eepurl.com/huv5cD and http://eepurl.com/hDWhdX.
Simulator for testing True Wind Direction (TWD) and True Wind Speed (TWS): Long-tap on the wind cup icon to start. Double-tap on the wind cup icon to stop. Allows you to enter boat speed and heading and apparent wind speed and direction, and check TWD and TWS in the first line of green text (MWD in NMEA0183 format).
For more accuracy and ease of use, Apparent Wind Direction (AWD) is displayed for True Wind Direction (TWD) if GPS speed less than 2 knots. AWD and TWD should be the same then. This prevents TWD from fluctuating because of GPS resolution when you are not moving.
*If you are getting the app and like this wireless technology, please help out other sailors by letting them know, with a quick rating on this version while you’re here.
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Display0813M is a customisable app for sailors for NMEA information on iWatches, iPhones, iPads and Macs and ActiveLook smart glasses. It provides a selection of over 30 sailing measurements from the boat’s NMEA network and polar tables.
For each measurement the minimum and maximum values and a time series graph are available. The polars data is interpolated: instead of just the tabulated data points also intermediate wind and boat speed data is available based on (bi)linear interpolation.
The Wind Display has all key sailing information in context aware analog format. It provides comprehensive wind and heading information in both analog and digital format. It is based on the sailing context: going upwind, downwind or towards a waypoint and enhanced by the polars data.
Display 0813 connects to a NMEA 0813 Wi-Fi gateway such as B&G Vulcan, Zeus, GoFree or Yacht Devices NMEA 2000 Wi-Fi Gateway.
The supported NMEA 0183 sentences are:
- BWR: Bearing and distance to waypoint
- DBS: Depth below surface
- DBT: Depth below transducer.
- DPT: depth of water. Note: the Settings/Install sensor offset is added to the value given unless it is received in the NMEA0183 sentence.
- CGA: Global Positioning System Fix data
- GLL: Geographic position - Latitude / Longitude
- HDG: Heading magnetic
- HDM: Heading magnetic
- HDT: Heading true
- MWD: undocumented, based on Vulcan 7FS data, wind direction, wind speed (both magnetic and true)
- MTW: water temperature (Note: value is red as it is, the Unit is always displayed °C)
- MWV: Wind speed and angle (both relative and apparent)
- RMB: XTE, range to destination, bearing to destination, destination closing velocity .
- RMC: Speed over ground
- RSA: Rudder sensor angle
- VHW: Water speed and heading
- VLW: Distance travelled through water
- VPW: Speed - measured parallel to wind
- VTG: Course over ground (T or M), speed over ground
- VWR: Wind direction (A), wind speed (A)
- WCV: Waypoint closure velocity
- XDR: air temperature (°C), water temperature (°C) and barometric pressure (mbar).
- XTE: Cross track error
The following data items ("measurements") are read from the NMEA data stream or derived from these and the boat's polar data..
- Waypoint direction (WP dir, °M)
- Waypoint distance (WP dst, distance unit)
- VMG waypoint (WP VMG, boat speed unit)
- Cross track error (XTE, distance unit )
- Depth (Depth, depth unit)
- Heading (Heading, °M)
- Heading (Heading, °T)
- Course (Course, °M)
- Course (Course, °T)
- Water speed (Speed, boat speed unit)
- Speed over ground (SOG, boat speed unit)
- Water temperature1 (Water tmp, °C)
- Air temperature1 (Air tmp, °C)
- Air pressure1 (Air pre, hPa)
- Wind speed apparent (Wind Spd A, wind speed unit)
- Wind angle apparent (Wind ang A, °)
- Wind speed true (Wind Spd T, °)
- Wind direction (Wind dir, °M)
- Wind direction (Wind dir, °T)
- VMG Wind (calculated)
- Latitude (Latitude, DD°MM.mm’)
- Longitude (Latitude, DD°MM.mm’)
- Water Distance after reset (Wtr dst, distance unit )
- Total water distance (Wtr dst T, distance unit )
- Ground distance after reset (Grnd dst, distance unit)
- Total ground distance (Grnd dst T, distance unit)
- Velocity made good towards wind (Wind WMG, boat speed unit)
- Heel (Heel, °)
- Rudder (Rudder, °)
- Boat target speed through the water (based on current polar table)
- Boat speed of target speed (%)
- Beat VMG boat target speed through the water
- Run VMG boat target speed through the water3
- Leeway (Leeway. °). Calculated difference Course °T - Heading °T
To get started, please see the user's guide at https://pbase.com/pekkal/display0183m.
The Terms of Use are the standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA) https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
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SailTimer API™ VS. 
Display0183MDecember 30, 2024