FAQ

Preparing a voyage is never a simple affair. The right marine charts must be found, the points of passage must be determined, the course traced and headings calculated, variation and tides taken into account. In normal circumstances, the calculator is already beginning to overheat, and the main points have yet to be recorded in a notebook which will almost certainly become soaked and illegible. Once again Adrena has the solution for simplifying navigation as much as possible, so that pleasure can take over.

Adrena software is very easy to use for navigation whether racing or simply cruising. Its flexible system of cartography, which makes few hardware demands, means you can mark your points of passage and personalise them at will. The day's navigation is prepared in a few mouse clicks while comfortably sitting at home. All that remains is to connect the computer to the navigational instruments computer to have all the navigational calculations, already made, on board.

If you want to go further you only have to link Adrena to a free download of a GRIB file to generate a route plan letting you view the ideal path to take to arrive at your desired destination (a creek for a swim or to cross the finish line as winner). This doesn't prevent the sea being paved with good intentions and doubtless many reefs and difficult passages being on the route. What can be done so that you set off without worries and fully enjoy your voyage rather than remain concentrated on your competitors' progress? Adrena has solved the problem by including a RoadBook in Adrena 6.

In this navigational example we shall take a trip through the Channel Islands starting from the port of Le Harve. The final destination is Bréhat. This is a challenging trip as Barfleur must be rounded, then the Pointe de la Hague with the famous Alderney Race, then you have to choose a route between Jersey and Guernsey to finally make landfall at Bréhat, where the currents and rocks may cause havoc if you are not in phase with the tide. The first thing will be to trace your passage via the "WP and Course" menu then "Rapid course creation". On the fly, we mark four waypoints with the mouse, the first on leaving Le Havre, the second at Barfleur, the third at Cap de la Hague and finally the last at Bréhat. We will call this route Le Havre – Bréhat, to be able to find it quickly in our list. We will not dwell here on the method for creating a course: this will be covered under other technical topics. You can view your course simply via "WP and Course" then "Managing courses". Select your newly created course then click on "Activate". Once the course has been created we will add notes to it to prepare our voyage.

"With the GPS you could think you would never be lost; now the Adrena RoadBook puts life into your navigation."

For example we will immediately mark the merchant vessel traffic separation lanes in the Channel to distinguish the area where we do not want to sail by day, and even less by night.

Click in the RoadBook toolbar on "Create". A window opens in which we can enter the RoadBook name, "Channel Lanes" in our case. We can then draw one or more areas of the desired shape to which comments can be added.

We will draw a rectangle located on the Channel lanes zone. A single click inserts the first point of our area, and each additional click adds a point marking the area. A double click confirms the area which only remains to be defined with appropriate colours. Once this area has been created it is also possible to create warnings for when we arrive in the area when sailing, or even to exclude this area from a route plan simulation.

We should add a current reminder area for the Alderney Race, as currents can be very strong there. We must pass through the Alderney Race in the North/South direction between HW -2 and HW + 3.We will therefore create an area called the Alderney Race which will remind us of this sailing requirement. This point of passage will be crucial for the rest of our trip. This time we will use the tool for drawing a closed curve to be able to follow the shape of the coast, without making them invisible, which would be a hindrance to navigating. In addition the opacity of the area can be reduced so as to see everything better.

The navigational plan is thus simply prepared. We just have to create and edit each point of passage that we want to include in our RoadBook. Areas can thus be created with reminders, geological phenomena, such as a venturi effect due to a point, can be highlighted, or a reversal of current accentuated by a gulf emptying, or a point with outcrops which has to be negotiated with care etc.

The navigational plan is now finished and all that remains to be done is to print the route calculated with the winds that have been given by default. What is more, it can easily be printed in sections or as the whole route, to have the useful information with you at the helm so that you can take full advantage of the voyage without having to go down every few minutes to check your trace and navigational plan on Adrena, on the laptop computer brought on board before leaving.

AdrenaPro software is a navigation software. OptimaPro is for data recording and performance analysis.

A basic desk PC is enough if it is placed in dry clean area and if it has the configuration below. You can add a specific screen designed for outside use.

Specific computers for marine environement use are also available. You can easily find them at our retailers. Here.

Configuration required :

• Supported operating systems Windows 7 or higher.
• Screen 1280X1024 minimum.
• NMEA 0183 connection via port COM or UDP
• Dedicated USB slot for the dongle
• Dedicated graphic memory : 256 Mo min
• CPU 1.5GHz multi core
• RAM 8GB minimum 16GB recommended
• Hard Disk 2GB to 4GB of free memory

Some training can be organised for one or several users. Please do not hesitate to contact us or directly the trainers you will find here.

The main difference concern the advanced functions you find in AdrenaPro, aimed for confirmed users.

Adrena provides all the navigation functions as well for coastal racing as for windward/leeward loops. You will be able to display Grib files, numeric or graphic data. The track replay function is available as well as the competitor follow up. Please note that this last function is available for free on the demo version. You can also find the alarms and the calibration function and also the screen capture, the roadbooks and the track coloration.

To use AdrenaPro, first of all you should have Adrena.

AdrenaPro is going to include the transition phases during prestart, to provide more data displayed around the cartography, to set in a more realistic way the prestart area. That is to say, it is a module designed for pure competitor around three buoys or racing coastal races.

To upgrade your software into another range – Adrena Standard or Adrena Pro – you don't have to buy an entire software again. To ask for an update, simply contact your Adrena reseller or Adrena team to get the corresponding fare. The price takes into account the version and modules that you already have. After your order, you will receive an email with a file to reprogram your software.

