Raymarine e7 chartplotter questions

[Boo2]

Hi,

Is anyone here using a Raymarine e7 chartplotter with a Notebook PC ? I've looked through the manual and I know it's possible to input waypoints and routes etc via the SD card but is it possible to setup routes in my Notebook using Offshore Navigator then transfer them via Bluetooth or WiFi direct to the e7 ? Ideally it would be possible to use my notebook's Bluetooth serial port to get GPS info from and sent waypoints to the e7 as per a generic NMEA device, anyone tried this ? (I am firmly enamoured of the PC below / chartplotter above scenario so am not considering the Navionics on a smartphone approach beloved by Raymarine btw).

Also, I see that this chartplotter is widely advertised at a good price complete with "Navionics EU cartography", is this the real McCoy or is it brain damaged so I will need to buy extra cartography later ? I presume it's cut down in some way and would be very keen to hear what people think of the included charts.

Sunrunner's garage is not tall enough to accept it so it will have to be the Raymarine trunnion mount on top of the garage, anyone using this and have any comments ? This will have the advantage of being readily dismount-and-store-below-out-of-sight-able but will mean I need to dis/connect it every time, do Raymarine have a good solution for this ?

Finally, the e95/e97 are defo out of my price range but the c95 is daydreamable-of, is there anything missing from this that is present in the e7 and which I might miss ? Raymarine's product numbering scheme is completely incomprehensible to me and I'm interested to know why the c95 is so much cheaper than the e95 ?

Many thanks,

Boo2

 

[laika]

Also, I see that this chartplotter is widely advertised at a good price complete with "Navionics EU cartography", is this the real McCoy or is it brain damaged so I will need to buy extra cartography later ? I presume it's cut down in some way and would be very keen to hear what people think of the included charts.

I confess that I haven't been able to find a product comparison on the latest incarnation of the Navionics site but the comparison on this vendor site sounds about right. I have the older C90Wide. The ("silver") basemap is perfectly usable but lacks some detail, limited depth contours and no tidal info and you can't update it.

I've always been something of an analogue diehard when it comes to navigation but I confess that sailing short handed I find the animated tidal vectors you get with navionics gold (not in the "silver" basemap) to be incredibly helpful for on-the-fly re-calculations of strategy without having to dive down below to rummage through the tidal diamond data.

 

[Graham_Wright]

Sunrunner's garage is not tall enough to accept it so it will have to be the Raymarine trunnion mount on top of the garage, anyone using this and have any comments ? This will have the advantage of being readily dismount-and-store-below-out-of-sight-able but will mean I need to dis/connect it every time, do Raymarine have a good solution for this ?


Boo2

I use my plotter either in the cabin or at the helm.

Takes all sorts I suppose.

Does it give you neck ache?

 

[johnalison]

I have installed an e7 this year and generally it works well. My solution to where to place it was to instal it in the cabin, where it connects to Graphic repeater in the garage and by wifi to an iPad. Unfortunately, this connection has proved to be unreliable and I am waiting to see if it improves when I update the e7, which I need to do to run the better Raycontrol app.

The Silver Navionics would be adequate in many areas for most people, but I have bought a Gold for Britain and the North Sea areas for the slightly greater detail and tidal information. On the whole I am pleased with the set which has a bright screen and low current drain, but I have lost one or two functions from my old plotter, such as the 1/2 hour log.

 

[Boo2]

Is anyone here using a Raymarine e7 chartplotter with a Notebook PC ? I've looked through the manual and I know it's possible to input waypoints and routes etc via the SD card but is it possible to setup routes in my Notebook using Offshore Navigator then transfer them via Bluetooth or WiFi direct to the e7 ? Ideally it would be possible to use my notebook's Bluetooth serial port to get GPS info from and sent waypoints to the e7 as per a generic NMEA device, anyone tried this ?

I asked Raymarine as well and they say that "currently" it is not possible to get NMEA data to/from a PC via Bluetooth / WiFi.

They also said that Offshore Navigator doesn't export waypoints and routes in Raymarine format so you have to use Raymarine's or Navionics PC software to do route planning on a PC. I am prepared to bet a translator is available though...

Boo2

 

[aluijten]

I asked Raymarine as well and they say that "currently" it is not possible to get NMEA data to/from a PC via Bluetooth / WiFi.

They also said that Offshore Navigator doesn't export waypoints and routes in Raymarine format so you have to use Raymarine's or Navionics PC software to do route planning on a PC. I am prepared to bet a translator is available though...

Boo2

Please let me know when you've won the bet as I couln't find one. It's my major beef with Raymarine. Why can't they simply support GFX file import on the plotter???
I now have to go through all kinds of hoops to convert from Navionics plannings program (on Mac) to the multifunction display.

 

[Boo2]

Please let me know when you've won the bet as I couln't find one.

I haven't yet bought the e7 so can't try it but the word is GPS Babel can do it.

Boo2

 

[aluijten]

I haven't yet bought the e7 so can't try it but the word is GPS Babel can do it.

Boo2

Regrettable it cannot. But it does help in the chain of software required. More steps are required

The most frustrating thing is that the Navionics Planner software for PC can write the Raymarine format (although with limitations) and the Mac version can't.