aidancoughlan
Well-Known Member
I've been looking myself, so might as well pass on some observations...
Have a read of this article for a perspective on Raster v Vector charts. http://www.chersoft.co.uk/nav_chartformats.htm
While C-MAP and Navionics make a good case for the "interactivity" of Vector charts (extra 'travel' information etc.), and Vector charts take up less hard disk space, the raster charts look much better IMHO - they are less cluttered and a direct copy of paper charts which has obvious advantages. I found Vector charts on some of the software I tried to be confusing at certain levels of zoom.
Having wavered between the two, if I go ahead and purchase software, I will be sticking with Raster charts. For UK+IRL (not sure where you are?), Maptech format raster charts seem to be the most commonly supported, and good value at £99 for full coverage.
I'm currently looking at software based on the types of features they offer, and what I may (now or at some future point) want it to do:
(1) Planning /Waypoint management / simple route planning (routes etc.)
(2) Planning/tiddal calculations (course to steer taking tides into account)
(3) On board "plotting" en-route
(4) Weather GRIB file overlay
(5) AIS input/display
(6) Radar connectivity.
(7) Chart format support
(8) Advanced routing (wind planning etc.)
FEATURES:
There are many packages doing (1) and (3) using both Vector and Raster charts, but so far the only ones I found that could cope with (2) proper Course to steer calculations taking tide into account are MaxSea Easy (€599 package incl UK+Irl charts) and Seapro 3000 (a bit less for the same features/charts). These two also cover (4),(5) and (6) ...overlay GRIB weather files, and will cope with AIS and Radar (though I think they each only work with specific Radar systems). They also both have options(7) to work with either Raster or Vector charts. (both will work with Maptech BSB). Both have wind routing options also (8) - MaxSea seems particularly good at this.
USER INTERFACE:
MaxSea seems to me to be the more polished and better user interface of the two I've narrowed down to, though Seapro is usable. As a software developer myself, I think a lot of the packages leave a *lot* to be desired in the User interface & ease-of-use. However, by far the best en-route software I have come across is TIKI navigator at http://www.tiki-navigator.com/en/en/index.htm. If you just want waypoint management and en-route display this is hard to beat, and uses either the Maptech £99 UK/IRL bundle, or the Imray ID30 digital UK/IRL charts. It also handles AIS input.
Another option for tidal planning:
Two years ago I purchase Neptune Passage Planner http://www.neptune-navigation.com/plotter.htm ... which like MaxSea and Seapro has excellent features for passage planning (course to steer, optimum departure times etc.), but it only uses outline charts. Despite being good software, it is *very* badly (IMHO) let down by it's menus/user interface, and the outline charts are sometimes not detailed enough for planning (though it's designed to be used in conjunction with paper charts). The newer version supports cost-effective Raster charts of UK and I had considered sharing the £99 charts between this and the excellent TIKI navigator - using TIKI for on-board use, and Neptune for planning (since TIKI doesnt do tidal planning). However, it seems that it uses some version of raster charts not compatible with Maptech or Imray that TIKI supports. There is also a newer Neptune version that uses C-MAP charts if you like vector charts.
In short, based on my own reading if you just want a simple waypoint manager & onboard plotter with Raster charts- I'd suggest TIKI & £99 UK/IRL package. Good value in Seapro Lite £99 all-in software if you like vector charts.
If you want the bells & whistles start looking at Maptech/or Seapro. for a good review of a lot of software check out a series on www.madmariner.com (requires registration).
Have a read of this article for a perspective on Raster v Vector charts. http://www.chersoft.co.uk/nav_chartformats.htm
While C-MAP and Navionics make a good case for the "interactivity" of Vector charts (extra 'travel' information etc.), and Vector charts take up less hard disk space, the raster charts look much better IMHO - they are less cluttered and a direct copy of paper charts which has obvious advantages. I found Vector charts on some of the software I tried to be confusing at certain levels of zoom.
Having wavered between the two, if I go ahead and purchase software, I will be sticking with Raster charts. For UK+IRL (not sure where you are?), Maptech format raster charts seem to be the most commonly supported, and good value at £99 for full coverage.
I'm currently looking at software based on the types of features they offer, and what I may (now or at some future point) want it to do:
(1) Planning /Waypoint management / simple route planning (routes etc.)
(2) Planning/tiddal calculations (course to steer taking tides into account)
(3) On board "plotting" en-route
(4) Weather GRIB file overlay
(5) AIS input/display
(6) Radar connectivity.
(7) Chart format support
(8) Advanced routing (wind planning etc.)
FEATURES:
There are many packages doing (1) and (3) using both Vector and Raster charts, but so far the only ones I found that could cope with (2) proper Course to steer calculations taking tide into account are MaxSea Easy (€599 package incl UK+Irl charts) and Seapro 3000 (a bit less for the same features/charts). These two also cover (4),(5) and (6) ...overlay GRIB weather files, and will cope with AIS and Radar (though I think they each only work with specific Radar systems). They also both have options(7) to work with either Raster or Vector charts. (both will work with Maptech BSB). Both have wind routing options also (8) - MaxSea seems particularly good at this.
USER INTERFACE:
MaxSea seems to me to be the more polished and better user interface of the two I've narrowed down to, though Seapro is usable. As a software developer myself, I think a lot of the packages leave a *lot* to be desired in the User interface & ease-of-use. However, by far the best en-route software I have come across is TIKI navigator at http://www.tiki-navigator.com/en/en/index.htm. If you just want waypoint management and en-route display this is hard to beat, and uses either the Maptech £99 UK/IRL bundle, or the Imray ID30 digital UK/IRL charts. It also handles AIS input.
Another option for tidal planning:
Two years ago I purchase Neptune Passage Planner http://www.neptune-navigation.com/plotter.htm ... which like MaxSea and Seapro has excellent features for passage planning (course to steer, optimum departure times etc.), but it only uses outline charts. Despite being good software, it is *very* badly (IMHO) let down by it's menus/user interface, and the outline charts are sometimes not detailed enough for planning (though it's designed to be used in conjunction with paper charts). The newer version supports cost-effective Raster charts of UK and I had considered sharing the £99 charts between this and the excellent TIKI navigator - using TIKI for on-board use, and Neptune for planning (since TIKI doesnt do tidal planning). However, it seems that it uses some version of raster charts not compatible with Maptech or Imray that TIKI supports. There is also a newer Neptune version that uses C-MAP charts if you like vector charts.
In short, based on my own reading if you just want a simple waypoint manager & onboard plotter with Raster charts- I'd suggest TIKI & £99 UK/IRL package. Good value in Seapro Lite £99 all-in software if you like vector charts.
If you want the bells & whistles start looking at Maptech/or Seapro. for a good review of a lot of software check out a series on www.madmariner.com (requires registration).