"New" digital charts on GoogleEarth

Robin said:
You need a (free) torrent stream program like Bit Torrent to download them,
Click to expand...

Just a word of warning to anyone who doesn't fully understand the implications of using a Torrent downloader ...

Be aware that by default most Torrent programs will create cache space on your computer which is then used in the background as a peer source for other people's downloads. A service will be permanently running on your PC in the background serving up data over your internet connection which could have implications for the performance of your PC and connectivity and also cause you trouble if you have bandwidth or usage limitations on your service

You may be perfectly happy with this as a quid pro quo for being able to download torrent content ... or you may not!
 
Brigantia said:
Just a word of warning to anyone who doesn't fully understand the implications of using a Torrent downloader ...

....

You may be perfectly happy with this as a quid pro quo for being able to download torrent content ... or you may not!
Click to expand...

How easy is it to "turn off" a torrent downloader once you have downloaded what you want to prevent that happening?

Or do you have to completely unistall the torrent downloader? and do they do sneaky things to make it hard to unistall?
 
ProDave said:
How easy is it to "turn off" a torrent downloader once you have downloaded what you want to prevent that happening?

Or do you have to completely unistall the torrent downloader? and do they do sneaky things to make it hard to unistall?
Click to expand...

In theory, you just disable it in the settings menu (varies from downloader to downloader)

In practice, I wouldn't trust that as far as I could throw an anchor

And yes, some (probably most) of them do sneaky things to stick around when you don't want them - the Windoze service for one generally sits around and won't readily go away

Best advice would be to avoid them like the plague. Practical advice would be to install the downloader on an old unimportant PC or laptop that can be reinstalled if necessary without much pain. Failing that, set a system restore point before installing the downloader, uninstall immediately after downloading what you want and then run a system restore back to the stored point ... but it's not terribly good practice to do that and it could bit you up the bum!

(Note: I do not condone or encourage software piracy :D)

Edit: PS. Another key point I'm sure everyone will be aware of but worth restating none the less is that ANYTHING downloaded off a filesharing site needs to be thoroughly virus scanned before installing

Also be aware that a lot of so called torrent index sites and free download sites are vehicles for trojan programs and the like - never, ever, click on a pop up button* generated by such a web site for any reason. Abort the page, if necessary kill your browser using task manager or in the worst case scenario pull the plug on your PC rather than risk running any nasty software

* By this I mean any Windows style button in a pop-up window - it may claim to be a "Start Download" button or some other innocuous or desirable action but it may actually be a "Yes, you can run what you like on my PC" button in disguise
 
Last edited:
Brigantia said:
Just a word of warning to anyone who doesn't fully understand the implications of using a Torrent downloader ...

Be aware that by default most Torrent programs will create cache space on your computer which is then used in the background as a peer source for other people's downloads. A service will be permanently running on your PC in the background serving up data over your internet connection which could have implications for the performance of your PC and connectivity and also cause you trouble if you have bandwidth or usage limitations on your service

You may be perfectly happy with this as a quid pro quo for being able to download torrent content ... or you may not!
Click to expand...

I used Bit Torrent as recommended to me privately by someone on here. I then disabled it from the Windows (Vista in my case) Start up menu. You can check in a log on Bit Torrent if and when it was used and before I disabled it showed that it was used once (in 24hrs) then not again since. I did initially have problems (through my lack of knowledge) setting it up and did in fact un-install it and re-installed it again from scratch a few days later when it worked just fine, ( it was working before but I was too dim to realise it) so in this case un-install worked OK. Since then I have had no problems at all and that after 4 months.
 
Searush said:
Overner, thanks for your input, very helpful.

I was interested to see your competitor comparison on the site. Did you do any comparison with Fugawi global navigator? I have some of their OS maps software & was impresssed with what that did.
Click to expand...

Hello Searush,

Had a look at Fugawi Marine software, but the price of software, charts and card reader is well out of the price range of stuff we compared with VisiCharts. We were trying to compare things in the same(ish) price range.

Couldn't resist slipping in the Max Sea Time Zero though at £650-1000. It was the only one we found quickly that handled satellite imagery and chart in a similar way to our VisiCharts. If you look at the screenshots on their link below:

http://maxsea.nexway.co.uk/fiche.html?REF=671783

They look remarkably similar to VisiCharts running in Google Earth at under £50. MaxSea is a proper marine navigation program with all the bells and whistles, unlike Google Earth.

Google Earth already provides all the satellite imagery for free, so VisitMyHarbour just made VisiCharts (on disc to keep) to work with it.

Our VisiChart man has a pile of data from OS maps too and is sharpening his map choppers...
 
Cheers,

yes, we carry local OS maps to use with our charts, as you say it can be helpful to see where the nearest village is with a PO or PH. You can also get a better idea of hill shapes & housing density etc to help you pick out a difficult entrance. I may well be giving you a call shortly.

You are doing well, it is notoriously difficult to prise a few sheckels out of my very deep but rather empty pockets. :D
 
SHUG said:
Am I correct that it shows harbours in SW west Scotland only?
Not much good to a NW Scotland enthusiast!!
Click to expand...

