Recommendations for a PC based navigation planning tool

[Ian_Edwards]

I've been using Navigation Planner for years to play around with charts and plan routes at home for years. However I feel that it's getting past its sell by date.
I'm looking for a not too complicated planning tool to work with Navionics Platinum charts and a Raymarine e125 (new e serises)

Any recommendations?

 

[Bru]

I'm using PC Plotter and it seems OK so far

 

[nigelmercier]

I use SeaPro for both planning and navigation: http://www.euronav.co.uk/products/products.html

 

[Andrew G]

OpenCPN - free, comprehensive and developed by yachties (I transfer the Waypont data from it to my chartplotter whereas others use it on their PC for navigation too).
Getting charts for navigation in anger is always the issue but if you are using a chartplotter, with up-to-date charts, then that is less of a problem. You could carry OpenCPN as a backup. Andrew

 

[charles_reed]

OpenCPN - free, comprehensive and developed by yachties (I transfer the Waypont data from it to my chartplotter whereas others use it on their PC for navigation too).
Getting charts for navigation in anger is always the issue but if you are using a chartplotter, with up-to-date charts, then that is less of a problem. You could carry OpenCPN as a backup. Andrew

Whilst agreeing that OpenCPN is probably the best PC-based plotting system available, will it run, as specified, on Navionics charts and will the plan thus produced transfer into his Raymarine plotter?
I fear not.

 

[Ian_Edwards]

I've looked at the Sea Pro and it doesn't appear to run on Navionics charts, I haven't tried Open CPN, but from post #5 it looks like it doesn't work on Navionics either.

Anyone used Raymarine's Voyage Planner?

It appears to be free if you've bought a new e series machine, but I've yet to figure out how to down load it.

Does PC plotter work with Navionics charts?

 

[DipperToo]

PCPLotter runs with Navionics charts. If you use the CF type cards, using the BLue Navionics card reader (connects to USB) means that the PC(s) do not need to be registered with Navionics when using PCPlotter. Not sure if there is a 'blue' card reader for SD cards.

PCPlotter has two options when purchasing; Get licence keys which can bve validated on, I believe, a maximum of 3 PCs or as I did, get a USB Security dongle instead. If you use the dongle, so long as the PC/Notebook never reboots or shuts down (ie, use suspend or sleep) then you can remove the key once PCPlotter launches.

When the Navionics blue chart reader is connected, you can copy the charts to the PC using an option in PCPLotter when 'opening' charts. Again, not sure about what happens if you use SD cards.

As a word, PCPlotter is pretty good but if you use the optimum passage planning feature (takes account of tides etc), do be patient as it can take quite a while and sometimes the windows 'progress' bar seems to freeze and you get a message that the program is not responding. They are aware of this and it may be some issue with Windows.

I am currently using the software on an Asus T100 Win8 tablet with an external GPS (GlobalSat BU-353-S4 USB GPS Receiver - earlier ones had issues with Win8). Win8 automatically recognised this device (as well as a USB to Serial cable, which uses the Prolific2303 chip, if you want to connect to NMEA etc )

Hope this helps.