Time to replace our NAVTEX

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mike_bryon

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Can anyone recall the recommended set in the YM review (Jan 01) of the ICS Nav 4, Furuno NX300 and Nasa Target and Target Proplus? We are hoping to replace our current very old set with one that really does have a 300 mile range and is not put off by the slightest shadow.

We would welcome any views on which set has good performance in the usual anchorages and offshore in and around the Eastern Atlantic and Med.

Thanks
 
Navtex will become as dead as a dodo when GPRS and other mobile internet connections become affordable - which, I believe, they will very soon. The cost of a new Navtex will pay for a lot of internet connections which will give you a wide range of sources on demand, not just single-source forecasts twice a day.
 
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Navtex will become as dead as a dodo when GPRS and other mobile internet connections become affordable - which, I believe, they will very soon. The cost of a new Navtex will pay for a lot of internet connections which will give you a wide range of sources on demand, not just single-source forecasts twice a day.

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Not sure I fully support the above view - and I'm an avid GPRS fan also.

IMHO Navtex is the only reliable single source of daily shipping hazards, alerts and warnings, along with localised weather forecasts - and it is all FOC each day on a bit of robust kit costing circa £300 and using very few amps....

Doing the maths that's not even 12 months at £1 a day spent on GPRS.

And of course unlike GPRS (which will always be restricted to radio comms range circa 30 miles) Navtex will pick up it's short burst VHF transmissions well offshore........

Go go Navtex....... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
and of course GPRS also - if you can afford it.

JOHN
 
If you are talking about the year-round user, and professional, undoubtedly Navtex will be with us for a long time to come but Navtex has a dreadful record - very few yachtsmen report getting good signals at all times. In harbours they are terrible so how do you get the weather before going to sea?

Most leisure sailors only go out for 12 to 24 hour passages in the main, and who wants a Navtex for the occasional longer passage? Most are within VHF range of coastal stations and can either get weather and nav warnings via broadcasts alerted on Ch 16 or call the coastguard.

Finally, and most crucially, the cost of GPRS is going to plummet as soon as WiFi makes the GPRS service uneconomic; the mobile companies are just milking GPRS for what they can while they still have the chance. Prices are set to tumble to almost nothing...just as voice over internet is revolutionising the pricing of telephone calls.
 
Quote: "very few yachtsmen report getting good signals at all times. In harbours they are terrible so how do you get the weather before going to sea?"
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I have very few problems receiving Navtex in harbour, generally zero errors on the nearest station and a small percentage of errors on the next more distant stations occasionally. Don't blame "terrible" reception on the system when poor results are more likely to be the result of a poor antenna installation or EMI from neighbouring onboard sources. Any radio system requires a decent installation to get decent results.
 
I agree. We very seldom have problems receiving Navtex and can't really understand why others do. I suspect, as you suggest, that poor installation/aerial location may well be the cause.

FWIW, we want the 'other' info from Navtex at least as much as the weather which, as previously mentioned, is available from a variety of other sources. For additional weather info we tend to use LW, RTTY or Wefaxes to the laptop.
 
oldhand/jerryat, As you say, there are two issues:-

1. Reception
2. Content

Reception depends on the transmitter, the propogation path, local interference and the receiver/installation. Only the latter is under the control of the user. There is no doubt that there are many harbours where the location and/or local interference make reception impossible even for sets that work well at other times. If your home harbours or cruising grounds are in that category then Navtex is not much good for you and anyone buying a new set in the hope of getting better performance should puchase the system on a sale or return basis or they may have made an expensive mistake.

On the technical side, the big weakness of navtex is that they only transmit twice a day on each station so even a very short pulse of interference can lose you a whole day's data. Someone drawing water at the wrong moment, perhaps, so the water pump goes off in conditions when the signal/noise is already poor.

As for content, I am not aware of any url giving the other information put out by navtex though I imagine it will be available in due course. If you read my original post you will see that I did not suggest that it is available though in sea areas 1 you will always be able to get VHF broadcasts or call a coastguard for any of that information.

Of couse navtex is part of the GMDSS system and, like anything in marine, will hang around until well after the maggots have flown, but the technology is old and not very good - which is why most people have trouble with navtex and very few have trouble with VHF radios, radars, etc.
 
