laptop navigation

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Erwin Swart

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Hi all,

Investigating the option to change from chartplotter to laptop navigation though have several questions.

- normal laptop runs at 15-20Volts instead of 12Volts
- power consumption of laptop is high compared to chartplotters

Any experience on type of laptops and power consumption from users?
Setup needs to be able to run 1 week without shore power.

Thanks for feedback.
Erwin
 
OK ... in fact you could use an Android Tablet or IOS if you want real portability ...

Laptop ... actually proper name is Notebook .... (Laptop's were the old mains powered folding rubbish of many years ago before battery powered Notebooks appeared ... )

The Power supply is as you say anywhere from 15 to 20V ... but remember that is to do 2 things : 1 - to run the PC, 2 - to charge the battery.
You will find that most notebooks will run direct of 12v, but battery will not charge. Some will just shrug this off and run as long as 12v is connected, but many will shutdown as the battery goes down.

The old IBM Thinkpad was one that you could pull the battery and run of 12V direct without any problems. But for most others it was advisable to leave the battery in.

So you have your Notebook ... and you want to power it. You can in fact buy DC to DC converters that will match your mains power brick. Plug into 12v and it will up the voltage to what you need. Take care to select one that can actually be capable of the amps required. Look at your mains power brick and read the Volts / Amps ... or watts stated ... that is MINIMUM you require.

The Chartplotter program ... plenty out there and it really depends how much you want to spend and whether concerned about how often or not you update charts. There are free plotting programs such as Seaclear - I use and its very good, has full planning, course setting, autopilot link, AIS on screen .... has a companion program to scan / compile paper charts into it ... only drawback is that commercial charts cannot be used other the older Maptech format.
You move up the price scale and to be honest some of the expensive platforms - do not impress me at all.

Summary :

Power is not a problem - buy a DC to DC converter ... EXCEPT for Dell .... who are sneaky and have a strange power setup where only Dell power supply will work. That then means using a Dell DC to DC unit or an Inverter to produce 240v.
Or try 12v direct as I do with my notebooks.

Which notebook ? Cheaper the better IMHO ... old IBM Thinkpads are good ... some people say use the Toughbook ... OK - but check out carefully price and what you really get. Maybe look at a good but chinese based Android tablet ... a Mediatek tablet from Banggood is cheap but powerful - with built in GPS ... even sim card if you want connectivity ... Google Play Store has plenty of free plotting programs ...

10 years ago - it was limited ... today ? Lots to choose from.

When I sail the Baltic and Swedish Islands .... I have an old Lowrance 500 Plotter, Acer 1 notebook with Seaclear with AIS dongle / GPS Bluetooth, Mediatek Android tablet with MarineNav Lite on as well as CA Captains Mate.
 
Erwin Swart said:
Hi all,

Investigating the option to change from chartplotter to laptop navigation though have several questions.

- normal laptop runs at 15-20Volts instead of 12Volts
- power consumption of laptop is high compared to chartplotters

Any experience on type of laptops and power consumption from users?
Setup needs to be able to run 1 week without shore power.

Thanks for feedback.
Erwin
Click to expand...
Plenty car chargers available for charging straight from 12v. This model seems to get mentioned often, I've had one onboard running a laptop for years. Universal 12v Car Dc Battery Charger Adapter 80w For Notebook Laptop Ac 100-240v | Wish. Should be q load on ebay like that.

OpenCPN must be by far the most advanced software, easily matches commercial offerings costing hundreds. The ais display must be as good as any if you have ais recieve.

OpenCPN Official Site
Up to date official charts available with more coming online all the time.
o-charts | Charts for OpenCPN
Power not such a problem as you might think, screen doesn't need to be running all the time.

Or get a tablet.... I'd for android as opencpn runs on that.
 
Refueler said:
Power is not a problem - buy a DC to DC converter ... EXCEPT for Dell .... who are sneaky and have a strange power setup where only Dell power supply will work. That then means using a Dell DC to DC unit or an Inverter to produce 240v.
Or try 12v direct as I do with my notebooks.
Click to expand...

You can run a Dell laptop from a DC-DC convertor. Some of the latest models will complain about generic chargers, but still work reasonably well. This is becoming increasingly true with other makes as well, including some tablets. As battery technology improves, so does the chargers, i recently had a 12" tablet that had a "smart" fast charger, which charged at three different voltages. Try charging those up with a standard charger, or even a cheap USB cable and the charging doesn't keep up with consumption.

