Gps/blue Charts/pc Set Up???

ok, just bought a garmin map76cs handheld gps for the
old boat ('78 E25 c/b)- now i guess i need to buy a cheap
pc laptop and some 'bluecharts' software- i'm a mac guy-
make a living in fact with 'final cut pro' cutting digital video-
soooo, i'ts been awhile since i've shopped/priced pc's-

suggestions on a **reasonable** laptop (rugged too i guess)
for onboard?? besides a network connection for downloads,
a 'blue charts' start-up disc (??)-- what else do i need here??

thnx all~

brian smith
s/v sparkle plenty
homer, alaska

I thought the Garmin "blue" charts were proprietary -- ran only in their own slot.
I just did a 5 day coastal delivery with a skipper with a Powerbook with a handheld Garmin GPS plugged in for Lat/Lon input, actual charting done with GPSNavX <http://www.gpsnavx.com/> (about $40.) and a Softchart CD pack for the area.
That's similar to what I bought, except I bought the combo of a USB GPS and the charting application together for about $140.
The Garmin users I know have stand-alone Garmin plotters of various sizes and expenses. The displays are quite nice, FWIW.

Best,
Loren in PDX

Loren Beach said:

I just did a 5 day coastal delivery with a skipper with a Powerbook with a handheld Garmin GPS plugged in for Lat/Lon input, actual charting done with GPSNavX <http://www.gpsnavx.com/> (about $40.) and a Softchart CD pack for the area.

Click to expand...

WOW !

I just checked it out and that has to be one of the best kept secrets around ! I already have the full Maptech set for California but up until now I'd been running it with Virtual Pee Cee :-(

This looks really neat !

Thanks for the lead.



-Sven

hey loren, no, blue charts are available for download via usb
cable to handheld garmin 'map-' gps units. this is the way
most folks seem to be going, at least up here in AK-

so, what set-up are people using onboard? laptops?
PDA's?? how good is the detail (and how up to date!)
on these blue charts??

thnx,

bgs

I have a GPS map76 (the older black and white version of the 76 CS). The unit was able to hold the entire BlueChart package for lower Lake Michigan which consists of I forget how many NOAA charts. The Garmin and BlueChart sites specify what the computer must have as a minimum. As for a computer, I would suggest Dell but if you prefer to have a store you can complain to something like Best buy is fine. Just take the requirements from either site down your favorite store. i would guess if it is all you intend to do with the unit than $800 should cover it. Basically what happens is you get the BlueChart CD and one "key code" to unlock a region on the disk. (The disk has multiple regions - check the BlueChart site out they explain what the regions are.) You load the CD on to the computer and then pick the nautical charts you want you from that region and load it into the GPS with the cord that should have come with the unit. Using either the PC or the GPS you can enter waypoints etc. Since you have been doing fine without the GPS I would suggest you leave the PC home. Unlike the Garmin unit, PC's don't float real well. Using the zoom in and out on the GPS you can get as much or as little detail as you want on the charts. You should paper charts on hand (either NOAA or ones you printed at home). Keep in mind that a GPS is only one tool to be used in navigating.

thanks much Joe, that is what i was looking for~

bgs

Laptops on board

How do folks find that laptops hold up in a damp environment such as a boat? Do you leave it on board all the time? I'm hesitant to put one on board simply due to the amount of moisture in the air (you should see what it does to a set of guitar strings! :eek: )
Curious what others have found.
Thanks,
Chris

I use my laptop in any number of places, but I do NOT leave it on my boat. I have it in a Halliburton case that has an O-ring to seal it. That keeps the moisture out, but I take it off the boat when I go home. I think that by leaving it on board one would be asking for trouble unless one had it in a case that had a drying agent in a box inside and you could dry the agent out from time to time to get rid of the moisture.

We live aboard our boat and have kept many electronics on board for the full 2 years of our tenure, inlcluding a Toshiba Satellite laptop PC. This is not a "ruggedized" model but simply a normal run-of-the-mill home model. Now, to be fair, we probably keep the boat heated and dryer than most vessels which would be left by themselves, but, so far, we have had zero failures or problems with ANY of the electronics aboard.

My proposed charting set-up

I personally don't like many GPS Mapping units, and I like the resolution of a real PC better for route planning and chart detail (and using a mouse to move around). To be fair, I studied and worked in computer cartography and commercial navigation software for 10+ years years so am a bit biased on this subject.

