Laptop Nav Question

[Soft Air]

I also got that

Plus the sight reduction tables...

[Hud3]

JC,

I downloaded the free trial version of Rose Point's Coastal Explorer and used it on a passage from St. Thomas to the Tampa Bay area last November. It works great! The free version seems to be fully functional, except that it shuts down the realtime boat tracking feature via GPS input after 15 minutes. If you're not hooking up a GPS right now, it is probably all you need, as long as you can get the free charts for download.

[MarkJ]

If you are just testing on a v low budget, you don't need to have a GPS connected to your laptop. If you have cahrting software you can just enter your position into a waypoint and then take a baring using the EBL function of a distance line will have baring.

You also might not need the correct charts. The world chart base of the software may be enough.

Have fun

Mark

[Soft Air]

Hud as always thanks for your great input. Please clarify this to me:

You downloaded the trial version and you did use it on tha passage without any connection to your GPS right? So it actually assisted you navigating without the real time feature OK?

[Soft Air]

Thanks Mark, and yes is a low budget test I have on this PC GPS Buy GlobalSat BR-355 GPS Receiver (Waterproof) - GPS Central U.S.A. but unfortunately I notice it was left in south america and I am not sure if the BVI is a good place to purchase another one on line and have it shipped here so I think I will need to do the test without the GPS feature, I have 4 hanheld GPS's that came with the boat but none of them with a USB connection.

[Hud3]

JC,

I have a Raymarine WAAS GPS receiver for my Raymarine chartplotter, but I also have a serial to USB link from that same receiver to my laptop. I was able to use the realtime boat position plotting on the chart display. It cuts off after 15 minutes in the free version, but the chart is still still displayed. Re-starting the app starts the 15 minute clock again.

[Soft Air]

Thanks for clarifying this to me Hud.

[salty_dog_68]

I would like to add another "thumbs-up" vote for maptech navigator. I have been using it for over five years on my laptop(s). At first I used a handheld gps with usb interface(worked well) but eventually bought a USB/GPS antannae. The "little red boat" on the chart has saved our butts a few times (when I just can't get to that protected anchorage before dark). With any chart based nav software, it is not recommended that you rely solely on the plotter to navigate for you but in the few instances i have need it i came out smellin' like roses. Highly recommended.

[sinbad7]

I can thoroughly recommend Fugawi's Marine ENC software. It can read ALL chart formats and also calibrate scanned bitmap charts. It has simulation feature which enables you to run and re-run your planned cruise at different speeds so many times it really sticks. Get it from Fugawi GPS Navigation and Mapping Software Homepage

[Soft Air]

Thanks Salty dog and Simbad, looking.

[Opie91]

I have been using a version of this program for the last 8 years. Works great for me. I was using the version called Captin up until last year.

Last week I found a Ofshore Navigator 2005 at West Marine for $9.00. I was able to download a update that brought it up to the latest version. All the latest charts from NOAA are compatible.

One thing is it does not like Vista very much. I run it on XP and it works fine.

The only real problem is the tides & current portion of the program is not up to date. If you want that you can order a CD from Maptech for $25/yr.

[Soft Air]

Thanks Opie91 I will surely check this out

[Curmudgeon]

I purchased Rose Point several months ago and it's very nice. Definitely worth the price. It works flawlessly on Vista with my Garmin 76Cx handheld via a USB port, and you can also use an inexpensive USB GPS antenna to get lat and long. For other chartplotters you may need a a USB to serial converter or a multiplexer. With a multiplexer, Rose Point should be able to drive an autopilot directly, although I have not tried this yet in the real world.

[redcobra]

Just bought Maptech's Chart Offshore Navigator Pro for $72 as a closeout at Boater's World. They are down to the last 5 days.

[NDSinBKK]

The boat I just bought came with the MaxSea software. I am new to electronic navigation (learned on paper charts), but I am astonished at how unfriendly and unintuitive the user interface is for MaxSea. Taking a quick look at the Rose Point software recommended, it looks much more contemporary and easier to use. Is this correct, or a wrong conclusion based on unfamiliarity with the genre?