PDA for Navigation

[jay]

I have an Ipaq PDA and a Bluetooth GPS whch i use with Tom Tom software for in car navigation. Is there an easy/cheap way to use as an onboard chartplotter. Whats the cheapest way to get hold of electronic charts and software that will run on ths. I already have a Furono GPS and Yeoman but this might be handy as an in cockit addition or as a backup. Cruising area is NE England and possibly across to Holland this summer.

 

[waterrat365]

There are two apps I use on my iPaq 2215 (Win OS: Fugawi (costs about $100 US) and Outdoor Navigator from Maptech ($20). Guess which one works better? Actually, the more expensive one has one great advantage: it works on a PC laptop as well as a PDA. But for the PDA alone, the Maptech is much better. First of all, the charts are better and secondly, price. However, I cannot say how their European Charts are, but all the US charts are available as a free download from their website, rather than requiring a seperate purchase of charts. You go to the site, review the choices, download to your computer as a file name, then transferthe file to your PDA, which stores it as a working chart. So for $20, I got all the charts I can use (which all store on a 256M CD card with room to spare) and the software. Neat, eh? On the other hand, w/Fugawi, you can make your own charts by scanning a paper chart and downloading it into the PDA. Check it out: maptech.com, fugawi.com.

The only problem I can see with using it as a chartreader on a boat is that you must have a power cable ($20) and the screen illumination should remain on at night, which uses power. If you are running only on internal batteries that could be a problem. BTW, I use mine as a backup for my Magellan during my summer cruise through New England each year. With appropriate software, you can even websurf and emailusing your bluetooth cellphone as a modem for the PDA. Best, Cliff Moore, S/V Pelorus, USA

 

[jay]

Thanks Cliff - all i need now is a source of maps for uk waters - I'll keep hunting.

 

[bigmart]

You can buy Maptech Charts for all of the GB coast. They are divided up into areas & cost £100.00 per area. They come with free PC Software but you have to buy the PDA software as an extra. Try :

http://www.memory-map.co.uk/

Martin /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Woody]

I have Maptech on a Laptop that I use manily for route planning although I can link it to the onboard GPS. I also have the Maptech charts on an iPaq PDA running SmartExplorer software which came with the NavMan GPS sleeve. It works well on the PDA for occasional/backup use although the screen is small. It did come in handy when the the fog came down in the Solent a couple of weekends ago, enabling me to stay on deck rather than constantly monitoring position at the chart table.