Dockhead
Well-Known Member
The SOTDMA protocol of B+ is FAR more important than the wattage. Especially if you have a good feedline and antenna.
Those cheap AIS Transponders... are they any good?
- Thread starter Phil_boat
- Start date
doug748
Well-Known Member
This
I like one box solutions and stand alone gear. This might be worth a look if you don't mind refreshed gear:
Pardon our interruption...
Pus the discount for whatever you get for your existing plotter.
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I like one box solutions and stand alone gear. This might be worth a look if you don't mind refreshed gear:
Pardon our interruption...
Pus the discount for whatever you get for your existing plotter.
.
Refueler
Well-Known Member
That was my thoughts as well ... given masthead antenna - I would be getting better than my previous rail mounted ..
Refueler
Well-Known Member
I have this model - but without the WiFi ..... I really like it - despite its older look.
7" screen may sound small - but it does the job well ...
At 332 quid .... got to be a bargain ! Alan at Aves will always support as well.
Phil_boat
Well-Known Member
Thanks all. The Onwa stuff looks like an option. Although it does look a bit dated compared to the big names.
What’s the user experience like? Does it navigate quickly through the menus / redraw quickly when zooming etc?
If I do replace it I’d need something that does depth too, that eBay one doesn’t appear to.
What’s the user experience like? Does it navigate quickly through the menus / redraw quickly when zooming etc?
If I do replace it I’d need something that does depth too, that eBay one doesn’t appear to.
Refueler
Well-Known Member
They can have Depth data input as NMEA to a strip box to show along with time / eta / dtg / cts etc ..
Why not download the manual before deciding ... I always do .... I read up and see if it suits purpose.
Menu's are moderate speed ... redraw is quick enough ..... I have a Garmin UHD 92sv on same boat and it seems to redraw / menu slightly faster than my Onwa KP39A ... but its a feeling rather than an obvious fact. The Garmin is cockpit bulkhead mounted ... the Onwa at the chart table.
Yes the Onwa I have does look dated being the older box case style ... but later Onwa are slim and modern style ... but then you are in a higher price league.
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Phil_boat
Well-Known Member
Cheers, yes I should probably take a look at the manual, good idea. I need something to process the depth data first though I think, like the fish finder / plotter it's currently connected to. If it's not built into any potential plotter that I change to I'll have to add another fish finder / sounder which I don't really have space for on the console.
I've got a new requirement as well, the Lowrance passes GPS speed (& position) to my Suzuki engine gauge but it over reads by a factor of about 2.4 so if I'm changing anything I need to make sure it will talk nicely to that. More research needed before I rush into anything I think. Probably a winter project.
Sea Change
Well-Known Member
We've got an Onwa KP708A, which is a 7" plotter which integrated AIS B+.
Plus sides: Alan at Aves Marine v is great, always answers emails promptly and genuinely knows his stuff. The AIS works very well, with a masthead aerial we've picked up big ships hundreds of miles away, and generally would always see them at 80nm or so. You get free chats for the whole world.
Downsides: it is clunky. The main thing that annoys me is when scrolling around on the map- it's slow slow slow until the cursor touches the edge and then whoosh, you're miles away. Scroll back... slow slow slow... hit the edge and it does a big jump again. If you're in any sort of a hurry it gets frustrating very quickly.
Second thing is the quality of the charting. In Europe it was passable, but in the Caribbean and Bahamas it was almost useless, especially the Bahamas. Whole chunks of land missing. I also had issues with the chart being half a mile offset from reality.
Third thing is the AIS data could be more useful. It will tell you CPA but it won't tell you whether the other vessel is passing ahead or astern of you. I don't know if more sophisticated systems can do this but it seems a pretty obvious feature. You have to look at the bearing and try to figure it out for yourself, which is fun at 4am.
Overall, I'm happy to have it onboard, but I don't really on it as a chart plotter. I prefer to use my phone with Navionics. Despite the screen being a third the size, it's much easier and faster to use with more accurate charting.
Phil_boat
Well-Known Member
@Sea Change thanks. My use is likely very different to yours... I won't be in the Caribbean and more than likely won't be out at 4am unless something has gone a bit wrong!
My want for AIS is more curiosity and the rare occasion we get caught out in marginal vis.
I feel like the touch screen offerings from Garmin / Raymarine etc are going to offer a much slicker experience but obviously with added cost (especially if I want to add AIS as I'll need a separate box). Navionics on the iPad is working very well and is so easy & intuitive to use.
My want for AIS is more curiosity and the rare occasion we get caught out in marginal vis.
I feel like the touch screen offerings from Garmin / Raymarine etc are going to offer a much slicker experience but obviously with added cost (especially if I want to add AIS as I'll need a separate box). Navionics on the iPad is working very well and is so easy & intuitive to use.
doug748
Well-Known Member
That's interesting Sea Change, I asked AI to comment on your unit compared the one I linked to above:
"The ONWA KP-708A is a superior model to the KP-39A, featuring a larger, brighter 7-inch screen, more processing power for faster chart rendering, and better support for the latest K-Chart 3.0 software due to its superior hardware. While both units offer built-in Class B AIS and dual mapping capabilities, the KP-708A provides a more robust and responsive user experience, making it the better choice for a professional or serious leisure mariner. "
Think I will hold off for now!
