GPS Software

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

I thought I'd highlight a PC / Pocket PC charting app I have now switched to. It's called Ozi Explorer. It can use about any format raster chart out there. Handles all my Puget Sound Softcharts and my Canadian NDI BSB charts just great. It's cost is $85 for the PC app and $30 for the PPC app.

Feature Highlights.

Supports direct upload and download of Waypoints, Routes, and marks to almost every GPS. This was a key feature I was looking for as at this time none of the various PPC apps support autopilot output. My current app, Memory Map says they will have it in their next release, but I'll wait and see. This led to the need to transfer my waypoints and routes into the GPS itself so my new autopilot can follow the routes. Most of the apps have built in Garmin support, some add Magellen, but very few support direct transfer to others, such as my old Lowrance GPS/Sounder. Ozi Explorer handles the process seamlessly with a simple menu selection. Once you tell it your GPS brand and model it even adjusts it waypoint and route tables to the memory size of your GPS and adds a special menu to handle all the tranfer options available for the specific GPS. Even the PPC app can download the GPS waypoints and routes. The PC app does also have autopilot support so it can direct the pilot rather than the GPS. I just don't plan to have the PC on all the time and want to be able to run with just the PPC and the GPS.

It has a real nice chart auto select feature. Once you start the NEMA communications it takes the location and finds the most detailed chart available for that area. As you cross boundaries it loads the next chart. It also looks for overlapping charts at a higher detail as often as you tell it to. So as you approach a harbor it will automatically switch to the high res harbor chart. I do however miss the overlaid chart outlines in planning mode of memory map, but it is worth it for the hands off nature of the application when in GPS tracking mode.

Chart enhancement. You feed the charts through a batch process to put them in a special format for the PPC to save memory. This process pre-optimizes the file for specific zoom resolutions. It appears to be a anti-aliasing type of process. The net result is the charts in both the PC and the PPC become extremely clear when zoomed out. You can clearly read the small text and depth info even when zoomed out to 25%. In the unprocessed chart at 25% this text is just a bunch of meaningless dots. The increased readability is quite amazing.

All in all it's a very nice application at a resonable price. I looked at 11 different applications trying to find one that would do all the key things on my list; PPC support; GPS up/download to my vintage Lowrance LMS-160; Full raster charts support; and autopilot support. Ozi was the only one that could do it all and it is the lowest priced as well.

[jmdefino]

I use OZI Explorer as well. In fact, i just finished scanning and calibrating the Keys / Dry Tortugas charts for the Conch Cruisers Trip. Great Program with many features.
With used laptops selling for almost nothing, a laptop makes for an inexpensive chartplotter. And, the charts are much less expensive.

[Jack O'Brien]

Duane & John, et. al.:

Can Ozi download and use NOAA ENC free charts in IHO S-57 format?

Fugawi Marine ENC http://www.fugawi.com/docs/navframe.html
and Ozi Explorer both have more features than I can understand.

I have a Garmin GPSMAP 180 (discontinued b/w bulkhead mounted), an entry-level Garmin etrex handheld GPS and a new laptop. I hope to get an inexpensive remote flat screen monitor for the helm to allow the new laptop to stay dry in the cabin.

Disregarding price, which of the two programs do you think would be better for me and why?

TIA, Jack

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

Ozi is raster charts only, no vector at all.

Fugawi ENC is unique in it's support of both the raster charts and the free ENC vector charts. It is more money at $198 but still quite resonable for what you get and it does include at no cost the Palm and PPC software. You might call Captain Jacks And see if they sell the Fugawi ENC product yet. They sell the standard Fugawi as well as many other products. The advantage of buying there is they discount the software and in most cases include free raster charts as well. With the standard Fugawi they include a softchart mini region. With some of the other products they include free full regions and with the high end products they include free full region charts and free photonavigator charts.

I didn't go with Fugawi because it could not support my older Lowrance GPS for direct upload/download of Waypoints and Routes. Ozi does this very well. If your GPS is a Garmin you can use the proprietary Garmin two way communications protocol for upload/download. Every program I have looked at had the Garmin support including Ozi and Fugawi.

Since you have a Garmin GPS I would suggest choosing Fugawi ENC. It is resonably priced, supports your GPS just fine, handles both vector and raster charts. It's hard to beat this combination. Do check that there are ENC charts for your boating area. NOAA hasn't published complete US coastal coverage yet.

