Scotty_Tradewind
Active member
When using a USB dongle can you go far offshore and still receive the signal?
Does the signal come from satelitte?
Laptop navigation
- Thread starter Daytripper
- Start date
When using a USB dongle can you go far offshore and still receive the signal?
Does the signal come from satelitte?
Jeepster
Member
Thanks to this thread I had already downloaded NavmonPC but knew it
would'nt work without a GPS dongle.
So I've just bought a USB GPS dongle by Bluenext on ebay . Was looking for that £20 one that Maplins did but found out they have dis-continued it and they have no other GPS dongles available. So I went on ebay and got a Bluenext one for £17.99 with free postage. It arrived two days later.
It comes with a small CD with drivers on and a USB extension lead.
Anyway, its was'nt that easy to set up with NavmonPC and I had to get friend who is better with computers to help me get it working.
An hour or so later I was running down the street watching the knots dial to see how fast I could go and the compass dial to see the direction. It was working, even though the response times seemed a bit slow, but that could be because I had the laptop set to low performance setting to save battery
power.
Question is, how do you get the other dials to work, ie wind direction, wind speed, wind angle and most importantly, water depth?
Do I need some sort of adapter with sensors for these things plugged into it?
Also I also have Polarcom installed but cant get it to give me me my lat/long
speed or compass bearing so how do I get it work with my GPS dongle?
would'nt work without a GPS dongle.
So I've just bought a USB GPS dongle by Bluenext on ebay . Was looking for that £20 one that Maplins did but found out they have dis-continued it and they have no other GPS dongles available. So I went on ebay and got a Bluenext one for £17.99 with free postage. It arrived two days later.
It comes with a small CD with drivers on and a USB extension lead.
Anyway, its was'nt that easy to set up with NavmonPC and I had to get friend who is better with computers to help me get it working.
An hour or so later I was running down the street watching the knots dial to see how fast I could go and the compass dial to see the direction. It was working, even though the response times seemed a bit slow, but that could be because I had the laptop set to low performance setting to save battery
power.
Question is, how do you get the other dials to work, ie wind direction, wind speed, wind angle and most importantly, water depth?
Do I need some sort of adapter with sensors for these things plugged into it?
Also I also have Polarcom installed but cant get it to give me me my lat/long
speed or compass bearing so how do I get it work with my GPS dongle?
Jeepster
Member
Yes, GPS satellites can be received anywhere on the earths surface, inshore or offshore.
Playtime
Active member
Your GPS dongle is talking to the laptop using what is called NMEA 0183 'sentences'. These sentences contain the information about speed and direction that is then displayed in NavmonPC.
In order to display information on wind, depth etc. you need to provide the laptop with the corresponding wind and depth etc. NMEA sentences containing the necessary data.
If your boat is fitted with wind and depth instruments these may be capable of providing the necessary NMEA data to the PC. However it depends on the make and type of instruments you have whether this data is available or can be made available with a bit of help.
If you let us know what instruments you have on board and how they are interconnected we may be able to offer further advice.
Playtime
Active member
Also I also have Polarcom installed but cant get it to give me me my lat/long
speed or compass bearing so how do I get it work with my GPS dongle?
Regarding Polarcom, I'm not familiar with this package but I assume it needs the GPS data from your dongle to display lat/long etc.
Unfortunately, Windows can only route your GPS data to one programme at a time. If it is being routed to NavmonPC, then it can't simultaneously be routed to Polarcom, without using another piece of software to provide a 'virtual port'.
Try something like XPort .
Daytripper
New member
I started this thread about a month ago and I'm amazed at the amount of information that has come up. I now have OpenCPN running CM93 charts and a little doughnut-shaped gizmo that tells me exactly where I am. AIS will be along soon, and I hope that, with the help of technically-literate-teenager (no home should be without one) I will soon know where the tankers are as well. Many thanks to all of you for your invaluable help.
snooks
Active member
Scanning charts is illegal and a clear breach of Crown Copyright
Charts are covered under Crown Copyright, scanning them in is an infringement of copyright under the Copyright, Designs and Patents act of 1998 which prohibits reproduction whether electronic or mechanical
Charts are covered under Crown Copyright, scanning them in is an infringement of copyright under the Copyright, Designs and Patents act of 1998 which prohibits reproduction whether electronic or mechanical
st599
Well-known member
True, but then legally taking a CD I've purchased and converting it to an MP3 file to play on a portable music device is also illegal. Not many people would think such a restriction fair in the modern age.
snooks
Active member
Converting a CD to an MP3 file for your own personal use could be considered as fair use, there for not an infringement of copyright.