I doubt it, they are a full set of UK charts, the harbour details that you refer to are part of a seperate pdf add-on & consist of stuff gathered quite widely, but much is provided by local members. There is also the full "big ship" pilot book for the whole of Scotland.

Try reading it again in the morning when you are sober? :D
 
Brigantia said:
. . . . (which is why the French data is blanked out on the channel area charts - the French authorities have refused permission for their data to be included via SNC's on the VisiChart product)
Click to expand...

Is it correct, then, that what looks like an excellent value for money system doesn't cover France?

If true that will be a big drawback for those who regularly go cross channel. :(
 
idpnd said:
If this happens to be a rar file, you need all the chunks to build the archive.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Yes I found that out. these are .rar files.

The link I posted earlier is not quite up to date. From that link I managed to download 8 of the files, but 2 were missing. (part 3 and part 5)

A quick google of the exact file name found the 2 missing ones that I downloaded from a different source. A little over 1GB download, that decompresses to 1.7GB of files.

I now have the complete set of charts, and without ever needing to delve into this bit torrent stuff. And I'm quite impressed with Open CPN.
 
ProDave said:
Thanks.

Yes I found that out. these are .rar files.

The link I posted earlier is not quite up to date. From that link I managed to download 8 of the files, but 2 were missing. (part 3 and part 5)

A quick google of the exact file name found the 2 missing ones that I downloaded from a different source. A little over 1GB download, that decompresses to 1.7GB of files.

I now have the complete set of charts, and without ever needing to delve into this bit torrent stuff. And I'm quite impressed with Open CPN.
Click to expand...

You can get tides and currents to load with cm93 also.

They only show arrows click to properties gives flow . Click on tidal stations give depth wave graphs
 
For £50 you can get the whole UK and Ireland UKHO charts from
Memory Map which means you have them on your computer and can navigate with them by connecting a GPS. (Somewhat limited capabilities)

For various reasons I have just bought the MapTech UK 2011 charts to run with Offshore Navigator - I'm accustomed to it, and, for £100, it gives me the UKHO charts for the British Isles and does some things which none of the other cheapish packages I've looked at do.
 
VisiCharts do that too

Some misconceptions probably because VMH is known as a website, rather than a "For Nav" producer.

VisiCharts on DVD at under £50 are to buy and keep (no expiry)...NOT ONLINE. All 800+ chart/lets (same as Memory Map) run in Google Earth and blend with the satellite imagery to give a variable transparency composite image. These can be navigated on, by connecting a GPS to Google Earth. You don't need to be online either, VisiCharts work fine offline, and you can cache 2GB of satellite imagery to use offline too.

OK Google Earth is not a navigation program. That's why another set of VisiCharts are provided that run within SeaClear ( a tried and tested navigation program, probably a bit less limited than the Memory Map one..AIS input accepted etc.). All charts of 25,000:1 and up are preloaded into this, giving full coastal coverage, suitable for "At Sea" use.

We are selling quite a few of these packages since they went on sale 4th April. To be fair, we'd say they're a bit quirky and not for everyone. BUT the ability to actually see chart/satellite pic together, and position your boat "Head Up" in 3D if required gives a huge advantage not seen in any other budget packages.

The SeaClear package included satisfies real time sea use, and the 1100 pages of pilotage info is a bonus.

Yes I'm from VMH, so have an interest. Brigantina is the only one on here who actually has the DVD and no vested interest, he's been testing them a while.

If you're interested Google: visichart dvd
 
Erm, Britains Coastline moves to the Moon?

Installed the visitmyharbour Google Earth overlay, found it too slow to be useful to be honest. Anyway, I decided to have a look at the moon today...

It would seem that the overlay is also active on the moon - a new cruising area perhaps?
 
Brigantia said:
Just a word of warning to anyone who doesn't fully understand the implications of using a Torrent downloader ...

Be aware that by default most Torrent programs will create cache space on your computer which is then used in the background as a peer source for other people's downloads. A service will be permanently running on your PC in the background serving up data over your internet connection which could have implications for the performance of your PC and connectivity and also cause you trouble if you have bandwidth or usage limitations on your service

You may be perfectly happy with this as a quid pro quo for being able to download torrent content ... or you may not!
Click to expand...

that only happens if you dont look and set the program options to stop it happening
 
Overner said:
We are selling quite a few of these packages since they went on sale 4th April. To be fair, we'd say they're a bit quirky and not for everyone. BUT the ability to actually see chart/satellite pic together, and position your boat "Head Up" in 3D if required gives a huge advantage not seen in any other budget packages.
Click to expand...

I like the idea (as something fun to play with!) but I can't for the life of me imagine going into a harbour and hoping I had a 3D heads up view of my position!

Has anyone actually found that feature useful?
 
It does look like an interesting product, but unfortunately on principle I don't buy anything that is "locked" to the delivery media. Apart from Navionics charts! (but that's different, cos the chip sits inside the plotter).

That mechanism of software protection went out with the ark: the correct method is make the download freely available, but useless without a "key" that you issue upon purchase.

Have a look at, errm, every other commercial software vendor on the planet for examples of what I mean.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top