C-Map NT Planner

[mireland]

I want to be able to plan trips at home and transfer my routes etc to my Navman 5500 chartplotter when I get to the boat. I was thinking that that C-Map NT Planner might do the job as it seems to come woth a card reader for the cards I have and the software. If I were to use this stuff would I be able to link my laptop to my backup gps and run both the laptop and chartplotter simultaneously so I can keep an eye on things when down below? Has anyone any experience of this package? What is good and bad about it and is it worth going for? If so what should I have to pay for it? C-Map have it at £125.00. Any advice welcome.

 

[Malcb]

That's exactly what I have. I use it to transfer waypoints and routes to my Navman 5600 via the usercard. Far easier than setting up routes and waypoints directly to the Navman. I sometimes print out routes to paper and laminate them to give me a version that I can refer to in the cockpit.
I also use it to transfer Tracks from the Navman to my home computer and print out charts with the tracks on them, which I stick in my log. Albeit after the event, but it gives me a record of were I have travelled. IMO well woth the money as I can do all my planning from home before I get to the boat.

I also have Neptune C Map Planner software which enables me to plan courses to steer using Tidal Information. This uses the C-Map card reader as well.

 

[Richard10002]

[ QUOTE ]
If I were to use this stuff would I be able to link my laptop to my backup gps and run both the laptop and chartplotter simultaneously so I can keep an eye on things when down below?

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi,

I use SOB software as my PC Chartplotter with C-Map Max chart cartridges. I bought the Multimedia Card Reader, (MMC), so that I could read the charts to my PC, and the Planner software came with it. Best price I could find in April was £139.

I had the same idea as you, and was going to buy a C-Map plotter for use on deck. However, C-Map made it clear that I would have to buy a second chart cartridge to use it on both machines.

I agonised for a while, and have bought the Lowrance 3600i to use on deck. It comes with a Nauticpath chart which covers UK to Canaries and a chunk of the Med.

I can buy the Nauticpath chart for the rest of the Med for £140+/-, so will be covered for not much money, (relatively <g>). I may also buy the C-Map Max chart for the Med to Italy when we get that far.

Hope this helps

Richard

 

[mireland]

Thank you to both malcb and to Richard.

I am a bit dense about these things so may I just try to clarify?

Malcb.... You are using it in exactly the way I want to but I was not clear whether you have found a way to use the laptop and the dedicated chartplotter simultaneously?

Richard....if I understand you correctly you are saying that C-map say the only way to run them simultaneously is to have two cartridges for the same area. Is that right? So you can't use the cartridge in the USB reader with the laptop, download what you need to the hard drive and then take the cartridge out and put it into the dedicated plotter to use them both simultaneously? Also since you bought the Lowrance with the charts you need for the first part of your passage, is this now freestanding in the sense that you need to program in the waypoints, routes etc entirely separately from your laptop?

Thanks again for the information - I am stumbling forwards in this scarily ICTish area!

 

[Malcb]

No, you can't use the laptop and the dedicated chart plotter simultaneously as the 'chart C-Card' has to be present for them to work, so you would need two identical 'chart C-Cards'. I tend to do the planning at home, transfer the waypoints and routes to my user c-card, take that to the boat and download the data onto the dedicated plotter.

I can, of course, create and edit the routes directly on the dedicated plotter. Its just easier on the PC as it has a bigger screen, proper keyboard etc.

 

[mireland]

[ QUOTE ]
I tend to do the planning at home, transfer the waypoints and routes to my user c-card, take that to the boat and download the data onto the dedicated plotter.

[/ QUOTE ]


What is the difference between the chart c card and the user c card? Currnetly I have not got a user c card.

 

[Malcb]

The user c-card, I have a 2mb user card, is just a blank c-map c-card. If you have the c-map planner program together with a usb c-card reader (it also writes) you can copy your waypoints etc onto your user card. The Navman, I have the 5600, has the facility to read the user c-card and transfer it's contents into memory. You can also copy waypoints, tracks and routes from the Navman to the user card and thus back to your PC. After some trips I copy the track back to the PC, using the user card, and print out the chart with the track on it and stick it in my logbook for reference.

There is no facility to copy your c-map chart card to your user card.