Best Navtex receiver (without being silly)

I have a NASA Navtex Pro which came with the boat, works fine, except perhaps in marinas sometimes. After sorting out the wrong wiring which meant the backlight was on all the time, I now leave it always on so it has all the recent forecasts available when I get on the boat.

The current draw was too high with the backlight on and would take too much out of the battery.

I do sometimes hanker after a 2 channel one so I could get the inshore forecasts as well.
 
Another vote for the ICS Nav 6. I did have poor reception when say 150 miles from the transmitter but soved the problem by connecting the external aerial (under the little plastic plug in the top of the active aerial) to a rigging stay and hence the rig. Providing the rig is not in contact at any time with the sea it works fine. The aerial is safe in the linen cupboard belowdecks and the reception is now the 300 miles claimed.

Peter.
 
I have a ISC Navtex 6+. In Greece the reception is patchy to say the least. It quite happily picks up Malta, and Turkey, but will not pick up Corfu which is just up the road. I have a new aerial - but reports back from others in the area is that they get very patchy reception, so I am not sure if I can be bothered to put it in. Spoke to Mcmudro who were the agents - no help what so ever and had to buy a new aerial off e bay.
 
Ex-SolentBoy said:
I second that. If you have a computer on board it is the way to go.

  1. Doesn't need another aerial
  2. Gets its power from the computer
  3. Excellent user interface
  4. You can take it home which means you can get it up and working well before you leave on a trip rather than waiting for the next transmission.
Click to expand...

Which one of the many models do you have?

TS
 
tudorsailor said:
Which one of the many models do you have?

TS
Click to expand...

At risk of lowering the tone of this discussion.. :p
I've had a Nasa Clipper Navtex for several years. Just works. Arrive at boat - find a couple of days -or maybe 3 days of coastal forecasts of MY choice waiting for my perusal.
You can spend a lot more for other kit, but for a simple service , perhaps you don't need to?
 
Furuno is the best yacht navtex,usability is vital.MCMurdo 2nd,Nasa is relentlessly boggingly awkward,'clunky' doesn't do justice,they should refresh them in advance of LW forecasts going down..then they would sell more I reckon
 
I am very happy with my NASA Easy Navtex. The timed switching between channels is a compromise I find acceptable and the big characters a great feature. It has proved reliable, though the reception in harbour can be a bit hit-and-miss (no worse than the Lokata it replaced).

I also have a NASA AIS 'Radar' which works well. While clearly budget instruments, they do what it says on the tins. I fail to understand why people are so sniffy about these instruments.

My sailing instruments are B&G Hydra, so no shortcuts there, but their job is somewhat more demanding.
 
I'm one of the lucky ones who find the Nasa Clipper Navtex perfectly acceptable.
I only use it for the Inshore Forecast, as the Shipping Forecast areas are too big for my needs.
My only slight gripe is that sometimes if reception is dodgy, the unit regects it, and doesn't record. There are times when I would rather have a "corrupt" recording than none at all. Do all makes do this?
Now that we, on the West Coast get transmissions from Malin Head, as well as Portpatrick, this is not so much of a problem. Now if you can point me to one that actually gives better weather.......
 
In terms of ability to receive a signal I do not believe that there is anything to choose between different manufacturers. We have a Furuno 300D and used to have a basic NASA PRO. I have been alongside a yacht with a NASA and found that they were getting as good a signal as were.

I always have to query statements about some sets not receiving NAVTEX unless I know where they were, where the aerial is mounted, NAVTEX is not intended for use in port but I suspect that many criticisms refer to experience in port and not at sea.

The main differences between sets is likely to be in the software and the display quality. My NASA PRO gave p eventually because the display packed p. There were (may be still) some aspects of the NASA software that were superior to the Furuno.

I always have to question the philosophy of the laptop systems. – eg Wetterbox and the NASA NAVTEX engine. Fine, as long as you can use the laptop while at sea. The concept of NAVTEX services is that they should be available for immediate reading as soon as received. .For us, that precedes its use in rough weather.
 
I am trying out Droid Navtex for Android as a cheapy. (6.99) together with an old MW radio, having now seen it working I will get an Elton G3 radio to replace the ancient and knackered Sony I used for the test.

Not going to be as perfect as proper unit, but OK for the odd occasion when I can't access anything off the net etc.
 
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