Not to confuse matters, but there is one other program I was very impressed with. It is called Map Cruiser from www.navsim.com . They have a good demo you can download. It's a new from scratch app written in the .NET world so it runs great on windows. It's very impressive feature is chart quilting. This is a high end function only found on the expensive ($500+) Nobeltec and Capt products. It builds a composite image of all your charts overlaying collarless images of the large scale charts over the small scale ones. As you zoom in you get progressivly more detailed chart information without any need to select the individual charts. It's pretty amazing how it can create the jigsaw puzzel so accurately.

They have a May Specials going. The PC app for $97.75us, the PPC app for $68.00us or both for $165.75us (They are a Canadian company).

They have stated that they will add the ENC chart support in the near future. Unfortunately they only did the Garmin and Magellen GPS upload and haven't implemented their autopilot support yet so I passed.

They also plan to add graphic tide and current overlay ala Nobeltec as well as weather overlay just like Nobeltec. These are really cool features.

[Rich Smith]

One of the things I really like about the Navsim software is that it gives you the ability to draw shapes of any size over your charts (They call them zones). If your boat position wanders into one of these zones it sets off an audible alarm.

I find this useful when planning a route. I draw zones around any potentially dangerous obstacles (like reefs, sand bars etc) before we leave on the trip. This way I can sit back and enjoy while my wife sails without feeling a need to constantly check on our course...

I actually use a product called Chartview Tracker that has the same feature but if I was to purchase a product today I would go with Navsim

[Frank C]

Duane,
I have the same LMS160, and I really like it in spite of its age and shortcomings. I recall that you're much less enthused about it, so I'm curious why you'd box your choice based on that aging component? You could surely get any of numerous alternatives - a bare-bonz garmin, or a PPC in compact flash or Bluetooth versions?

Not critical, just curious as to why the LMS is pivotal?

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

I like everything about the LMS160 EXCEPT it's chartplotter function. It requires the purchase of old generation, little detail, Navionics eCharts. These come on a floppy or by email. To cover Puget Sound it takes 4 files, each $99 ($396), and you can only have 2 loaded at a time in the GPS. It doesn't look like you can even get them for Canada.

I got the complete set of much higher detail small and large scale raster charts for my PC/PPC a few years ago for only $80. Connecting this to the LMS160 has served well. This year I needed to add all the Canadian Inside Passage region P1 charts. They are not as cheap as the US charts, but I found the full set for $199. These in the PPC connected to the GPS also worked great.

Then it got complicated. I added a Ray Marine Sport Pilot+. The PC/PPC software I was using, Memory Map, did not support sending route following NEMA output to the autopilot. The LMS160 does send all the autopilot information just fine. So the need was to get the waypoints and routes into the LMS160 simply. My first pass was the software that came with the GPS. I was able to save the route/waypoint info in a text file, edit it with notepad to the proper format. Import it into the GDM program, and then send it to the GPS. Not exactly a simple or quick process.

The Ozi software was the simplest and cheapest solution. It lets me use all the charts I had, use the PPC at the pedestal for a nice bright color moving map, do all the planning on the PC and at a push of a button send the waypoint/routes to the LMS160 for the autopilot.

I am still a fan of using the handheld as the under way display at the pedestal. I don't want to have the laptop running below all the time for active navigation and I don't want to go below just to look at a chart. I don't think keeping the laptop in the cockpit is practical because of it's size and lack of water protection and a waterproof remote display is still big bucks. Using it for planning is great and using the PPC while under way brings the great color chart detail to the pedestal where it's needed. It's easy to use and protect the PPC at the pedestal. I have a custom NEMA/Serial harness that lets both the laptop below and the PPC at the pedestal be connected to the GPS all the time so either can be used or both.

Why didn't I junk the Lowrance and start fresh? Money and time. The LMS160 is more than just a GPS/Chartplotter, it is also my Sounder. The lowest cost GPS/Sounder from Garmin is $500. It has a low res BW screen, and would require the purchase of a $299 bluechart super region to get Puget Sound and the Inside Passage. Now I'm out $800, have to rip out and reinstall transducers, GPS antenna, and the pedestal unit. And of course after years of using a nice bright color display I wouldn't be happy with my new BW unit, so I'd have talked myself into a color unit which would push the replacement price to $1000 just to get what I have now with Ozi for a cost of $115.

