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Guest
Guest
Having now had two boats sail together with various systems up and running at same time - all called on to do same job ..... I can honestly say that ALL impressed me.
PC running Seaclear - Excellent and clear presentation, Route data needed a quick check of Manual to understand one or two Prefix's - but did it's job very well. Marks 8 out of 10
PC running Maptech - Again excellent and clear but different style of presentation. Did job well. Marks 9 out of 10 ( only cause it had tides as well !)
Garmin Plotter running Bluechart - Now this was an impressive machine and in my mind showed the true value of a plotter .... it was a B&W job as well - but a top-line job. Sorry can't remember Model number .... but its a circa £1000 job. Took some getting used to menu buttons and getting around the set-up - but once mastered - I consider this to be a verty good tool. Having so much other inbuilt info has to mark this a 9.5 out of 10.
PDA - Running Ozi-Explorer ..... this was surprisingly good but with full sunlight felt to be limited. The menu / data display was difficult to read unless screen set to real bright levels and also held out of sun..... But it worked and is a useful tool - I would say at nightime would come into a world of its own saving that trip to the chart desk .... so marks 6 out of 10.
PDA running Pocket Nav - little improvement on general comments so similar applies .... marks 6 out of 10.
For me it was a rewarding exercise and one that has convinced me that it really can be personal preference PC or Plotter .... the PDA as a reasonable support tool.
We had a spell in bad weather and any of the above was a real advantage in getting through ...
My overall assessment has changed slightly from a PC bias to split .... if I can find a similar Plotter at good price - I would have it, but still like the PC idea that I can do so much more !! in addition to Navigate !
Anyway - thought you lot would like to know !!
PC running Seaclear - Excellent and clear presentation, Route data needed a quick check of Manual to understand one or two Prefix's - but did it's job very well. Marks 8 out of 10
PC running Maptech - Again excellent and clear but different style of presentation. Did job well. Marks 9 out of 10 ( only cause it had tides as well !)
Garmin Plotter running Bluechart - Now this was an impressive machine and in my mind showed the true value of a plotter .... it was a B&W job as well - but a top-line job. Sorry can't remember Model number .... but its a circa £1000 job. Took some getting used to menu buttons and getting around the set-up - but once mastered - I consider this to be a verty good tool. Having so much other inbuilt info has to mark this a 9.5 out of 10.
PDA - Running Ozi-Explorer ..... this was surprisingly good but with full sunlight felt to be limited. The menu / data display was difficult to read unless screen set to real bright levels and also held out of sun..... But it worked and is a useful tool - I would say at nightime would come into a world of its own saving that trip to the chart desk .... so marks 6 out of 10.
PDA running Pocket Nav - little improvement on general comments so similar applies .... marks 6 out of 10.
For me it was a rewarding exercise and one that has convinced me that it really can be personal preference PC or Plotter .... the PDA as a reasonable support tool.
We had a spell in bad weather and any of the above was a real advantage in getting through ...
My overall assessment has changed slightly from a PC bias to split .... if I can find a similar Plotter at good price - I would have it, but still like the PC idea that I can do so much more !! in addition to Navigate !
Anyway - thought you lot would like to know !!