Practical Comparison - PC / Plotter / PDA ....

G

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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 !!
 

Joe_Cole

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Nigel,

Interesting.

Do you have any names of suppliers I can go to to get the bits and pieces for a PDA/GPS link up? I've been looking for a while, but every time I Google it I get people who can fix me up with car stuff, but nobody who knows the marine requirements?

Ideally I would be able to bluetooth it, so that I don't have wires all over the place, but I don't know if that is practical.
 

jimbouy

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Can you tell us more about what you want to do.

Are you looking to connect up an existing PDA and GPS. or add GPS to an existing PDA.


If you're looking to start from scratch I suggest the MIo with built in GPS, which I have.

But I agree with Nigel ref its limitations in use.

For me, practicality says dedicated plotter.

But a PC still has it's place


Jim
 

boatmike

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I agree with you Nigel. People take a polarised view (especially on these forums it seems sometimes!) but each has it's merits. Personally I run a PC with Winchart Nexus below decks for planning and keep those charts updated regularly through the internet. The big advantages are tidal stream calculations and a very clear 17 inch screen in colour. In the cockpit I run an old B&W plotter for Nav underway which uses out of date charts on C-Map cartridges. I check the plotter charts against the updates on PC before any unfamiliar trip to ensure I don't miss any critical updates and I think this gives me the best of both worlds. As an aside the plotter uses much less battery power than the PC does....
 

MarkJohnson12345

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The dedicated unit ie the chart plotter will exceed anything else in durability. Thats what its built for.

PDA's will get dropped, and run out of power, PC's will slide off the chart table, need power cables and will die the moment they get wet.

We have a chart plotter / radar. Its waterproof, screwed to the bulkhead beside the chart table, and works well in force 8's and nasty seas.
 

Woody

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I have a PC running Maptech which can be linked to the onboard GPS to run live. Despite the capability, I rarely do this and mainly use it for planning as the paper charts are left on the boat.

I also have a PDA with a GPS "jacket" and the Maptech charts loaded on this for occasional use as a "handheld" chartplotter when needed. This came in very handy in the Solent fog this weekend and with a quick glance was good enough to enable us to stay out of the main shipping channels from the Hamble back to Gosport. It meant we had 2 pairs of eyes on deck at all times, rather than having one pair down at the chart table constantly checking position.

However, given the choice (and funds) I would probably go for a dedicated plotter in the cockpit.
 
G

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I try to avoid the Marine Tag as much as possible and keep to pure items ...

OK the PDA I sue is a HP Jornado 520, with extra memory via Compact Flash card. Connection is via the original Synch cable with RS232 plug. I have two ways to connect and get GPS data in ....

a) PDA data cable RS232 to gender changer RS232 connector - this in turn connected to eTrex RS232 data cable. This set-up allows PDA to run independent direct from GPS. Limitation of course is battery time unless you have inverter or similar to run power adaptor. GPS eTrex has 12V input on the data cable.

b) PDA synch cable is connected to a RS232 - USB convertor cable and then to the PC. The GPS Etrex is plugged into the PC via its own USB cable. The PC program is then set to receive data from GPS and <Passthrough> to PDA.

The RS232 to USB cable is available at most online GPS / PDA / PC Cable outlets ..... averaging anywhere from 15 up to 40 pounds ....
Gender Changers are available in any good PC shop ....

The otherf cables etc. are normally supplied with the PDA / GPS on initial purchase ....

Nothing special, nothing MARINE ..... etc.

Cheers
Nigel
 
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