Plus, I guess you could say I'm a PC/PPC proponent. I think that these open platforms are the future of navigation. All the proprietary chart systems like the BlueCharts, or the CMap and Navionics still lag behind the raster charts in detail, particularly the shore side details. With the ENC charts you can now get NOAA charts FREE for the PC apps. The propietary units also don't support all the neat new features being added to the PC apps. Graphic tide and current displays, weather overlays, navigation on photo charts, 3d Bathy charts, these are all reality today in the PC apps. You can switch apps at will and still use the same chart data as you find a new feature you have to have. The next step up for me would be the Nobeltec software. It even lets you add a USB radar and do full radar chart overlay. Why drop a grand on a closed system with no future.

I have relegated the LMS160 to what it does well, being a GPS and Sounder. It's a poor chartplotter so I let the PC/PPC apps handle this.

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

I am basically computer (and other) illiterate.
What features/brands/models/etc. should I look for in a used laptop computer that I can use for a chartplotter.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

Most of the software choices have fairly minimal requirements. Some of the high end apps such as Nobeltec require faster late model machines.

I would look for a Pentium 3, at least 800+Mhz. Of course the later model Pentium/Celeron 4 that are 1 or even 2 Ghz are even better. The late model AMD processors are great as well. Mine is a AMD Mobile XP 2400 which runs at 1.8Ghz.

The screen size is really a matter of preference. Mine has the new 15" wide screen format which give you more screen real estate to work with and is great for movies.

I would look for at least a 10Gb hard drive, more is better. Mine is 40Gb.

You want at least Windows 98, skip windows ME, Windows XP would be even better.

You can probably get by with 64Mb memory but 128Mb or higher is always a plus. Windows sucks up a lot just for the OS. I have 512Mb in mine. Memory is cheap, get more.

You will need a CD drive to load the software. I'd look for a CD/DVD drive so you can also watch movies on the computer. Mine has a CD-RW/DVD that can read and burn CD's as well as play movies.

Extras would be a wireless network card. Every marina I have been to lately has had wireless internet access. It's the future. Check email and this forum right from your slip. Mine has a high speed 54G card built in. You can always add a wireless card. You can get a 11B card for $25.

You will need a serial port. This was standard for years on laptops, but many of the late model ones are now "legacy free' which means they only have USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports. Mine is this way. I use a simple $15 USB to serial adapter as the GPS requires a RS232 serial connection.

I would also make sure I has a couple USB ports at the minimum. The highend products use USB dongle security devices to eliminate software piracy. Also the higher end add ons are now all USB based. Nobeltec's radar domes plug into the USB bus.

If you don't already have a GPS there are a number of marine GPS options that are just the little mushroom antenna with a cable that plugs directly into the USB port. You would be 100% PC based in this case.

You can get some great new machines in the $800 to $1000 range. Mine was $1099. Acceptable used ones should be available for $400 - $600.

[Jack O'Brien]

You guys are great - thanks.

I ordered the Fugawi Marine ENC package today. Captain Jack's has it for full price so I bought direct from Fugawi with a discount for my membership in International Water Safety Foundation. It comes with CDs of all USA streets, Region 1 Planning Chart, all ENC charts, manual, etc.

Bill: Check out refurbished PCs at places like Dell Outlet
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/default ... l=en&s=gen
Also see www.bizrate.com

I've serched for new, used and refurbished and the cheapest flat monitor I have found for a remote at the helm is a new Scanport GL-610AB 14" for $200 at Tigerdirect.com in Miami.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... 2&NoMapp=0

This is a TFT active matrix LCD but I have two concerns:
1) Contrast is 250:1 (adjustable)
2) Brightness is 150cd/m sq. (both auto and manual adjustable)
Will this be sufficiently visible in sunlight?

It looks like it can be powered directly by 12 vdc at 35W. Has a 3-yr warrantee (in case it gets wet.)

I suspect I may also need a remote mouse, wireless maybe, if I want to fiddle with the display on the helm monitor without going below. Any suggestions?

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

I doubt you will find that the monitor is acceptable in full sun. That's one of the advantages that the handhelds have. They use reflective TFT screens. Their interior lights come from in front of the panel on the sides and are reflected off the mirror behind the panel. In direct sun the just glow even brighter. I find I can turn off the built in light in full sun and save power. The backlit TFT screens like those used in laptops and the desktop panels fade quickly in direct sun. The interior light can't match the brightness of the sun so the display fades away.

