Londonchartplotters

[IanCC]

Just to say londonchartplotters are totally brilliant.

 

[Dellquay13]

I am really happy with my deal from Steve at LCP

 

[davidmh]

I have a 10 year old plotter from Steve at London Chart Plotters. I has worked very well and back up has been good. I have updated the whole UK chart set a few times, about £20 for a complete update. Last week I could not get any chart to load except my home port. I tried all the tricks to reload the set but had no Joy. I emailed Steve a 8pm Wednesday evening, He phone me 30 minutes later and we ran through the problems over the phone with the chartplotter switched on. Steve concluded that the software had corrupted and could I send it back to him and he would correct the sopftware and reload with a 2024 Uk chartset. I sent it to him Thursday morning, He received it Friday, fixed the problem and Returned it to me , I received it Yesterday Tuesday. Cost for a new version of software, complete set of UK Admiralty charts for 2024. post and packing £27!!!. Compare that to the reactionI I would ave expected from a major Chartpplotter supplier -" Its ten years old we no longer support it and we cannot supply updated charts!!!"

A Very Satisfied Customer

Dvaid MH

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Great to hear of the good service offered

However, the website is in line for the worst website ever created by mankind. Awful. And nothing for iPad.

 

[oldgit]

Compare that to the reactionI I would have expected from a major Chartplotter supplier -" Its ten years old we no longer support it and we cannot supply updated charts!!!"

A Very Satisfied Customer

Dvaid MH

100%

 

[RunAgroundHard]

I have a 10 year old plotter from Steve at London Chart Plotters. I has worked very well and back up has been good. I have updated the whole UK chart set a few times, about £20 for a complete update. Last week I could not get any chart to load except my home port. I tried all the tricks to reload the set but had no Joy. I emailed Steve a 8pm Wednesday evening, He phone me 30 minutes later and we ran through the problems over the phone with the chartplotter switched on. Steve concluded that the software had corrupted and could I send it back to him and he would correct the sopftware and reload with a 2024 Uk chartset. I sent it to him Thursday morning, He received it Friday, fixed the problem and Returned it to me , I received it Yesterday Tuesday. Cost for a new version of software, complete set of UK Admiralty charts for 2024. post and packing £27!!!. Compare that to the reactionI I would ave expected from a major Chartpplotter supplier -" Its ten years old we no longer support it and we cannot supply updated charts!!!"

A Very Satisfied Customer

Dvaid MH

That is not a good advert for London Chart Plotters, plotters. I want a product that works and does not need any back up support.

 

[Boathook]

That is not a good advert for London Chart Plotters, plotters. I want a product that works and does not need any back up support.

I think that it is a good advert. Software does corrupt and it got fixed. I suspect that the major companies would say buy a new one or take it to a service centre where they possibly charge £100 just to confirm it doesn't work let alone repairs.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

I think that it is a good advert. Software does corrupt and it got fixed. I suspect that the major companies would say buy a new one or take it to a service centre where they possibly charge £100 just to confirm it doesn't work let alone repairs.

I have have an ancient iPad with Memory Maps and UKHO Raster charts, no issues in over 10 years of ownership.
I did have a NAVMAN from 2000, no issues, just worked then the screen brightness started failing 2 x years ago, tech redundant, could have had it repaired with second hand parts, but not worth it.
I now have a Raymarine Axiom + 12, self installed, 2 x years now, software and charts are updated by self via mobile phone and the network detects if other Raymarine systems need software update. Sometimes charts are updated at home on the SDI cards.

All the above are hassle free. Raymarine update instructions were not that good, contacted their agent and got clearer instructions (as well as help on here).

 

[PaulRainbow]

I have have an ancient iPad with Memory Maps and UKHO Raster charts, no issues in over 10 years of ownership.
I did have a NAVMAN from 2000, no issues, just worked then the screen brightness started failing 2 x years ago, tech redundant, could have had it repaired with second hand parts, but not worth it.
I now have a Raymarine Axiom + 12, self installed, 2 x years now, software and charts are updated by self via mobile phone and the network detects if other Raymarine systems need software update. Sometimes charts are updated at home on the SDI cards.

All the above are hassle free. Raymarine update instructions were not that good, contacted their agent and got clearer instructions (as well as help on here).