I run several devices onboard from DC-DC converters, including off the shelf TV and sound systems, with no problems. For modern laptops it's just as simple and often more reliable to just use a car charger.

I certainly wouldn't run any of my 19.5v devices straight from the boat batteries. I wouldn't even run sensitive 12v electronics from the boat batteries. With battery voltages varying from 12.5v to 14.6v, i prefer to run them through DC-DC converters to give a nice, stable supply. Some equipment is built with voltage stabilising built in, for instance, marine chart plotters. Some LED lighting is stabilised, others are not and can get very hot and live a short life when subjected to raised voltages caused by the vessels charging systems.
 
I do my navigation with a Dell laptop ( Or notebook if you prefer) Never had a problem with the 19.5 volt converter or noticed any problem with power consumption though for us a long passage is 12-13 hrs in any 24.
It allows me the luxury of using Meridian Seatrack for primary navigation, live tidal streams, heights etc. though I have to also run Memory map for access to Antares.
Some folk object to paying the sub to Meridian but it is pence, compared to the hours we spend using it every year, the ease and rapidity of use and pleasure it gives me is well worth it.
 
On chargers, can't seem to find DC compatible USB-C outlets anywhere yet. Almost everything is moving to USB-C for power and data, even for pretty high draw (the new macbook pro takes up to 96W over USB-C)
 
Back some years ago - there were extensive conversations about using notebooks on boats and power supplies. Myself and a large group across forum compared notes and observations. The results were surprising.

In those days - DC - DC converters were ?? and it was literally pot-luck if worked well enough. Today I agree with PaulRainbow - if you can get a good and suitably amp rated DC - DC unit - BUT the running of 12V direct is not a problem as even at 14.5V - you are still below the mains power brick level, because the mains power brick is supplying charge as addition to the voltage needed to run the notebook. Most notebooks are actually 3.3 or 5v boards with step-down voltage controllers - its only when you start running peripherals that the demand starts to drain the battery because the 12v cannot keep up.
Questions raised about circuit boards inside battery packs ... charge controller chips etc. - they were all raised and and answered. Basically they were to regulate power division - computer / battery charge ... and we found they could be ignored on 12v.

But as said - if you can get a decent DC-DC converter - go for it.
 
Used various old ancient laptops running Seaclear(VMH) since 2011, with a GPS receiver .
In all honesty was probably used far more often than our fixed Raymarine Chartplotter. Plotting courses etc at home a boon.
Has taken us up non tidal rivers and across Le Manche.
Fortunately on a MoBo power is a not problem and over the years used laptops with 18v + adaptor and 12v direct ( to be preferred)
Eventually it became vital to sort more up to date charts, struggled to get a more modern version of what I was using.

Budget being important finally ended up with a refurbed Ipad and Navionics Apps.
Vital points.
A. The entire thing only cost around £150.00
B. Any numpty capable of entering their card details and then pushing the download bit on the touch screen gets the plotter software installed and up and running without grief.
When this techophobe eventually got to grips with how to use the thing, it proved to be big advance on my old laptop/Seaclear system in just about every way.,
 
There are pros and cons with the two systems.

PC / Tablet based :

Pros :
Able to use many different chart formats
Able to create own charts
Able to sit at home in the warm and dry planning routes direct into the application
Easy export via flash stick or SD card routes, waypoints etc. for other systems.

Cons :
Not for use in cockpit / open area if weather goes sour
Unless tablet with built in GPS - you have separate GPS unit

Dedicated Chart plotter :

Pros :
Usually weatherproof
Designed for the job.

Cons :
Usually only able to use proprietary or limited chart formats
Needs PC and other software to create own charts
Not so easy to sit at home in the warm and dry planning routes - usually needs PC and additional software to do this and then needs to be transferred to plotter
Different brands can have difficulty communicating / or even transferring data between

BUT - despite my support for PC based plotting - I still use my Lowrance most. The best part of PC based for me - is the planning aspect. I can plan and set a complete cruise in Seaclear - export the file and then import to my Lowrance.
The PC based also allows me to create personalised sections of charts ... even take survey / google earth snaps and create own charts for use on the PC or even on my Lowrance.

I know that for many people - they want a simple screen and ability to get from A to B safely and know where they are .... for some others like myself - the extras that can be done by PC based are interesting. I sit with a foot in each camp - I support chart plotters and I also support PC based. They both have value in our pastime.
 