I totally agree about the usefulness of knowing if a target is passing ahead or astern, some sets from ten years ago can do this - can't be that difficult.
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"The ONWA KP-708A is a superior model to the KP-39A, featuring a larger, brighter 7-inch screen, more processing power for faster chart rendering, and better support for the latest K-Chart 3.0 software due to its superior hardware. While both units offer built-in Class B AIS and dual mapping capabilities, the KP-708A provides a more robust and responsive user experience, making it the better choice for a professional or serious leisure mariner. "
Think I will hold off for now!
I totally agree about the usefulness of knowing if a target is passing ahead or astern, some sets from ten years ago can do this - can't be that difficult.
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Phil_boat
Well-Known Member
Seeing as this thread is drifting into different plotters and I bet some of you know...
What plotter would I need that would sync with Navionics on the phone? So I can plan on the phone / iPad sitting at home and then when I turn the plotter on I can find my routes on it. I presume that's a thing? I also assume it won't be on the budget end of Garmin's offerings.
What plotter would I need that would sync with Navionics on the phone? So I can plan on the phone / iPad sitting at home and then when I turn the plotter on I can find my routes on it. I presume that's a thing? I also assume it won't be on the budget end of Garmin's offerings.
Sea Change
Well-Known Member
I'm in the process of upgrading my nav system. I picked up a secondhand Raymarine e97 hybrid touch MFD, which being an older generation has the advantages of having physical buttons, touch screen, and both types of NMEA. My Onwa now feeds its AIS data to the new MFD.
I haven't really used the new plotter in anger but from the little bit of messing around so far, it's simply in another league in terms of usability. It's like going from a BBC Micro to a brand new MacBook.
And everybody told me the old e series was outdated and clunky...
I haven't really used the new plotter in anger but from the little bit of messing around so far, it's simply in another league in terms of usability. It's like going from a BBC Micro to a brand new MacBook.
And everybody told me the old e series was outdated and clunky...
PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
Doesn't pay to make assumptions Phil
Transferring Routes, Tracks and Markers From Your Navionics Boating App to a Garmin Chartplotter | Garmin Support
Should work with all current Garmin plotters, but double check if it's an Echomap as some of the latest ones are very poor feature-wise.
Phil_boat
Well-Known Member
Cheers!
So that’s that one answered thanks.
I’m leaving this for now before I go down a rabbit hole of replacing everything
If I change the plotter it needs to have 0183 otherwise I’ll also have to change my VHF. And then if I’m changing that maybe I should get one with AIS. Etc…
So that’s that one answered thanks.
I’m leaving this for now before I go down a rabbit hole of replacing everything
If I change the plotter it needs to have 0183 otherwise I’ll also have to change my VHF. And then if I’m changing that maybe I should get one with AIS. Etc…
PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
0183 is fast disapearing with new stuff, not many plotters have it now, Garmin GPSMaps do, but most/all Echomaps don't, a cheap converter might make more financial sense.Cheers!
So that’s that one answered thanks.
I’m leaving this for now before I go down a rabbit hole of replacing everything
If I change the plotter it needs to have 0183 otherwise I’ll also have to change my VHF. And then if I’m changing that maybe I should get one with AIS. Etc…
TSB240
Well-Known Member
It is very easy to export any track or route saved on Navionics phone or tablet converted as a gpx file. I just use an sd card to upload these to my Onwa KP39A.
My Onwa has been hard wired to both my depth and wind display and the has been set up to show depth and wind on the Onwa CP.
I assume you could do the same if your fish finder outputs the nmea 0183 $SD DBT sentence.
I prefer the anti collision display of Open CPN which eliminates the need to use a tired brain to calculate if a changing bearing means infront or behind.
I have the mobile version of this on a tablet in the cockpit under our Hardtop right in front of the helm.
I added a WiFi converter to our Onwa to provide the gps and ais info for Opencpn on the tablet.
Depth and wind can also be relayed to the tablet or phone.
To be honest I hardly use the screen on the Onwa. Most of my scrolling around is done on the more convenient tablet the Onwa is just a relay terminal for all boat nav data.
An interesting quirk of my set up is my Onwa CP continues to relay all nmea depth, wind and ais received data to my tablet via the stand alone WiFi converter when the screen has been turned off locally.
stephen_h
Well-Known Member
We have the same and this also drives me mad!
Keep meaning to get in touch with Aves marine to see if it can be adjusted.
Otherwise good bit of kit for the price.
Phil_boat
Well-Known Member
My fish finder is my plotter. I don’t need a fish finder as I don’t fish, I only need depth. But I’ve already got a transducer on the transom and plugging that into the back of a new unit would be simple.
What I’d like to end up with is a nice modern easy to use plotter with Navionics on my iPad as a backup / home planner. Rather than having to have the iPad on a bracket.
It’s only a little boat and mostly in the Clyde so I don’t need anything too fancy with multiple workstations and feeding laptops etc.
Refueler
Well-Known Member
My Echomap 92sv certainly has 0183 ...
PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
I said "0183 is fast disappearing with new stuff" and "but most/all Echomaps don't,"
Yours is a discontinued model, there is not a single current Echomap with 0183