However I don't believe scanning a paper product and converting it into an electronic format would be.
westhinder
Well-known member
For the USB internet dongle, the signal is from the 3G network, so depends on the location of aerials on the shore. Off the Belgian coast, with the aerials sited on high apartment blocks, you get 10-15 miles' coverage.
The USB-GPS antenna obviously works with the GPS-satellites.
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elton
Well-known member
Not for GPS. GPS signals come from space and are available everywhere on Earth.
seapro
New member
Presuming we are talking about a USB GPS receiver, 3G coverage is not required to receive GPS positioning! If you are talking about a 3G USB modem then this may be the case... but I've never heard of anybody using 3G for location purposes and I wouldn't recommend it either.
fishermantwo
Active member
This depends in what country your in. If you own the chart then you are probably quite legal to make a back up copy.
Plomong
Well-known member
I also now carry - and take home - a Samsung NC140 with a Garmin GPSMAP76C, running the £30 Memory-Map charting package.
AIS is connected to the Raymarine stuff, but could readily be connected to the Samsung netbook. There are enough ports.
But the Offshore Navigator software included with the Memory Map charts does not feature AIS, if I am not mistaken, so you would have to go for the top Maptech product, Chart Navigator Pro, at $500, and then it is not clear it would work with the international charts. It comes with a very complete set of charts of the US coasts and ports.
Plomong
Playtime
Active member
You can use another programme for AIS display. I use OpenCPN which has good AIS facilities and works well with the chart decluttered. Maptech Offshore Lite provides the navigation detail. I prefer keeping the AIS info separate; targets can easily be missed on a cluttered chart.
I used to use Yacht-AIS which presents the AIS info in a radar like image with own boat at the centre. This also worked well, especially mid channel where chart details are of little interest.
st599
Well-known member
Only if you're specifically allowed in the licence to make a backup copy.
Amulet
Active member
My information is that Chart Navigator Pro is discontinued (according to Memory Map in the UK). Yes, it does/did international charts (the Maptech encrypted BSB) at reasonable price.
By the way, a more recent thread that I (for my sins) initiated may give some additional crumbs of information - though I certainly don't cast myself as expert! There is some wise input from several forum users.
Porthandbuoy
Well-known member
Not necessarily so. I wrote to the UKHO some time ago and received the following reply:-
------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr Smith,
Thank you for your e-mail enquiry as detailed below regarding the use of UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) material.
To answer each of your queries in turn I have responded below as follows:
Your question 1) When using scanned copies of my own, legitimately bought, UKHO charts for my own purposes on 3rd party ECDIS software what is my legal position please? I believe under EU legislation that is acceptable.
Answer: As you own the UKHO charts and they are only being used by yourself on ECDIS software you have not made any reproduction of the UKHO charts and therefore you do not require any form of copyright licensing from UKHO.
Kind regards
Tamsin Wenham
Assistant Licensing Account Manager
Intellectual Property
United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
Admiralty Way
Taunton
Somerset
TA1 2DN
-------------------------------------------------------------------
There were a couple of other questions, those, and the answers, I have deleted.
I think the situation is unambiguous: You've bought a UKHO chart and you can do what you like with it, provided it is for your own use. Scan a UKHO chart and upload it to t'Internet or make available to others and you are in breach of copywrite.
fergie_mac66
Active member
There is also a program called "seaclear" which is a free program. You scan you existing seamaps, cailbrate then and with a external GPS module, youre position is plotted on the map. Works perfectly! only cost is a external GPS module.
With a bit of thought you can scan digital maps (and charts)into seaclear using prtscr and css
if you set everything up then increase the res' on your monitor 4096*1024
using css and mapcal you can make large area coverage charts from the jpg files the advantage is you can then put your own corrections on to the digital chart and use them in seaclear2, also they dont suffer from edge distortions from a scanner. (edit : takes ten mins to do about 100 miles)
(edit for your own use that is )
just out of interest There is a prog out there that will translate the file into a format that a garmin plotter will read off an sd card ! (edit not used it tho they use it in america to scan topograpical maps into hand held garmins for their own use )
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EugeneR
Well-known member
I think you're confusing Memory Map and Offshore Navigator.
To explain. Memory Map used to use Maptech charts, which also came with their own package, Chart Navigator. And Chart Navigator Pro contains AIS but is expensive, yes.
However, Memory Map also has a Professional version that includes AIS for $225 and it does work with international charts, including Maptech and others.
So from this perspective, Memory Map Pro does seem to meet OP's requirements.