Our Navtex experience in Western Med as far south as Balearics is pretty good. French reports received twice per day very reliably, in four months we missed less than five. These were almost always when berthed in marinas, where I understand that surrounding masts inhibits reception. Italian reports received fairly regularly. Spanish reports pretty unreliable. I understand that this is always the case, regardless of set.

My reading suggests that Navtex will be with us for a long time, it is a cornerstone of modern electronic seafaring.

We have the Nasa Pro plus version. Initially it gave us problems due to water ingress into the antenna. This was repaired by Nasa but I added sealant to make it more waterproof. Since then it has been fine.

Does anyone know how the signal strength histogram is used? Looks like it might be useful but there is no information in my operating instructions.
 
I agree with Jerryat, I've often found variable performance in Navtex systems on a variety of boats. I think this comes down to type and quality of fitting of the antenae.

I've always found RTTY and Weatherfax the most reliable source for weather when in remote anchorages or offshore. I take my own Target receiver, bit of wire and laptop when on other peoples boats. If in Harbour I'll also check online weather reports/forecasts at internet cafe.
 
I also replaced my indifferent Nasa navtex with the new Furuno set this
year and was impressed with its clarity and ease of use and reliability.
It's a hundred pounds more than the Nasa but worth it IMHO.
I do use a Nasa Weatherman for the 3/5 day outlook and that's fine.
I can rarely be bothered with Wefax, but do listen to the Italian VHF forecasts.
In the Adriatic you must be able to receive Split Navtex which is much stronger
than Corfu.
 
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.................which is why most people have trouble with navtex and very few have trouble with VHF radios, radars, etc.

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Lemain, you may wish to stop digging the hole?

Of the 10 forumites above there are 8 who effectively say they do not have 'trouble' with Navtex and 1 who has - you.

I'm sure on that basis you'll accept your comment that 'most people have trouble (ie 10%)' might need some rethinking?

I'm not trying to be a smart arse - but am always concerned that a newbie reading a thread and considering kit could listen to those most vocal - as opposed to balancing the views given.

Cheers
JOHN
 
We mainly want the NAVTEX weather information and block as much of the rest as is reasonable. We like to go offshore so the range of a mobile phone is too restrictive but the 300 mile range of NAVTEX is worthwhile. Like others we get a report from an internet café or harbor office and then seek updates from the NAVTEX for the first two days out or when passing or approaching a station.

We have had problems with NAVTEX reception, not in home waters, but in the Spanish and Portuguese sectors and in many of the Atlantic island harbors and anchorages, as have many other boat with NAVTEX we have met in those locations. For this reason I cannot go along with the only 10% have problems argument as from our experience it depends on where you are.

We considered investing in an iridium phone and compressed weather emails(really not so expensive these days) but decided to put it off for a bit longer hence the revisit to NAVTEX.

I expect that we will give the Furuno a try and put the arial as high as practical – it only comes with a 10m cable so it is a bit restrictive in this respect.

Thanks again.
 
If you are outside VHF range offshore, then maybe you are considering how to make a distress or urgency call. Mini-M or Iridium can be used - just programme Falmouth CG's number in and use them as the Controlling station anywhere in the world. The phone also gives email, as well, of course but at a cost. An alternative is SSB (Tx and RX or just Rx), or look at Nasa's Weatherman which I have heard excellent reports of. But for the price, if you have a laptop, I would suggest an SSB receiver and the appropriate software to receive RTTY and weatherfax Germany's forecast is excellent from Britain to most of the Med and seems to be a far more reliable forecast than any other.

I get my German weathers from the dwd.de website via saildocs.com or, when I have it, a WiFi link.
 
Mike - Agree no one system is perfect and the responses above may not be truly representative.

As it happens, I also had Navtex shadow issues on previous boat but having had the aerial reviewed it seemed those probs were our end and not with transmission stations.

If you ever consider Irridium again you may also wish to consider Thurea for EU and Indian Ocean coverage? We've got one and it is cheaper kit, cheaper calls, and easy to top up. For now it is a no-go outside the above areas.

Cheers
JOHN
 
We also compliment Navtex with RTTY and weatherfax via Icom PCR-1000 and PC and feel we get all the information we need without resorting to onshore or payement required inputs.
 
We also compliment Navtex with RTTY and weatherfax via Icom PCR-1000 and PC and feel we get all the information we need without resorting to onshore or payment required inputs.
 
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