The logic goes something like this: a GPS's primary job is to calculate a position and spit it out. When you take a tool like a GPS, require it to be very small, power-useage friendly, ruggedized, "full featured"(which means a lot of stuff you don't need on a GPS), waterproof and portable(ish), and then ask it to be a digital map or chart plotter(which is by definition not small, waterproof, etc.) then you are making too many compromises for my liking. If someone told me he had a mast head Windex that could also calc water temperature, first I would say "why" and then "who cares"?

I have just bought a used HP Omnibook from EBay for like $275. Have a 12V car adapter to keep it running, and am currently going to load up the Fugawi software+charts and give it a go ($100). For well less than $500 I can have a full function(I hope) nav system that I can take home and download charts and do route planning from the warmth and comfort of my couch (and high speed internet connection).

I will give you all a report. I looked at Maptech and a number of others and the cost is amazing- especially for local coastal cruising.

As a disclaimer, I would definitely NOT use this as the only nav system, but use the Garmin 128 for position (and it is the NMEA input for the laptop and ICOM VHF) and a hand held garmin with paper charts for back up. I would also not leave it onboard for extended periods when I was not there for moisture.

Side note: 40GB HD has enough spare space to put a bunch of MP3's that will output to the stereo and it has a DVD player as well.

The next step will be new instruments that can talk NMEA so I can add them to the fray but I may have to save a few more boat-bucks before that happens.

Wish me luck!

Cheers,

G-

I think you will find that the Fugawi ENC (vector) software, unlike the Maptech (raster) charts, requires a lot of computer horsepower. It seems very slow on a 1 GHz desktop. And, of course, the laptop can't be at the helm where it is needed.

Geoff:

I for one would like to hear back from you on this project. Sounds like a cost effective solution for costal navigation. In the past I hooked up my GPS to my laptop while running MS Streets & Trips, and I was amazed at how well it worked. Your idea sounds very similar. Good luck.

I have been experimenting with the new Fugawi 4 on a new Dell Dimension 8400 with a 3 GHz processor and 512 mb of RAM and it is still slow when zooming and panning (which leaves ghost images). The Garmin 3005c ($1,000 including one regional chart) is much smoother and the new Bluechart Version 7 charts have more detail than the ENC charts (although less than raster charts). So my point is that if you are going to buy the equipment, you would do well to compare the new dedicated marine units on the market.

BTW, if you want to see something "way cool" (and have a relatively new computer) download the free Google Earth. You can spin the globe and zoom down to any part of the earth, even "fly" through the Grand Canyon.

Sorry, Loren, no MAC version (yet).

Mac's and "ENC"

http://www.gpsnavx.com/MacENC/
Above is the URL and below is a partial quote from a message that came to me on July15, due to my being a registered user of GPSNavX. There was a huge national list of charts attached to the message, also.
____________________________
"From the developer of GPSNavX comes MacENC.
MacENC is a marine charting and navigation application for Macintosh OS X that allows the use of the readily available *free* NOAA ENC vector marine charts...
http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/enc/index.htm
MacENC has all the great features and ease of use found in GPSNavX, but works seamlessly with the NOAA ENC vector charts. Scroll from one chart to the next. Click on any NavAid or other chart object and get full details in the object browser.

MacENC will be available for purchase on August 1, 2005 (via Kagi). The MacENC CD will include all the NOAA ENC vector charts in addition to MacENC. The price for the MacENC CD will be US$99.95 (including first class postal shipping and one year of updates).

Like GPSNavX, MacENC will continually be improved and updates will be sent out frequently via an email.
Visit www.macenc.com for more details"
_________________________________
Things are looking up for Mac users.

Loren in PDX

Slow Laptops

Geoff J-

Thanks for the heads-up, I will compare the speed on the laptop. I used the Maptech demo version with some big charts on that machine and it was fine, I was hoping the Fugawi version would be similar.

I think the refresh speed and ghosting may also have a lot to do with the video power of the laptop more than the processor speed. Having said that, Laptops are usually crap with video power compared to a desk-top, so it may be worse! I will let you know how it goes- I should hook it all up in the next two weeks if I can just NOT sail because the weather has been so nice!

Cheers,

G-