It is a version that cannot be connected to any instruments. You can load tracks, use the replay but you cannot use it while sailing.

The desk version has the same limitations than the OFF version with the particularity to be attached to a classic licence. It means that the updates should be all done at the same time. In the OFF version, the licence is completely independent.

OFF & Desk Versions are not available in the First range.

The tracks are recorded in a file named by default “date”_a, if you cretae a new track, the software is going to create a file by default “date”_b, ect…(but you can rename it).

Automatically, at midnight, a new file is created to stay with resonable file sizes.

File size (with no external variables (XDR, Deckman)) :

• Samples of 1s : 1.6Mo by day (144Mo in 3 months)
• Samples of 5s : 5 time less, that is to say 320Ko/day (28Mo in 3 months)

We are often asked for computing and electronic advices on Adrena. Soft on board environment explanation.

What are the PC solutions for ADRENA software

First of all, it is important your PC has the configuration required by the software :

• Supported operating systems Windows VISTA, Seven, 8 (except RT) or 10.
• Screen 1024X768 minimum.
• NMEA 0183 connection via port COM or UDP
• Dedicated USB slot for the dongle
• CD reader for software installation
• DVD reader for C-Map charts installation
• Dedicated graphic memory : 256 Mo min

OptimaPro :

• CPU 1.5GHz
• RAM 2GB
• Hard Disk 2GB of free memory

First Range :

• CPU 1.5GHz
• RAM 2GB
• Hard Disk 2 GB of free memory

Standard Range :

• CPU 2GHz
• RAM 2GB
• Hard Disk 2.5 GB of free memory

Pro Range :

• CPU 2GHz
• RAM 2GB
• Hard Disk 4GB of free memory

You can use a basic desk laptop (if it is placed in a dry clean area) up to specific computers for marine environment use (especially for offshore racing or wet boats). According to the configurations required by ADRENA’s software, the netbooks, which are increasingly common, can be used as well. You can also get a suitable solution for PC tablets with tactile screens. Netbooks and PC tablets are also useful as they can be easily moved in the cabin. (i.e paragraph below for outside solutions). 

Please do not hesitate to contact our retailers for any further information.

How Adrena software get the information from the navigation instruments and GPS ?

You need navigation instruments with NMEA interface in order to connect Adrena with your on-board instruments. Then, you have to install a RS232 connection from the exit of the navigation instruments to the PC, thanks to a RS232 output. If you don’t have a RS232 input on your computer, you can use basic or multiple converters to switch from RS232 to USB port.

Likewise, if you have several NMEA sources, you can use a multiplexer. It will bring together the NMEA sources from various navigation instruments in just one flow. This flow of information will be transmitted to your PC thanks to a RS232 output or USB port. The multiplexer can be connected to maximum 4 instruments. Please find below more information on connection diagrams : http://www.nauticom.fr/store/files/doc/Schema-connexion-multiplexeur-nmea.pdf

How to get Adrena software’s data on deckt?

It can be very useful to have an easy access to Adrena software’sdata on the deck, during starts or races for instance. Otherwise you need to have someone stay inside or regularly go down and check data during tactic moments. To avoid this uncomfortable situation, you have several solutions, depending of the money you can spend on it, and also the equipment you already have.If you have a gyrophraphic billboard NKE or a Tacktick Micronet, you can display a part of the software’s information directly on your instruments thanks to Adrena module of information feedback.If you don’t have that kind of equipment, you can choose whether waterproof on-deck screens (remote display) (wired or not), whether an office screen in a waterproof cover, hung in the way-down, which can be an intermediary and economical solution. The last solutions are the netbooks and the PC tablets. But you have to be careful about waterproofness and quality issues in order to make information open to each member of the crew. For the outside, don’t forget to pay attention to two very important issues: waterproofness and luminosity.Other solutions might be possible according to your own situation, your specific needs, your equipment and your boat. Please don’t hesitate to contact our retailers to learn more about it and find the best solution for you.

Check if your dongle is correctly plugged in a USB port of your PC and powered (red or green light on).

If your dongle is plugged in a hub (multi USB port adaptor) or in a USB extension, unplug it and try to connect it directly on a USB port of the PC. Launch Adrena again by clicking on “restart” button.

If it still doesn’t work, launch Adrena in “demo” mode by clicking on the corresponding button. Use menu “Tools > Reinstall the dongle’s drivers”.

Follow the dongle reinstallation procedure as indicated on your screen. Unplug your dongle, wait during the reinstallation and when you are asked to, plug it again. Close Adrena and restart your PC.

If the problem persists, please contact the technical support : support@adrena.fr.

With the launch of Windows 8 in 2012, more and more tablets and hybrid PC with touch screen appeared. Thanks to this operating system, it is possible to install Adrena directly on the tablet without the use of duplicated screen.

Use on Windows tablets

All ADRENA navigation software can be installed on touch tablets running under Windows 8 (except RT), seven or 10. Since Version 10, a ‘tablet’ mode has improved user-friendliness and ergonomics of the software.

Example : Samsung Ativ Smart PC

And with an iPad or Android ?

Adrena cannot be directly installed on this type of tablets, however their use is frequent in navigation as duplicated screen.

In the same way as CPU repeaters, an iPad or Android tablet can reproduce from the cockpit the screen of the PC let on the chart table on which Adrena is running. Directly linked via WiFi, the PC and the tablet communicate thanks to an application like Splashtop or VNC. Watch the video explaining how it works.