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Is there a basic,
inexpensive charting program to run on my laptop as a “bigger picture”
backup to my plotter? B.W., via PMY Electronics
forum
There are numerous good choices but also wide variations in pricing, user
interfaces, types of electronic charts and GPSs supported, and so forth.
Some research and experimentation—fairly easy, as many PC charting
developers offer free downloadable demo versions—will likely pay
off in a program best suited to you, plus a better overall understanding
of what’s possible. Following are some notes on the latest in entry-level
products along with links to help get your research started.
First there’s
the significant news that Maptech (www.maptech.com)
is now including a free charting CD with each of its printed ChartKits
and Waterproof Chartbooks. You get exact digital reproductions of the
pages, including the familiar ChartKit suggested course lines and waypoints.
This should really help novices make the visual transition from paper
to PC screen, though the pages are ultimately not as handy or clear as
full-size digital charts. You also get Offshore Navigator Lite software,
which is quite capable, though a bit complex and lacking the useful big-button,
big-number “underway” mode of the full version (which is now
included with a $250 Digital ChartKit region).
Last year Nobeltec
(www.nobeltec.com) introduced the
$10 eChart Planner, which includes large-area U.S. charts and a year of
tide and weather predictions. It’s a good introduction to the company’s
interface and vector chart style, and you can purchase additional mini
regions of detailed charts and an add-on module that makes eChart into
a full-fledged plotting system. Fugawi (www.fugawi.com)
is a longtime developer of basic navigation software, and its latest $198
Marine ENC version supports NOAA’s free vector charts, which are
now about two-thirds of the way toward complete U.S. coverage. Coastal
Explorer (www.rosepointnav.com),
also supports ENCs, and a just-announced $400 version will come with all
U.S. charts in its own reportedly high-quality vector format.
My Maine neighbors
who produce the well-regarded Cap’n Voyager (www.thecapn.com)
also offer a First Mate version for $199 with a mini region of SoftChart
raster charts, and up the way in Newfoundland, newcomer NavSim
(www.navsim.com) has just introduced
Boat Cruiser, a $399 plotting program with unique simulation abilities.
If you happen to use an Apple Mac, be aware of $50 GPSNavX (www.gpsnavx.com).
You might also want to review the higher-end offerings from Nobeltec,
Raymarine (www.raymarine.com),
and MaxSea (www.maxsea.com),
especially as each is acquiring more powerful hardware relationships (as
mentioned in the column). And finally, note that the PC planning programs
from Garmin (www.garmin.com)
and C-Map (www.c-map.com)
will plot a GPS position on the charts you may being using in your plotter,
though not at the same time.
Got a marine electronics
question? Write to Electronics Q&A, Power & Motoryacht, 260
Madison Ave., 8th Fl., New York, NY 10016. Fax: (917) 256-2282. e-mail:
PMYElectronics@primedia.com.
For fastest response, visit the Electronics forum at www.powerandmotoryacht.com.
No phone calls, please.
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