I use navionics on a tablet. Asuz zenpad mounted in an arm and tablet holder in cockpit well under the hood.

NAvionics allows me to use a laptop or desktop for route planning which can then be exported to the tablet, although this must be done while tablet has access to Web.
I have played with opencpn with vmh charts on a laptop with a GPS dongle fitted. It all worked well but I was more familiar with navionics.

A tablet is lighter, uses less power and it is easier to have the app on additional devices as redundancy.

It isn't easy to put my routes into my Navionics raymarine chartplotter though so I have to use two devices at sea. Ais and charts without route data at the helm on the plotter and the tablet with routes and way points under the hood.

NAvionics... If you are listening... You should enable route sharing across devices. Crazy not to as you can already enable WiFi connectivity. Clunky not to share routes to the plotter.

Ive read it it possible to get Ais onto the tablet but I have not achieved it yet.

We are pretty spoiled these days but my only gripe is sharing of routes.

And maybe a wireless remote for the auto helm.
 
Sync across devices from Navionics app to Lawrence plotter relatively easy, switch on plotters WiFi, connect iPad and sync, route files appear in plotter files and just need to be imported. Does not need internet. Would expect other plotters to be similar
 
Hi all,

Thanks for all answers, fits my thoughts and confirm the benefits from both.

Though wondering what blue water cruisers using?
Any blue water cruiser experience?
Thanks
Erwin
 
Bit like computers - technology advances fast ...

With the expansion of Tablet capability - especially in Android based - its getting that PC's are really only needed for more advanced intensive stuff.

This is where I believe iPad lets market down. Most android have SIM + WiFi + GPS and even Bluetooth ..... but iPad still insist on only the 'upper' models to be similarly equipped.
We see this a lot with RC models - particularly Drone's - where iPad are limited on connectivity, depending on iPad acquired, while Android users are given all options.
 
Im cureently sailing the pacific and use a tablet (well two for back up) with navionics and also a laptop with opencpn. Navionics is amazing as so functional, but open cpn has way more capabilities- especially the ease of getting and overlaying google sattellite images onto the chart for those pesky reefs that are always getting in the way.

Also using different base charts they both compliment each other (along with an eyeball or two).
 
Erwin Swart said:
Though wondering what blue water cruisers using?
Any blue water cruiser experience?
Click to expand...
OpenCPN. No contest really imho. As complicated or simple as your techy brain allows. Must be as good an ais display as anything. Great for satellite images which are often gold dust with ancient charts or no charts and a sneaky back door for navionics/cmap. Grib display very good plus all the plugins you could hope for from weather routing to synoptic chart display.
 
If you have a functioning CP I'm not sure why you would want to switch to an Application based system.
Having said that, I have OpenCPN running on my Phone, Tablet, Notebook and Smart TV! But they are backup to the CP which is connected to the AutoHelm, AIS and RADAR, so if CP went down I would loose connectivity except for the AIS which connects to the App devices via WiFi.
With App bassed devices, only a Notebook / Laptop has the hard wire capability to connect with other devices, and as pointed out, they are probably more power hungry than your existing CP.
 
I see many recc'ds for OpenCPN ..... so I have decided to have a look at the latest version.

I tried OpenCPN many years ago when it was relatively new and was not impressed, but today playing with this latest on my 10" Android ... seems to be not so bad ... still has a few quirks I see ... but then again every program has ts own style !
 
ryanroberts said:
On chargers, can't seem to find DC compatible USB-C outlets anywhere yet. Almost everything is moving to USB-C for power and data, even for pretty high draw (the new macbook pro takes up to 96W over USB-C)
Click to expand...
This one click seems to work for me. I got several that couldn't deliver enough power before discovering this one,

I use a windows machine with SeaClear and android devices with Navionics. I dislike navionics for its difficulty of sharing data with other programs, Seaclear is fairly primitive and does me but I believe those who say Open CPN is more capable. I spend a lot of time bluetoothing data between android and PC and farting about because I enjoy it. I like having my navdata and routes on a laptop for the ability to take it home and do planning on a very large screen. I used to carry two laptops, but now I carry one and two androids. Usually there are a couple of other androids with crew. Another major advantage for me is to the ability to take my entire nav system on to a charter boat and work with my usual tools.
 
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