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RNI 2014


MOTORBOAT

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KM, language warning.
As all the words/phrases used in my post have been used by the Prime Minister on national TV while standing in NZ's House of Representatives and other places, are occasionally used by my 78yo somewhat conservative mother and have been used in school assignments for 3rd formers, your going to have to be a lot more specific as to what common everyday language it is you don't want.

 

This is not a power drain issue. this is an piece of equipment that is not fit for purpose.

What absolute utter tripe. I think once an hour is magnificent and far better than we've had before while also allowing the boats to race rather than become spectator driven reality toys like the AC boats for example. With that in mind YB providing me that capability means it's working perfectly fine.

 

Now off to enjoy the wonderful technology provided to me at no cost by SSANZ and Yellow Brick trackers, and I thank then both for that wonderful opportunity. Actually No id don't, it reminds me I'm at work and knot out there with them :lol:

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I have complained to Yellowbrick about their tracker for the iPhone and they are looking into it. Will keep you posted.

 

For what it's worth, when I looked at the tracker via the SSANZ website from my laptop I thought it was awesome. Good detail and a great overlay with the maps in the background. I don't think I need more than hourly updates, it's a 1500 mile race after all, not a footie game.

 

However it's impossible to access the tracker from an iPhone through a website. When you do so, a message from YB appears and tells you to use their app (and this is where I think Sailor x issues arise). So I got the app, and then you have to pay $4.50 to view the race. What you get for $4.50 is a black screen with a yellow rum line and what look to be boats overlaid on top of each other. It's impossible to zoom in and see the boats seperately and impossible to work out where in the world they are.

 

So a big thumbs up for the tracker from a website/laptop but a massive fail for the (paid for) iPhone app.

 

How's the race going BTW? I only have access to my phone right now and can't tell

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Weird, my iPhone (5) app is working perfectly - in fact even better than the web one as it names all the boats visible, and gives a link to get all the details on each and speed etc

 

Well worth the price of a coffee

post-12703-141887263471.jpg

post-12703-141887263474.jpg

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I have complained to Yellowbrick about their tracker for the iPhone and they are looking into it. Will keep you posted.

 

For what it's worth, when I looked at the tracker via the SSANZ website from my laptop I thought it was awesome. Good detail and a great overlay with the maps in the background. I don't think I need more than hourly updates, it's a 1500 mile race after all, not a footie game.

 

However it's impossible to access the tracker from an iPhone through a website. When you do so, a message from YB appears and tells you to use their app (and this is where I think Sailor x issues arise). So I got the app, and then you have to pay $4.50 to view the race. What you get for $4.50 is a black screen with a yellow rum line and what look to be boats overlaid on top of each other. It's impossible to zoom in and see the boats seperately and impossible to work out where in the world they are.

 

So a big thumbs up for the tracker from a website/laptop but a massive fail for the (paid for) iPhone app.

 

How's the race going BTW? I only have access to my phone right now and can't tell

 

yip! my android is the same...bloody pathetic!

 

that make the 60 min update worse.

 

as I say - if they can do instant updates on S and H race then they can do them here.

 

I think its a money issue disguised as a battery issue

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The Yellowbrick on my Iphone 4s is working fine too. Agree - well worth the price of a coffee. But I guess you can't please everyone. In fact I am glad that they are only updating every hour - I wouldn't get any work done if it was more often....! Of course we are forgetting that the only reason why this race is being run, that so much work is put into it from organisers and competitors, is so that those of us at home can watch every second of every leg as it happens. :wink:

 

On that note - looks like Marshall Law is taking a bit of a flyer at the moment.

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I just tried to look at the tracker on my trusty old laptop, it seems that it is not compatible with IE8 :evil:

 

The brand new windows 8 machine is resetting itself, it does have IE11 but it can't upgrade to windows 8.1, so Carlo from the help desk at Microsoft has prescribed a system reset :twisted: :twisted:

 

I think there is a message that I should be doing some work

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The Yellowbrick on my Iphone 4s is working fine too. Agree - well worth the price of a coffee. But I guess you can't please everyone. In fact I am glad that they are only updating every hour - I wouldn't get any work done if it was more often....! Of course we are forgetting that the only reason why this race is being run, that so much work is put into it from organisers and competitors, is so that those of us at home can watch every second of every leg as it happens. :wink:

 

On that note - looks like Marshall Law is taking a bit of a flyer at the moment.

