Touch screens in the cockpit ........ any good ? ....... or avoid like the plague ?

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CPD

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Question as in the post title. I am planning a big upgrade next winter and a more recent plotter will be at the centre of it all. All comments welcome, good, bad and ugly. Many thanks as usual :).
 
Speaking from experience (Raymarine Axiom) spray on the screen will affect it BUT you can simply deactivate the touch function if sailing in heavy waters and use either the optional keypad or a connected tablet.
 
Had a Raymarine Axiom E95 from new. Bought the remote panel too. Glad I did because the touchscreen failed inside two years and jumps all over the place. I disabled it and use the remote panel now. Unfortunately the remote keyboard is now intermittent. Not impressed
 
Our RM E75 is excellent. As stated, the touch screen is a little degraded when sopping wet, but there's an override.

Just don't accidentally lock the screen without knowing how to unlock it, before working out the override function. I'm not sure I'd go for one of the "touchscreen only" variety for that reason.

Also, don't let novice crew dangle their harness clips around like a hypnotist's watch and smash the screen at a cost of £300. Nobody ever told me to hold the clip, rather than swinging it around by the webbing, but it just does to show nothing's obvious!
 
My Garmin 751 lives under the sprayhood. Even with cold wet fingers it works as it should

Ink
 
My Vulcan works fine in the cockpit, but since putting a Zeus 3s there I will say I'm glad of the buttons and knobs. It's not that touch doesn't work in a cockpit, it's that buttons and knobs are a better solution to the problem regardless of location.
 
Had a vulcan for three years now and cant stand it. difficult to scroll down with touch screen and when wet it clearly makes it a lot more difficult.

Steveeasy
 
steveeasy said:
Had a vulcan for three years now and cant stand it. difficult to scroll down with touch screen and when wet it clearly makes it a lot more difficult.

Steveeasy
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Have you considered buying the control unit? Still cheaper together than a Zeus but same controls
 
Like a hundred others, I asked that question , and the answers didn't help at all.
There's nothing wrong with a touchscreen, but on deck I find myself using the screen to drag and the knobs to zoom. I'm glad we've got both. Offshore, we're usually using gloves and then you definitely need the buttons/knobs. Down below we use an ipad which controls the plotter and I don't particularly miss the knobs.
 
My Simrad NSSs have excellent touch screens but difficult to use when moving. Get touch screen and buttons/rotary for full easy control.

46CE74A9-01B6-479D-90EB-5D9EFF5273BD.jpeg
 
You can also mirror your chartplotter to an Android tablet (or, I assume, an iPad), so you can go below and dry your hands before doing so.
 
Got Axiom9 plus wired remote cheaper than buying the Axiom pro version with buttons. Also have it wifi linked to cheapish android notebook which has a control facility too, secondary use is as a mounted repeater/control at lower helm if we ever use it, Much prefer life in the penthouse. don't like touch screens but then again have had no problems yet.
 
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