Computer Navigation Software

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Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
It comes free with Fugawi. OziExplorerCE costs an extra $30, but the main program is only $85 (notice how the reasonably priced software is made outside the US - in Canada and Australia)?

The downside of a PDA is shorter battery life although they do come with removable LiOn batteries and they are not waterproof. However, a PDA Otterbox will make it submersible.
 
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Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
Now there is another reason to use a PDA . . . you can turn it into a repeater for your instruments (just in case you need to run the boat while using the head).

http://www.pdaonboard.com/


BTW, I have just returned from a full field trial of my Axim x50v and Bluetooth GPS with OziExplorerCE off the coast of Turkey using a $3 chart I bought off the internet. It met all of my expectations; I can now use any raster chart and am not tied into proprietary charts. The GPS receiver even worked below deck at the nav station.
 
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Jeff Asbury

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Is there Computer Navigation Software available for Macintosh?

Is there Computer Navigation Software available for Macintosh? Everything seems to be PC. :( :boohoo:
 
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Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
The OziExplorer site has a FAQ on how to run its software on a MAC using Virtual PC

http://www.oziexplorer.com/


Although the site says it will not run on a Linux box, Win4Lin has now come out with a product that will run any Windows program (through an emulator).
 
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Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
Looks the same as Fugawi ENC (plus tides & weather (for a year)) except at twice the price. I guess that's the future now that these companies can no longer charge for US government charts (at least vector charts) . . . moving map software with some add-ons.

For tide information I use Tide Tool - can't beat the price. However, it works only with the Palm OS:

http://www.toolworks.com/bilofsky/tidetool/
 
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Loren Beach

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
http://www.gpsnavx.com/

I bought this app and plan to use it this summer. Note that this page links to others with Mac-compatable charting and an instrument repeater app for your Mac.

Loren in PDX
(14" G4 iBook)
:D
 
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Jeff Asbury

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Thanks Loren, I was hoping you would respond because I always notice your "Powered by Mac" Icon. Yeah, I found this software on my own yesterday. I have been fooling around with the demo with little success. Let me know how you like it. I am a Graphic Designer by trade and my whole world is centered around the Mac because it is the industry standard for graphics and art. Unfortunately not marine software. Do you know if this software is compatible with my Magellan Marine hand held GPS? Thanks.

Power Mac G5
CPU Type: PowerPC 970 (2.2)
Number Of CPUs: 2
CPU Speed: 2 GHz
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 1 GHz

This one's not going on the boat. I need a i-Book!
 
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Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
I don't know anything about Mac's (although when I replace my home computer it might just be one), but as for interfacing with GPS, I think you will find the new USB and Bluetooth GPS' to be a major advance over the earlier generation of handhelds in terms of sensitivity. You can pick one up for under $100.

Replying to Chris' message: Yes I was referring to Fugawi ENC. I had the moving map version (which reads raster charts like Maptech) and just upgraded (for $99) to the ENC version, which is the same software, the ENC functionality being activated by a code Fugawi sends. I downloaded all of the (free) vector charts from NOAA (277 mb) (http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/ChartServerV2.0/jsp/index.jsp) and have started to play around with it. I know that Fugawi will convert the vector charts to its proprietary raster .fx4 format for use on a PDA, but I don't like the Fugawi PDA software nearly as much as OziExplorerCE (zoom functions much less robust) so I would like to find a way to convert the NOAA vector charts to a TIFF file which OziExplorer can then convert.
 
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Jeff Asbury

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Yup, My hand held Magellan Meridian Marine is compatible. It has the NMEA connections needed. That saves me a bit of money not having to buy a receiver. :)
 
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Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
I am sure it is compatible, but my point was that the new generation of GPS is much better. My old Garmin GPSMAP 175 takes 5 min to acquire a fix from a cold start whereas my Bluetooth GPS (tracking 16 satellites vs. 12) does so in under 30 seconds and will work below deck at the nav station whereas the Garmin has to be in the cockpit. Furthermore, with the Bluetooth receiver at the nav station you can go anywhere on the boat with a PDA and get a fix and if you also have a laptop on board, they can both use the same GPS receiver. Moreover, my total investment in the Dell Axim x50v, OziExplorer software and BT receiver was $700, less than I paid for the GPSMAP 175 with Garmin chart chip ($275 alone). Moreover, the Axim has many other uses as you would expect from a WiFi enabled PDA so it is a much better investment (I think) than a dedicated handheld GPS that sits in a drawer 95% percent of the time. Of course, I keep my trusty Garmin around since it has better nav software and it's nearly indestructible (nitrogen filled).
 