 

A flyer alright! a big knock out and another back in.... Doh!

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As a shore crew member, all of us are finding the trackers absolutely fantastic. Family, friends, colleagues, supporters of sailing all around NZ and around the world are loving it. The one hour scheds are perfect - enough to see the difference between the last sched. You wouldn't want it any more than that. Less than the price of a latte for the convenience of having it on your phone and free otherwise. What more could you want.

 

Yellowbrick have done a fantastic job - they are reliably relaying where the fleet is not only from a spectator and enjoyment perspective but also from a safety one. Well done SSANZ and Yellowbrick - you have made this race all the more enjoyable for all of us.

 

:clap:

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I've had some trouble with the Android Yellow Brick app in that the purchased race didn't appear in my races to be viewed. I sent them an email last night and its all sorted this morning.

 

I'm happy with once an hour. The whole battery thing is a pain but these units look like a pretty good compromise. We had phone battery issues using the Predict Wind tracker during the Coastal.

 

It still awesome technology and it'll only get cheaper and better!

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I took this photo last night at our friends 13 mins before the next sched. Three laptops, all plugged into YellowBrick and we are completely addicted to watching the little coloured boats!

 

Reminds me, only 6 more mins to the next one! :D

post-8626-141887263718.jpg

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In regards to Yellowbrick Trackers I feel I should clarify a few things as the person from SSANZ who has all contact with Yellowbrick.

 

1.) To date the Yellowbricks have performed reliably and exactly as they should have in the 2014 RNI.

2.) There is no problem with the equipment in regards to ability to have faster updates. Yellowbrick can remotely change the update intervals. Yellowbrick still seems to be the best tracking product available for this purpose.

3.) SSANZ primary reason for having trackers on boats is for safety, having pretty pictures for the public is a great byproduct but not the driving concern.

4.) With a 1hour update we are happy from a safety point of view. If a boat is in trouble we can then have the transmission frequency increased for that boat. Trackers also have an alert button crews can push to immediately transmit a position and alert if the crew feels they have a problem.

5.) Every position transmission transmitted incurs a cost and a reduction in battery life. 1hr updates mean the trackers should complete the race without needing to be touched. For a small volunteer organisation this means we can concentrate on other tasks and put out more social media, photo's and reports (of which we can never seem to do enough anyway) than we could if we had to collect all trackers recharge and reinstall at every stopover (plus I need some time to enjoy a rum).

6.) If the tracker update intervals speed up later in the race it will be Yellowbrick's decision as they will have to pay the increased costs.

7.) SSANZ runs the race on a shoestring, other than a much appreciated grant from NZL Yachting Trust, entry fees need to cover costs. If all goes to plan this race will hopefully break-even, but this is only possible due to some great volunteers who despite having some expenses paid also inevitably incur their own personal costs as well.

8.) Greater media coverage though having professionals working for the event, super fast tracker updates etc etc etc are all possible but cost a lot. Either someone finds us a fantastic sponsor or entry fees have to drastically increase if thats the direction we decide to go. However there are limits to what competitors will pay as an entry fee and you could easily eliminate competitors if it got too much more expensive. With 4 legs, 3 stopovers the RNI is an expensive race to run with transport and accommodation required for a small race management team. Currently I think SSANZ have a pretty good balance and do amazing stuff for such a limited budget (prob under half the amount spent by taxpayers on a race that didn't even happen).

 

 

Anyway hopefully the above gives some understanding about why certain decisions have been made and eliminate some of the false information that has been posted in this thread.

 

 

Regards

 

Cameron Thorpe

Chairman

SSANZ

 

p.s I have personally brought the YB App and on my iPhone5 it has worked perfectly

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Thanks for the clarity.

 

I have had a fix for my Android and 1 hour is OK.

 

Just out of interest how did the Sydney to Hobart boats batteries last with their updates being more regular?

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