If your Axiom stops working, or if one of the software updates corrupts, rendering it unusable, you will not be able to send it back to Raymarine to have the software updated/re-installed, it will be scrap, you will need to buy a new one. With no help from Raymarine you will then be £2000 out of pocket.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

If your Axiom stops working, or if one of the software updates corrupts, rendering it unusable, you will not be able to send it back to Raymarine to have the software updated/re-installed, it will be scrap, you will need to buy a new one. With no help from Raymarine you will then be £2000 out of pocket.

There were companies that updated unsupported products software and fixed other old stuff. So I will explore non Raymarine services should that happen.

 

[PaulRainbow]

There were companies that updated unsupported products software and fixed other old stuff. So I will explore non Raymarine services should that happen.

You miss the point.

You are happy with your £2k plus plotter and accept that at just 2 years old, if it goes wrong, Raymarine offer zero support.

On the other hand, London Chart Plotters, who actually fix equipment that they charge very little money for and charge peanuts to do so are "a bad advert". £27 for the repair, new charts and post !! Updated charts for your Axion will cost what, £150 ?

 

[snowbird30ds]

Any product can have an issue, my garmin plotter left me in the dark with frozen software after an update a few years ago and took me a few weeks to get sorted.
It's more about how the business involved deal with problems that counts, a quick fix at a low cost is always a good advert in my books.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

You miss the point.

You are happy with your £2k plus plotter and accept that at just 2 years old, if it goes wrong, Raymarine offer zero support.

On the other hand, London Chart Plotters, who actually fix equipment that they charge very little money for and charge peanuts to do so are "a bad advert". £27 for the repair, new charts and post !! Updated charts for your Axion will cost what, £150 ?

I don’t miss the point, you just disagree with the point I make. I have owned plotters that are reliable and have never required to be sent back to the OEM. Therefore based on my experience, the comment I originally responded to was not a good advert for those plotters.

 

[Mister E]

London Chartplotters have fantastic customer support.
Especially for something ten years old, what a fantastic advert for Steve.

Some people will complain about anything.

 

[TwoFish]

Yes, the website is all a bit random. However Steve's service and knowledge are both outstanding. He's incredibly helpful and has a knack for sourcing and configuring remarkably fit-for-purpose kit at very good prices.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Which is a great thing to be able to offer. All credit to him.

 

[Cspirit]

I have an iPad mini/Navionics set up on my boat but I would like a back up because the iPad, located in the wheelhouse can go blank when overheated plus the screen is not too good in bright sunlight. My previous boat had a Standard Horizon plotter with C-Map and was very reliable and effective. I have to choose between a dedicated plotter - such as Garmin, Raymarine or more likely Onwa - or a set up from London Chartplotters. The advantage of the latter is the customer service and price as noted above, plus the option of a large screen. My question is - will a laptop based product overcome the heat/sunlight visibility that I have with my iPad? My suspicion is that I will still have the same issues. What do others think?

 

[ylop]

London Chartplotter usually uses reconditioned Galaxy Tab Active devices. They do have bright screens designed for outdoor use but sunny in the Thames and sunny in the Med are different things. Similarly with high temp.

You need to find a way to charge them - on full brightness your typical cheap usb charger may not be able to keep up (you may see the same with your iPad).

The customer service is good, but any of the big brands will do reasonable customer service. I like Steve, he’s quirky, but this isn’t even his full time job it’s a hobby business. He isn’t commercially minded which is where the charm comes from but it’s also not how you end up with a sustainable scalable business. Whilst some people like his plotter software I think by today’s app standards it’s pretty mediocre. If having two sources of Charting would be reassuring then go for it - I find it slightly frustrating switching between apps and chart styles and if Navionics is your happy place then I’d stick to that… whether that’s on a Galaxy tab active (from Steve or elsewhere) another tablet mounted in your wheelhouse with some fans/cooling on it, or a full Garmin plotter might be the harder question.

 

[Andrew_Trayfoot]

Or go down this route:
My COVID-19 Lockdown Project: 10” Android Car Stereo to Navionics Chart Plotter

12v device
Bright
Avionics/open cpn/memory map/visit my harbour charts...

 

[srm]

My question is - will a laptop based product overcome the heat/sunlight visibility that I have with my iPad? My suspicion is that I will still have the same issues. What do others think?

I used an old Panasonic Toughbook (from ebay) with a feed from Garmin handheld GPS for a few years without any problem. It would be on for three or four days continuously. It sat in the cabin out of direct sunlight and was easily viewable from the cockpit. Only reason I switched to the smaller screen Standard Horizon plotter was power consumption but kept the laptop on the chart table as backup and for tide software.