Check out these, they are mega expensive, but by reading the information you may change you mind about using a desktop display.

I can't see a desktop monitor lasting long in the cockpit. They have to have a lot of vents for cooling so their moisture resistance will be very poor. It won't take much salt spray to kill it.

As for a mouse I highly recommend this one. I use it on my laptop full time. It's intended for presentations so it has a 30' range. Normal desktop wireless mice only have a 6' range at best with fresh batteries. It's both a optical mouse so you can use it on any surface. And it is a gyro mouse, you can pick it up, hold in a button and wave it in the air and the mouse on the screen moves. You just flex your wrist back an forth.

I also have the compact keyboard which can use the same wireless receiver. If you do go with the remote display having both the mouse and keyboard in the cockpit would work well.

[Jack O'Brien]

AAAhh, Soooo! Reflective, eh? Cooling vents for backlights. You just rained on my monitor. OK, I'll see you and raise.

The LCD display on my laptop must be backlit but I see no vents or holes in it or see any heat waves coming off it. Tomorrow I'll check it for heat and also take it out in the sun to see what I can see. Or not. But assuming for the moment that it is cool enough without vents, it could be made relatively water resistant with a little sealant here and there, no?

And I guess the various electronics that make the display work must be in the laptop's base with some kind of wires connecting to the display. There must be cheap laptops out there that have been damaged by too many Starbucks laites in the keys whose displays are still ok. Could not the display be separated from the base with a longer connection cable so the base could be chucked inside the pedestal and only the display exposed?

This wouldn't solve the visibility in sunlight problem but maybe it would be good enough much of the time or I could hold my straw hat over it. The objective here is a real time, big, remote, color display of the program running without spending $2,500 for a Mil Spec Tecktronics.

And the gyroscopic mouse is awesome.

[kmclemore]

Adding to the subject, I'd avoid the mouse altogether. Get yourself a touch-screen TFT, and they do make them even in marine versions. Do a search on Google for "TFT marine touch screen LCD" and you'll find a few. They ain't cheap but how are you gonna have a mouse in the cockpit? The only way to go is a radio-mouse like the GyroMouse or something, but I use one of those for demonstrations and although it does work it's not nearly as easy to use as a simple touch-screen monitor.

For example, here are some firms offering suitable screens:

Jacob Hatteland
Kent Modular Electronics Limited, Ltd.
Advantech
KEP Marine
Vantex(or here, too)
ACME Portable Machines
TouchWindow
Tactronics
Dicoll, Ltd.
IBM, Inc.


And here's an article from SailNet that may be helpful.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

Most laptops have a light cable that connects the screen to the motherboard. From what I have seen there look to be 6 to 10 conductors. However many there are, physically extending the cable shouldn't be to tough, but the question is how far can you go and still get a strong enough signal. The normal VGA plug and be extended up to 25' with no problem. I don't know if the the signal to the built in monitor is the equal of the rear port? You can't just use the rear port as it doesn't include power leads for the display.

Inside the pedestal might work for the CPU as long as you can work out a way to get in easily to load CD's, turn off and on, reboot, etc. Probably another close place you could mount the laptop would be just inside the companionway hatch on the port side. You could mount a tray for it there up under the seat in the aft berth. From there you could surface run the cable in some stick on plastic channel to the pedestal hole and up to the display. You could probably get away with a 8' extension.

Have you seen these pictures? This is bit more secure way to mount a desktop display and still have it in the cockpit. Not as convienient as the pedestal, but better than way down below.

If the extension cable works then I agree you should be able to seal up a laptop display much easier than a desktop display. Make sure you are willing to accept the display quality in full sun before you start performing surgery.

[Chip Hindes]

It looks like it can be powered directly by 12 vdc at 35W. Has a 3-yr warrantee (in case it gets wet.)

Even assuming they would honor a warranty for salt water damage and not consider that abuse, send it back. 35W is way too much power consumption for a Mac application.

Add in the running laptop and you'll probably double that, at least when everything is on. Even with no other loads (lights, pumps, radios?) 70 W is almost six amps and it will kill your battery stone dead in about 10 hours, or you'll have to run your motor one hour in two in order to keep the battery charged.

I figure I can run my laptop with its built in (i.e., low power) screen, max maybe two hours per day before I get into serious power consumption/ battery life issues.

Much as we would all like it to be otherwise, I'm thinking big screens of any sort are either for very short term use, or for big boats with lots of power generation capability.