Lap top as Marine GPS

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I'm a novice boater with a 32' enclosed cockpit; completley weatherproof. It's an old Azimut of which this size was never imported. I bought an $800 Garmin but didn't find it very intuative and returned it. I'd like to get a software to convert my laptop into a Marine GPS but would like to know if anyone can recommend a package that works. What I'm after is the larger screeen using the laptop that would normally cost $3k in a standard marine GPS. I've used these similar software packages for auto GPS and find them MORE powerful and feature rich than the little portable GPS's. They come with a sensor that plugs into the USP port.

If your reading this and can't recommend a software but have experience with a variety of units around $1,000 mark, then I'd take your referal for a standard GPS that is EASY to use. Opinions seem to vary but one member on another thread said that he returned his Garmin and got a Lowarance and found it more intuative and easier to use. I just want to be able to follow the given course and stay between the very unforgiving channel in Sarasota Bay which is loaded with shallows when your unfamiliar with it like I am. I found the Micosoft Streets and Trips very powerful and very easy to use for the laptop and wish to find it's equivilent for marine. Some posts I've read state that they use the software on their computer for planning but not when they are underway.

Help ! Should I ditch the search for the software and just pick out another traditional one ? I'd like Sonar and GPS capability and from what I'm reading it would be wise to get one that is NEMA 2000 compliant but what I really wan to focus on (mainly) in this thread are the software solutions with the recommended traditional GPS recomendations as a consolation intel.

Also, has anyone ever seen another compeitor to this software at http://www.turtlemarine.com/interphasepcviewbh.html It's a sonar package and software with two transducers. One looking downward and one that looks forward to let you see the danger before your on top of it. It's kind of pricey.
 
OK........... I'm no expert on these things but, I use a laptop on the boat running Cmap charts.

I have a black and white chart plotter with a cmap card which I also use to pick up the NMEA signal for the laptop. Then I have a drop down screen on the cabin roof that allows me to display the charts there as well as on the laptop.

The dropdown screen is fed from one of the RS232 ports on the laptop?

Works great and I feel that if the laptop goes down I still have the plotter, and if the plotter goes down I can still use the laptop as paper charts. If it all goes down then it's the paper, ruler and the elastic string again!

Hope this helps out.

Tom
 
I've been using a laptop for GPS/chartplotter for ten years and find it very satisfactory in my enclosed cabin. I use Fugawi ENC for the navigation application. If you have an older laptop with the 9-pin COM1 connector, you can plug your GPS directly into that. However, the newer laptops no longer have the 9-pin connector. The other alternative is to get a GPS Mouse device which plugs into the USB connection. I've adapted mine both ways. The GPS mouse comes up as COM5. You must then set your navigation application to the appropriate COM port. I show my laptop setup at:

http://carlten.tripod.com/Navigation/navigation.html

Besides the navigation application, you will also need digital charts. Here in the US, of course, they are now free. I think, however, there are navigation applications that will work with C-charts for your area.
 
2 things to consider before you get bogged down in detail:

1. Reliability. PC's mechanical parts (hard disk drives and slot in PCB's) are less reliable in an environment with vibration and shock loads than hardware specifically built for marine use (chart plotters).
2. Laptop screens are not "daylight viewable", i.e. they are not bright enough to use in moderate to bright sunlight. Purpose built chart plotteres these days have "daylight viewable" displays of varying quality.

On the basis of the above I would only recommend a PC to be used as a secondary navigation system, not a primary one. That said, they can be a terrific advantage when used with powerful software such as MaxSea, especially if tidal data is bought with the chart packages and can overlay grib weather data too.

I use both a dedicated plotter in the cockpit and a PC at the Nav Station, which I beleive is the best of both worlds. However, I still use a dedicated GPS unit too, as electronic plotters are just a luxury.
 
But, you say that the C-Map chart in the chartplotter is viewable on the laptop via the NMEA serial cable? I'm very interested in this idea, but I never heard it before, so if you can suggets how to do it i'll be very grateful, and not only me...
Cazzascotta
 
[ QUOTE ]
But, you say that the C-Map chart in the chartplotter is viewable on the laptop via the NMEA serial cable?

[/ QUOTE ]

He didnt say this... he uses NMEA to get a GPS signal from the plotter to the laptop.

As far as I am aware, there is no simple way of doing what you are looking for, (perhaps what a lot of us are looking for).
 
Would back the dedicated plotter thoughts.

Generally laptops ain't built for the tough environment, there are some rugged laptops but they are expensive.

I went for a Furuno radar/plotter, it does what it says in the box. But it does need an auxillary GPS to fire it up. But other plotter have inbuilt GPS.

Good luck.
 
I want another feature ... the ability to use 2 GPS receivers to show heading, as well as chartplotter.
Has anyone come across taht facility ?
 
Mark, my comment was merely that the quote for a laptop (waterproof) was for a fairly low-spec machine without OS. This begs the question -will the machine in question run the software you need.
Alisdair
 
On my fishing vessel I use a Compaq desktop mounted in a cupboard. This runs XP pro and the free software, Sea clear 2. Digital navy charts. Screen is a 17 inch Lcd, viewable at extreme angles and not bothered by sun through the windows Gps USB type, 23 channels. And the best bit of kit of all and essential in my book is a Logitec track ball mouse, firmly screwed down on the dash.
I was tempted to go to a 19 inch screen but decided it blocked my view forward out of the cabin too much. The new wide screen lcd screens would be ideal with sea clear.
Have not seen a bought gps plotter that can match this system.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I want another feature ... the ability to use 2 GPS receivers to show heading, as well as chartplotter.
Has anyone come across taht facility ?

[/ QUOTE ]

The dutch company QPS has a PC Pilot programme that uses S57/S63 enc cells as well as professional C-map ( Not NT or MAX).
Qastor as it is called will compute heading information from 2 GPS receivers. But i think you will need quite a distance between the 2 units.
Qastor can be downloaded free for trial on the QPS website.
Sample charts can be downloaded free for the US area from the NOAA download website.
Qastor software is not even very expensive for the common yachtsman. 99 Euros +vat.

Michael
 
That's good advice from "oldhand". Laptops even in enclosed cabins suffer from salt corrosion, vibration and shock. Only as a 2ndry system to a marine unit, even a low cost waterproof handheld will do, but not a domestic laptop on it's own. Battery on HH and portables also last longer than many daily passages, laptop only few hours (ie if you have ever lost boat power). Laptop sceens also a pain to see sometimes. But I do all my passage planning on laptop and download wpts to both primary and back up onboard gps systems.
 
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