Digital Yacht combined plotter and AIS SC500A

[Racecruiser]

I'm thinking of getting one of these and I had a quick demo on their stand at Southampton yesterday - seems pretty good with the obvious advantage that it is a plotter with AIS built in. Apparantly the only one on the market and here is a link.

http://www.mesltd.co.uk/digital-yacht-sc500-chart-plotter-with-built-p-12564.html

Does anyone have one and what do you think of it?

Thanks!

 

[Colvic Watson]

Got one, love it. Can't think what manufacturer won't have gone this way in 5 years time. Reminds me of the days when people made VHF sets that you then had to buy a DSC add on box for

One less box, a whole lot less wiring.

 

[richardbrennan]

There's a short review of this product in the AIS feature in the October PBO; some pros, some cons.

 

[Racecruiser]

There's a short review of this product in the AIS feature in the October PBO; some pros, some cons.

Thanks - I'll see if I can track one down ....

 

[Racecruiser]

Got one, love it. Can't think what manufacturer won't have gone this way in 5 years time. Reminds me of the days when people made VHF sets that you then had to buy a DSC add on box for

One less box, a whole lot less wiring.

Sounds good - where do you have it installed?

 

[doug748]

I have recently fitted one of these, not used it a lot but these would be my observations:
Plus points:
Quick to fire up and find a fix, accurate.
The built in AIS, as Lazy Kipper has said. I have it hooked up to an home made aerial under the sprayhood (not as dreadful as it sounds, almost invisible, tho I will substitute an helical wound job connected directly to the unit when I can buy one cheaply). This gives a nominal 5M range in open water - fine for the job.
Excellent bright screen readable in sunlight from almost any angle.
Zoons in and out very quickly, almost instant.
Negative points:
Screen resolution not the best available. This has little effect on the charts or viewing black on white lettering, it is less good in menus where white on black is employed.
The flexibility of viewing waypoint information (speed,course made good etc) on screen is limited. All the stuff is in there but getting the mix of what you want to see is not great. I will be using the NEMA output to my Depth Sounder to improve things.
The boat is shown on the edge of the screen with open water in the direction of travel. This is very annoying as you short tack inshore and want to see the whole picture. Perhaps it could be abolished with a future software update?

I have the unit on a bracket above the companionway with a spare power lead below so it can be stored/used there as well. I have to admit I have no great experience of plotters so I can't help with comparisons.
The people at Digital Yacht have been very helpful, both before and after purchase.

 

[maxi77]

Seems quite good but no larger screen option and the resolution is perhaps not as high as some. The price does seem competitive though

 

[Racecruiser]

Thanks Doug 748, interested in what you say about ''The boat is shown on the edge of the screen with open water in the direction of travel. This is very annoying as you short tack inshore and want to see the whole picture''.

I can imagine that is - did Digital Yacht say this was the only orientation available?

 

[doug748]

[QUOTE
I can imagine that is - did Digital Yacht say this was the only orientation available?[/QUOTE]

Dunno. As far as I can see, it is.

PS
My old Raymarine had a similar "feature" happily it never seemed to work though.

 

[GlennG]

I bought a Standard Horizon CP300 with a NASA Marine AIS engine which I plugged in a 'rubber duck' aerial. The whole lot was around £650.

I mention this as it's an excellent piece of kit and a larger screen with a massively higher resolution - 800x480 as opposed to 320x240.

Given that the prices aren't that dissimilar, the Standard Horizon seems to offer better value for money.

 

[doug748]

I think it depends on what you require. The SL300 takes extra power is more tricky to site and is less portable.
My view was, is , that if you carry charts for naviagation and planning then a large screen is not desirable on a small boat.

 

[pvb]

The SL300 takes extra power ....

750mA versus 600mA - hardly measurable, and worth it for a much better screen.

 

[GlennG]

I think it depends on what you require. The SL300 takes extra power is more tricky to site and is less portable.
My view was, is , that if you carry charts for naviagation and planning then a large screen is not desirable on a small boat.

Hmm. Having used chart plotters of all kinds, for me it's resolution that's right at the top of the list of features. Even before quick redraw. The reason is you (OK, I) like to see the bigger picture. Having a low resolution screen means you're always zoomed in and it's quite difficult to see the next feature. Or you're constantly going in and out.

Even the higher resolution of the CP300 isn't really enough IMHO. When you compare it with the resolution of the iPad (1024x768) it's positively low res. Now I've mentioned the iPad, that's another alternative. Not a particularly good one as the screen's nowhere near as good as the dedicated chart plotters, but with a waterproof case, it's portable and you can do your planning below. The iPad doesn't do AIS either - although I believe Digital Yacht have something that will transmit the AIS to it using Bluetooth.

Actually, whilst the iPad is good it's nowhere as good as a dependable dedicated chart plotter. Simply having something you can use wearing gloves, is completely waterproof (I run mine under the tap to wash it and is reasonably ergonomic gets my vote. Just as long as it has a reasonable resolution.

Also, you need to add the AIS engine to the power consumption calculation.

As an aside, the CP300 also shows DSC positions too, if it's interfaced to a suitable radio.

 

[doug748]

-750mA versus 600mA - hardly measurable, and worth it for a much better screen.-

Well, it will empty your battery 1/3rd quicker than the 5" unit and your wallet twice as fast. Council house television for me I am afraid

Almost forgot,
The one feature of the SH jobs that is very useful is the split scale screen, worth strong consideration for that alone.