Chart Plotter from PC

I used a laptop for navigation on mine for a while. I bought a new cheapish netbook.
I had it sat on the chart table which was just inside the companion way.
Problem I had was keeping it out the weather. I found the USB ports started corroding and things like the GPS dongle would not connect! It managed to last 2 years. If you go for it consider getting a plastic cover for it and greasing up the ports.
 
If you do serious long distance offshore or ocean sailing then invest in MaxSea. Best thing ever especially with the routing module.
 
I have made half a dozen different chart plotting systems work on a variety of old laptops, so I'm sure you'll succeed. I use a Maplin car charger 12 volts in with the output settable to various levels. Currently set at 19 volts for the present laptop. Read the details on the mains charger of your computer to see what current it needs and make sure you get an adaptor that can deliver enough.

If you do indulge in clever packaging of the machine for water and shockproofness remember that it needs air circulating to its cooling ducts - you wouldn't be the first to have a laptop go up in smoke in a beautiful protective box. Consider a wireless keyboard and track ball so that you don't have to touch the machine and may be able to locate it somewhere safe. On a motorboat with amps to spare you may even want to use a second screen so that the actual computer doesn't need to be anywhere near the wet stuff. I can't afford the power for such a solution.
 
michaelchapman said:
Is an ordinary computer screen bright enough to be readable outside in the sun?
Click to expand...
Mine aren't which is why we have a proper chart plotter Garmin 4210 with radar and AIS on screen also as well. I once Googled covers and hoods and found one or two devices to shade a screen that might help, otherwise the laptop stays below at the chart table.
 
VicMallows said:
Many of us always used to use hoods to view oscilloscopes - indoors! :D

But why, fundamentally, should a chart-plotter screen be any more, or less, readable outside than a PC (or any other screen) ??
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A chart plotter screen uses a "day light" readable screen. You can buy these screens from different places for use in outdoor applications such as ATM's etc. Such a screen costs as much as a chart plotter.

If you check the specifications, you find that such screens are 1000 cd/m^2 or more. A good quality consumer PC screen is at most 200 cd/m^2 or so. Lap top screens less. For 15 in such screens are 4000 euros or more. A decent indoor 15 in screen is 150 euros at most.

How much difference is 5x brightness worth????
 
I keep the computer down below and download all the route infr to a G72 in the cockpit from which the helmswoman steers.
 
I have a dog-house with small Garmin plotter with a PC below on the chart table running OpenCPN with GPS/AIS USB feed. The Garmin outputs to the Raymarine autopilot while the PC provides a large screen backup.

CC08G-6h.jpg


Charttable.jpg

The Dell Inspiron is now replaced with an Atom-powered Acer Netbook with very low current drain. The only drawback being having to go below to cancel the CPA alarms now that Class B AIS has become so prolific from non-threat yachts. Otherwise I find it all an excellent configuration.
 
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When I bought my current boat It came with a Raymarine C120 plotter linked to the instruments. I can mount the plotter at the chart table and under the sprayhood, a quite satisfactory arrangement. However, I had brought my old setup from the previous boat: a mini-pc which runs Seapro, with a 17" screen fixed above the chart table. The Pc runs straight off the 12V, has its own GPS puck and a flexible keyboard and is mounted out of harm's way.
I was hoping to be able to connect the two systems, so that I could do the planning on Seapro, which is absolutely great for this, and then duplicate this to the plotter under the sprayhood, which is easily viewable in daylight. Alas, the C120 is simply too dumb to enable this.
So, in practice I find I use the C120 in spite of it being slow and awkward to build routes. It wins thanks to its ruggedness and daylight viewability and the fact that I can adjust my navigation in the cockpit.
Still I would much prefer to have the superior capabilities of the Seapro programme, so still hoping to find a solution.
 
michaelchapman said:
A chart plotter screen uses a "day light" readable screen. You can buy these screens from different places for use in outdoor applications such as ATM's etc. Such a screen costs as much as a chart plotter.

If you check the specifications, you find that such screens are 1000 cd/m^2 or more. A good quality consumer PC screen is at most 200 cd/m^2 or so. Lap top screens less. For 15 in such screens are 4000 euros or more. A decent indoor 15 in screen is 150 euros at most.

How much difference is 5x brightness worth????
Click to expand...

fwiw, not terribly useful to the OP but...

Interesting numbers that prompted me to look at the spec for my laptop. For a while I've been using Toughbooks from ebay (max £300ish), currently a CF-74, mainly for the vibration resistant hard drive mounts. Its described as 'daylight' viewable and turns out the screen spec is 460 cd/m^2 - so not the 1000 quoted but better than 200, it works pretty well in daylight but not direct sun (then neither does a plotter).

EDIT: corrected the cd/m^2 value
 
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RobbieW said:
fwiw, not terribly useful to the OP but...

Interesting numbers that prompted me to look at the spec for my laptop. For a while I've been using Toughbooks from ebay (max £300ish), currently a CF-74, mainly for the vibration resistant hard drive mounts. Its described as 'daylight' viewable and turns out the screen spec is 460 cd/m^2 - so not the 1000 quoted but better than 200, it works pretty well in daylight but not direct sun (then neither does a plotter).

EDIT: corrected the cd/m^2 value
Click to expand...

Found this sunlight readable display for sale. Even has a knob on the front for controlling the brightness which is of course extremely useful on a boat at sunset.

http://www.iseapc.com/NPD1555-EGAW-G011.html
 
Hi everyone - thanks again for all the advice. In the end, because I really only want a cheap n cheerful solution, I went the VMH route. It was about £50 - odd which included the GPS dongle, and an update to 2014 charts. Also, as suggested, I bought a DC/DC converter from Amazon to crank 12v nominal up to 20v. The assembly certainly seems to work fine in the car.

Are we going to get a decent summer in the UK this year? I see in the Telegraph, (so it must be true), that California is having huge droughts. Can we export some of the Zummerzet water to the Yanks?
 
I have the netbook/Opencpn/CM92 combination which works fine. For planning I have just downloaded the Marine MX app to my Hudl which looks good too, It cost less than £5.
Allan
 
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