Laptop/Chartplotter

[sailortjk1]

Originally Posted by thekeip

How's this sound....I have a recent model HP 15'' laptop. On it I run Fugawi ENC with the chart of San Francisco Bay. Also, I have my wife's old Garmin "GPS Map 12" plugged in too...need MY positional data...; pluged in the SR 162 AIS receiver ( plug the Garmin into the SR and it will take care of the baud and data merge for you), and...Presto!
I see just what Traffic Control sees, real time. Actual cost was < $800.
Howard Keiper
Berkeley

Thanks for the info Keip.
I am going to look into this. We have a dedicated Chartplotter at the helm and when long distance cruising I back that up at the Nav Station with our PC. I run Maptech Navigator Lite and use a USB GPS for our position.

I will be looking into the AIS receiver and running that in conjunction with the PC software and USB. Sounds cheaper than investing in a new Plotter/Display as my current plotter will not support an AIS receiver and we already have the PC.

Thanks again.

[Harvester]

Originally Posted by garymcg

I have a 15" inch (less power draw then a 17") on a swing out arm that swings into the companionway.

Smart system!
Do you have a picture you could post?

[gmalan]

have a chartplotter on the helm on S/V Sunny Spells as well as the ability to run a laptop with Software-on-Board, using the C-Map cartridges from my Navman Chartplotter.

1. The laptop draws around 4 to 5 amps. The chartplotter, autopilot, AIS, instruments - in fact everything else - draws less than 2 amps when it's all running. This single one fact rules out the laptop for primary navigation.

2. A chartplotter really comes into its own when navigating around obstructions, making landfall at night, or when avoiding traffic using radar or AIS. The rest of the time you can plot a grid reference on a map. So really, you need it at the helm. A laptop can't do that unless you want to risk it getting wet.

3. You can now buy a small colour chartplotter with AIS for well under $1000 (Navman).

4. Chartplotters, in my experience, are very reliable. How often does your "Windoze" laptop freeze, crash, restart... I wouldn't bet my life on a laptop!

I always carry a laptop, but it primarily gets used for planning, for writing my blog and keeping in touch via e-mail. It's also good for troubleshooting NMEA issues...

[Banshi]

I like the idea of a laptop and they make some that can survive the wet environment of a boat. At work I have on occasion had to work out of my truck and found I needed a 400 W inverter to run it while the battery was charging. The advantages of using a laptop far outweigh one of those dedicated devices. Not only do you get a much larger screen but you can surf the web, check e-mail, play games, watch movies and keep up with you finances. On a boat room is at a premium and any time you can make a device do more than one task you are saving space and clutter. In my case I will be using one to navigate across land as well and all the charplotters I've seen that do both are obscenely priced.....come to think of it they are all obscenely priced.

[wbrakman]

Hello,
I use a Panasonic toughbook laptop. It is splashproof, and although it won't charge its battery when feed 12volts(it wants 16v), it runs just fine on the boats 12v battery system. I liked the idea of using an automotive jump starter as a power source, especially as I already have one...

Hank

[wbrakman]

I forgot to mention that I use the toughbook as a below deck backup chartplotter to my helm mounted garmin 440

Hank

[Hartley18]

Interesting discussion.. I've found using a Windows Mobile-enabled phone (HTC Touch) (with Wi-fi card) and a Bluetooth-enabled GPS to be all I need on a small boat.

True, the email interface is a bit clumsy (although a folding Bluetooth keyboard helps), but signing up with Telstra NextG gives me current boating weather forecasts complete with the latest satellite images, isobars and even rain radar - for free!! - within Australia at least - and all on the mobile phone!

Laptops are too big and clumsy, too much of a drain on the batteries and definitely on the way out... It's amazing what you can get with technology these days.

Cameron

[jimmytc]

Anybody try the new IPhone yet ?

[Hartley18]

Originally Posted by jimmytc

Anybody try the new IPhone yet ?

Not me.. though I'd love to.

I'd be worried about the lack of software for boating applications.

[sailingdog]

In one of the other threads someone is trying a new charting app for the iPhone 3G. It has a lot of software out for it and more coming every day.

Originally Posted by Hartley18

Not me.. though I'd love to.

I'd be worried about the lack of software for boating applications.