NASA PCNavtex

[Playtime]

This looks like a cheap way to receive navtex (if you use a laptop on board) but is it any good?

How sensitive is the receiver (in practice) and how usable is the software to read the messages on the laptop?


I appreciate you have to switch between channels (490 or 518kHz), either manually or using a pre-set timer, but this is the same on most budget and mid priced standalone units.

Are there any other issues, either good or bad?

 

[Conachair]

This looks like a cheap way to receive navtex (if you use a laptop on board) but is it any good?

How sensitive is the receiver (in practice) and how usable is the software to read the messages on the laptop?


I appreciate you have to switch between channels (490 or 518kHz), either manually or using a pre-set timer, but this is the same on most budget and mid priced standalone units.

Are there any other issues, either good or bad?

I have one, works OK, in London i was getting holland, ostend, france and norway in addition to UK. Software is hardly high end but does the job, with filters and you can export to a text file.

 

[Playtime]

Thanks for the response - that's one positive.

Has anyone else used PCNavtex and would like to contribute?

TIA

 

[Coaster]

Thanks for the response - that's one positive.

Has anyone else used PCNavtex and would like to contribute?

TIA

My experience with this product was an unmitigated disaster. It never functioned properly and despite various conversations with NASA's 'software developer' (I think that was the title) we eventually cut our losses and threw it away.

Frankly I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole.

There have been threads about this previously.

If you want a decent PC Navtex buy the Furuno unit.

 

[Playtime]

There have been threads about this previously.

Unfortunately the Search engine on the Forum throws up hundreds of threads if you put in PCNavtex or PC Navtex, none of which (that I sampled) actually mention PC Navtex!

If there is a previous good thread on this subject maybe someone can point me to it?

So far, on this thread, we have one good and one bad report, so evenly balanced currently. Any more feedback?

 

[Conachair]

Unfortunately the Search engine on the Forum throws up hundreds of threads if you put in PCNavtex or PC Navtex, none of which (that I sampled) actually mention PC Navtex!

If there is a previous good thread on this subject maybe someone can point me to it?

So far, on this thread, we have one good and one bad report, so evenly balanced currently. Any more feedback?

Google is better at seaching the forums, put in site:www.ybw.com first, the search box on the site isn't up to much.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=site:www.ybw.com+pc+navtex

 

[Tranona]

Completely opposite experience from Coaster. Unit worked fine all the way across the Med - not that the coverage is that great and now works OK from Poole. Useful linked to a PC because you can leave it running then download the messages when you want. Had good service from NASA over issues with installing the AIS engine I bought at the same time.

Don't think a navtex justifies a dedicated instrument so the engine seems a good idea.

 

[actionoptics]

NASA PC Navtex

We've had one on board now for 6 years and it has always worked well ..... as long as we are a little way off shore. It seems to need the open space rather than hills and things around a harbour or anchorage. Easy to filter out the areas that you don't want and stores the information until you connect to the PC so you don't need the PC on all the time.
I think our aerial picks up both channels.

 

[Playtime]

Don't think a navtex justifies a dedicated instrument so the engine seems a good idea.

That was my thought - hence the question.

Thanks for the positive reports, guys.

I think I might give it a try. I was very happy with my old NASA Navtex unit in my previous boat (now sold; 13 years of service with no problems) but didn't think a standalone unit was justified (either in money or space terms) in the new one.

PS If anyone is interested in a Bavaria 38 Ocean (centre cockpit, fixed windscreen, lead keel, tent, lots of goodies etc), there's an excellent example with Michael Schmidt at Hamble Point. Goes by the name of Playtime!

 

[franksingleton]

I must say that I have never seen the point of this idea... NAVTEX receivers are not expensive and have low power consumption. I want to be able to see the information right away if it is weather. I want to scan NAV warnings quickly. I do not want to have a power hungry, water sensitive laptop working whilst I am sailing.

There is nothing very difficult about receiving NAVTEX and there is no reason why the PC NAVTEX should receive any better or worse than any other set. There are differences in software and hardware that mean that some sets cost more than others. We have a Furuno 300D. I find it much easier to read than my old NASA NAVTEX PRO but it does not receive any better.

Reported problems with NAVTEX are usually a result of the mysteries of radio propagation at these frequencies. See http://weather.mailasail.com/Franks-Weather/Navtex-Reception-Problems-And-Cures. My abiding concern is what will be the son of NAVTEX. I have seen no signs of this being addressed. My suspicion is that the powers that be do not have any plans and are just hoping that, eventually, satellite communications become so cheap that all seafarers will get such information on-line wherever they are. The problem, one at least, is that NAVTEX is a push system while the internet is a pull one.

