Navtex or Weatherman

[davehu]

I am trying to decide which system will provide the most useful weather information to me sailing in UK and Northern French and Dutch waters. Ignoring the pros and cons of individual manufactures my list on pros and cons is

Navtex
1. Information for UK waters is the same as that given on Radio 4 and the VHF coastguard reports.
2. Information for French and Dutch waters is in English
3. The Navtex signal is weak and is easily distorted, it seems to be good at sea but not in Harbours or near high ground
4. Covers the whole area I sail in

Weatherman
1. Gives wind and sea states in the sea areas covered for up to 6 days ahead. This information is not available to me in any other format. No access to the interent.
2. The radio signal is strong and reception is good in most places
3. Does not cover the Irish sea and Western Scotland, but local VHF is good in those areas.

What do you all think about the two systems

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[Twister_Ken]

No experience of Weatherman but another 'pro' for Navtex is that it receives navigational warnings as well. which may be of value.

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[vyv_cox]

Navtex
1. Navtex does not require you to wake up at extremely anti-social hours to hear it.
2. All international Navtex broadcasts are in English
3. Not true. The antennae on some sets are cheaply made and fail easily.
4. Indeed it does. Dutch Navtex broadcasts are far better and more comprehensive than their VHF broadcasts. French Navtex is excellent. Met office 3 day forecasts are issued every day, sometimes take some interpretation but are as accurate as anything else. Not available by radio as far as I know.

Weatherman
1. No 6 day forecasts can be relied upon. 5 day forecasts are less than 5% reliable. Dutch forecasts give sea state but little better than making your own estimate
2. May be so but my Navtex receives just as well as or better than my Meteoscan (which is what the Weatherman receives)
3. Local VHF is just as good all around the UK and Dutch coast. Dutch broadcasts are in English, Channel 23/83.

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[davehu]

Thanks Vyv for that information, your comments are always to the point. I see from a previous thread that you have a Nasa Clipper which is good if you seal the ariel. If you were buying again would you have ICS 6 dual at £345, Clipper at £273 with decent ariel mount or the Target pro at £243 with decent ariel mount.

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[Robin]

If power consumption is a concern, and remember Navtex should be on 24/7 then look at the different specs. When I bought our NASA Pro it used much less than the ICS.

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[Birdseye]

Got both. In most areas the navtex forecast is more use, since the area coverage is more detailed, and how much reliance can you put on a 4 or 6 day forecast anyway. Reception is if anything better on navtex since it is a low frequency signal and not subject to propagation problems in the same way. Weatherman signal strength varies during the day, you need to select different frequencies at lunchtime than in the morning, and there isnt always a good claer frequency when the forecast is being given out.
So I use navtex for coast hopping, and weatherman for longer passages or where local navtex / local forecasting skills are cr*p. Like Greece, for example.

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[vyv_cox]

The Clipper replaced a Target pro, which I had owned for a number of years. I resealed the antenna box cover and never had a problem with it. I then bought the Clipper in preference to a Target Pro Plus, for the dual frequency capability. Hopefully my antenna sealing will overcome my only problem, as otherwise I like the Clipper a lot.

The simplest ICS seemed far more expensive for essentially the same thing, and I have so much other instrumentation that I didn't need the additional facilities of the more expensive models. So I guess I would buy a Clipper again but this time seal the antenna before mounting it.

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[Oldhand]

Like most responses I would agree that Navtex is the most suitable for you because of the more detailed local information and the more trustworthy 24 hour/48 hour forecasts.

However, I am really replying to state the advantage of the the dual channel ICS Nav 6 receiver. Apart form the display being very clear, easy to read and providing message headers, it receives both frequencies without user intervention and can recieve messages on each frequency at the same time. Apart form price, the main disadvantage is power consumption although I believe ICS to be working on LED back-lighting to reduce this.

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[AlanPound]

We have an ICS Nav 6, and after a number of problems from interference, it now receives very well..... however..

...am I the only one who cannot understand the user interface? I am a firm believer in the view that "if you can't use it without reference to the user manual, then the user interface has failed....."

... and I've looked at said manual (not with any particular enthusiasm or concentration, you understand), but whenever I approach the (very attractive) unit (I am far from being an everyday user)... I am completely baffled...

... am I in need of a brain transplant? Is it me, or...?

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[malcp]

Hi Alan,

I think the ICS user interface could be made slightly less complex. In fact I had to study the manual before being fully confident in its use. But having done so the operation became clear and it works well. Sure, if I was designing it I would do things a little differently, but that's likely true of most kit.

I too normally only reach for the manual when intuition and fiddling have failed!

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