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tdtrimmer

Member II
Rose Point Software

I agree that Rose Point has potentially the best software out there with their Coastal Explorer product and the price is right. It is tightly integrated with Windows and has the best features of all the older products out there combined. The developers are former Microsoft mariners and seem to have done an excellent job of integrating the product with the Windows platform. Check it out at http://rosepointnav.com/default.htm
Tom S/V Mistress
E38
 
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chrism

Inactive Member
tdtrimmer said:
I agree that Rose Point has potentially the best software out there with their Coastal Explorer product and the price is
Click to expand...


I would definatley reccomend everyone who's deciding on software to check out the demo before you make a final purchase.
 
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chrism

Inactive Member
Well...

I went on a spending spree last night.

Got a serial to usb converter for the Garmin to work with RosePoint and Nobeltec. Got a cell phone connection cable to go online via Cell from the boat.

I'm going to use both Nobeltec and Coastal Navigator while away. I'm off for three weeks on Monday. I'm going to use the trial of Coastal Navigator, it will work for 15 minutes before shutting down GPS support. If I like it enough, it gets purchased when I get home.

Coastal Navigator is looking more and more promising everytime I go to their site, though. They are including tides and currents with their next release of the software. They are also including weather overlay, which as far as I can guess would mean they will put weather radar images right over your charts. They include a year of the weather, too. They also have support for AIS.

If you haven't heard of AIS, it's a great system that's just getting going in the recreational market. It's a system that all passenger vessels and many large ships are required to use, that broadcasts your vessel name, location, heading, and speed via a special VHF antenna. The information is then interpreted with a stand alone screen (about $300) or can go into your computer and be decoded by Coastal Navigator or a special AIS program. The screen then shows the information being broadcasted. Coastal Navigator will put them right on the chart.

I've heard talk that RACON antennas are going to be changed to AIS. Then when you got a fix on an AIS tower, it would give you your bearing immediatley. I have no experience with RACON, so if it already did that, I apologize.

Well, I'm a bit excited about the software itself, and getting to use it in Maine! Could you tell?
 
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Geoff Johnson

Fellow Ericson Owner
After giving it a lot of thought I decided that my laptop at the nav station wouldn't be all that useful so I broke down and bought the new Garmin 3005c which is cheap enough for my budget ($850 without charts). I will be placing it at the helm. The unit can be networked and I plan to add the depthsounder next winter. Some day I may also add the radar (definitely if I ever get to Maine). Hopefully Garmin will also add support for something like the Airmar Weatherstation so that all instrument functions (e.g. true and apparent wind direction/speed) will be supported in addition to charting and radar (and XM weather).
 
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Mikebat

Mikebat

Member III
Wow, old thread you resurrected there, Loren. :)

Mac heads check out MacENC at http://www.macenc.com/

Has all the bells and whistles (can overlay AIS, GRIB weather, radar, etc.) plus can also overlay ENC chart data on top of the BSB raster charts, so you can have a paper-looking raster chart with all the zoom-in detail of a ENC. Is also supports encrypted S-57 ENC charts sold by the British Admiralty ARCS, which covers some areas outside the US that cruisers visit, even some parts of the Caribbean (see http://www.ukho.gov.uk/amd/electronicProductsServices.asp#enc), and also Maptech BSB raster charts, despite the claim by the vendor that they are Windows-only.

Mac mini computers are popular with car customizers, so there are readily available power supplies for them that work with a 12V negative ground system, just like the boat has. A Mac mini + LCD display costs about half of what a equivalent dedicated chartplotter would cost, and it also plays DVD movies and iTunes music, surfs the web if I can access a wireless access point, etc. etc. Get your Raymarine to do that, lol. :)

Like Jeff, I use a handheld GPS as the data source; Magellan Merdian is what I have now (cheap on eBay, I have a couple spares) but I also got one of the new Magellan Tritons and they are quite a bit faster at acquiring a fix. Both of them work just as well above or below deck. The new Tritons have the same data port pinout as the Meridians, so it's just a matter of replacing the data cable (the actual connector is smaller on the Triton) and I've upgraded.

(Did I mention the $159.99 purchase price comes with a lifetime of free web upgrades? It does.)
 
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Loren Beach

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I would note that this is thread is in the top 11, by Views or Replies in this particular forum. So this is one of the ones I notice visitors reading on a regular basis ("who's online").
More to the point, computer technology evolves steadily, and the thread evolves as well...
:nerd:

LB
 
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