 

[VictorII]

We used it for a transatlantic crossing last year. When our satphone developed a problem halfway across from Tortola to the Azores, we relied on it for general forecasting (and called ships for local weather).
Works very well, we received Miami until about 200 Miles from Flores and then started getting UK. Azores station was out at the time. We had a dedicated portable with weather and nav software as well as a small backup PC just in case.
I wouldn't want a dedicated device. They're expensive and the "cheaper" models are nowhere compared to a PC for displaying data, saving to memory etc. For the price of a paper navtex printer you can buy 2 portable PCs.

 

[Playtime]

I must say that I have never seen the point of this idea... NAVTEX receivers are not expensive and have low power consumption. I want to be able to see the information right away if it is weather. I want to scan NAV warnings quickly. I do not want to have a power hungry, water sensitive laptop working whilst I am sailing.

There is nothing very difficult about receiving NAVTEX and there is no reason why the PC NAVTEX should receive any better or worse than any other set. There are differences in software and hardware that mean that some sets cost more than others. We have a Furuno 300D. I find it much easier to read than my old NASA NAVTEX PRO but it does not receive any better.

I beg to differ about the cost of a dedicated navtex receiver.

The Furuno NX300D that you mention is around £450.

The NASA PCNavtex unit is around £120.

Since I already use a laptop/netbook extensively, both for planning and for real time nav (as well as email, browsing, photos, record keeping etc.), it's no contest really (so long as PCNavtex is up to the job which this thread has answered).

 

[franksingleton]

I beg to differ about the cost of a dedicated navtex receiver.

The Furuno NX300D that you mention is around £450.

The NASA PCNavtex unit is around £120.

Since I already use a laptop/netbook extensively, both for planning and for real time nav (as well as email, browsing, photos, record keeping etc.), it's no contest really (so long as PCNavtex is up to the job which this thread has answered).

I did not say that a NAVTEX receiver was as cheap as PC NAVTEX. The NASA PRO is £205 at list price. I suggest that the extra cost over the PC NAVTEX is worth it to have the convenience of not having to be using a PC and to have the daya there immediately as soon as received.

 

[Playtime]

I have now bought the NASA PCNavtex unit and have to say I'm quite impressed.

It's running in the garage at the moment and pulling in stations from Norway to Portugal on both 490 and 518KHz.

The software does the job although it is a bit basic. When you turn on the laptop and start the Navtex programme it takes around 40 seconds to download all the messages from the unit. You can then view all of them in chronological order (latest to oldest) or, more usefully, you can filter them by station, frequency and message type in any combination. It also only saves messages once so you don't see the same message multiple times over several days.

It is also much easier to read the messages on a decent sized screen.

If you already use a laptop/netbook regularly on board and want Navtex then this is undoubtedly the most cost effective solution (IMHO).

 

[franksingleton]

I have now bought the NASA PCNavtex unit and have to say I'm quite impressed.
..............
.

I have no problems with NASA software, in some ways I have found it superior to my Furuno 300D.

Using the PCNavtex or similar systems probably depends on what you sail, what power supplies you have, where and when you sail. We could not contemplate having a laptop running all the time when sailing. We do not have the power necessary, laptops are vulnerable to water so, for us, would be unusable in bad weather. I want to be able to see NVTEX messages as soon as they arrive. I could not do that with PCNavtex.

When my aged NASA PRO dies, I replaced it with a Furuno mainly because of ease of reading. Were my Furuno to pack up, I would probably go back to NASA with one of their newer dedicated NAVTEX receivers. It is partly a matter of practicality and partly philosophy. NAVTEX is intended for 24 hour automatic, unattended reception with instant read-out. For our boat a dedicated set is the only answer. Others can, clearly, work differently.

 

[Conachair]

We could not contemplate having a laptop running all the time when sailing. We do not have the power necessary, laptops are vulnerable to water so, for us, would be unusable in bad weather. I want to be able to see NVTEX messages as soon as they arrive. I could not do that with PCNavtex.

Understand about the vulnerability aspect. But ignoring that for a moment, are you really going to miss that much if you only turn the computer on for a quick check of a navtex engine, say, every 4 or 6 hours?

 

[franksingleton]

Understand about the vulnerability aspect. But ignoring that for a moment, are you really going to miss that much if you only turn the computer on for a quick check of a navtex engine, say, every 4 or 6 hours?

OK. I agree that a look every 4 hour, say, would not be too power consuming. The computer could be left in hibernation. Fine with a built in computer, still less happy with a laptop. I would still argue that, certainly for us, the dedicated NAVTEX is the best option. It just does its thing with no attention from me in all weathers and sea conditions without hazarding my laptop. I probably look at it in the same way that I do when someone uses the same mooring line for two purposes. From time to time you regret it.

But, it does depend on your boat and the kind of sailing that you are doing.