Link: Connect Your Boat

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As mentioned before, this is a really great idea, but poorly implemented. I used it today and it would lock up every time I took a screen capture. Also, there is no auto-rotate feature, so you are stuck in landscape mode, but only in one orientation. Also, when connected to your unit via WiFi, you loose the ability to use cellular data. This means you have to constantly disconnect and reconnect from the unit. Tested on an iPhone XS using both a Lowrance Elite 7Ti and HDS 9 Live. It’s better than taking pictures of the screen, but just barely. If they can work out the bugs, this will be a really useful application.

I’ve been using the Link app on my iPhone to serve as a remote display and control for my Simrad NSS9 Evo 3 unit with FMT tracks for over a year now. The clarity of the satellite image is equal to that showing on the unit, and all the control functions do work. However there is some lag in the screen updates that would prohibit trying to use only the app at a second helm. But for my slow speed use while fishing away from the helm it’s just fine. As some have noted the WiFi connection to the unit does result in a non working internet connection error on a cell phone, but considering there typically isn’t a cell signal where I’m fishing it’s really not a problem. Based on the success of my using the app on my iPhone I’m going to start using it on my iPad so I don’t have to zoom in/out as much. Mounting is simply a GoPro adhesive camera mount stuck on the back of an Otterbox case that I put on my GoPro claw mount. EzPz.

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Although the app seems to be a great idea,the actual works are flawed. First things first which is a big one. When connected to the app via WiFi you loose internet service on a mobile device with data ( iPhone ) there seems to be no way to manually connect the Lowrance unit without using the automatic mode which in turn adds dns info which prevents from using LTE while connected to the Lowrance unit. Dumb. Should be able to have mobile data work when connected to unit. Also does not rotate on an IPhone 8+. Can only use the phone one way. Again, dumb. This app would be pretty nice when these two things get fixed. Until then it’s pretty crappy.

Software connects nicely to my HDS gen 2 Touch/iPhone 7+. Remote control works fine. I’d like to see a feature where I can download screenshots to the photos app on my phone. Seems like that would be high on the feature list. Hope they add it in a future update. Want to save/send screenshots easily in real time rather than downloading from my memory card once I’m home. This sort of feature is what the WiFi should do for me. Make my life easier.

I downloaded this vaguely-named app to my iPhone 6S, linked to my new Vulcan 9 chart plotter, and it works as advertised, even controlling the chart plotter from the phone, which is the only enhancement over GoFree that I have found. Be aware that the small screen of a phone makes text and finger targets rather small, and the image is grainy, being just a repeat of the low resolution of the Vulcan. Usability on a tablet is much better.