Which Chart plotter?

Clyde_Wanderer

Clyde_Wanderer

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I would appreciate the forums views on the following chart plotters, if anyone has used any of them and how they find them for ease of use and porformance in the field, and any other helpfull opinions on them.
the Navman 5505, Northstar 550, and the Standard horizon CP180.
And can anyone tell me if I buy any of these models in America will they be suitable for use in uk coastal waters?
Thanks, C_W.
 
Standard Horizon 180 is very good value for money - a very intuitive basic plotter that runs C-map software nicely and interfaces without complaint with a NASA AIS engine and a DSC radio.
 
Bought a Northstar 550 from Marine Electronics for £299.00
in May this year, works fine and other than grey buttons instead of Navman blue buttons is identical (it has to be it's made by Navman!.
 
The Standard Horizon is excellent, but no doubt the others are too.
Re suitability for UK waters, it is only a matter of getting the right charts.
Buying in the States there are likely to be "special offers" with USA charts, so you would have to pay "extra" for a UK chart.
Might wipe out the cost saving on purchase?
Check out the websites and do the sums.
 
I would endorse the comments on the CP180. I have the built in antenna version and it works well below on a Sigma 38. The joystick cursor control is excellent.
 
Recently fitted the Standard Horizon cp180i in the cockpit, very impressed, also the screen is clear in sunlight.
Very intuitive to use with very quick redraw when panning or keeping position in center of screen. Can endorse the other positive comments.
I have also used the Navman and the SH seems to win.

Hope this helps

Philip
 
I don't own any of these, so I'm not biased, although I did use a Navman 5600 for a couple of seasons. All 3 plotters would do a reasonable job, but I'd favour the Navman/Northstar simply because they have a portrait-format screen which, by the time you have some data boxes displayed, leaves a squarish window for the chart display. On the other hand, the Standard Horizon has a landscape-format screen and displaying data boxes (or using split-screen) results in a long thin window for the chart display. I reckon this isn't as easy to use. Check out the screen pics in the various user manuals.

The actual cost of the plotter is only part of the overall expense; you'll need to buy and update chart cartridges too. For this reason, I'd suggest it may be worth spending a little more to get a better plotter. Screen resolution is a crucial factor governing ease of use and satisfaction with plotters. It would be worth spending another £70 or £80 and going for a 640x480 pixel plotter - 4 times the resolution of the ones you're currently considering. The Navman 5507 or Northstar 557 have this much superior screen.

[edit - deleted mention of NavBus; both Navman & Northstar plotters have NavBus connectivity.]
 
Near all will connect with other gear via NMEA .. so connectivity is a midl'ing point. Proprietary bus systems really only come into their own if you have same manufacturer gear and construct an integrtaed system.

Screen resolution is important so compare ... you may pay more for a better res. screen but it's worth it in the end.

Portrait vs Landsacpe display .. I agree with TO about this - portrait is better for standard displays of data etc. - but if you can float / re-arrange data box's ... or even as Lowrance does make the box transparent and data text only shows - then it's another mute point.

I was disapointed in SH to PC data transfer after another highlighted it on the forum ... but you will find similar in all budget systems.

Out of curiosity - why have you discounted Lowrance ? or its sub co. Eagle - they produce some good gear at budget price .. and in UK you get bundled Nauticpath chart card and also have Navionics card capability for real detail ...

Have to say that price is extremely attractive via states ... but then by time you add chart card change in a bundle etc. and delivery ... ?? Plus what about Warranty and Service ... some companies are extremely sensitive about "Grey Imports" and can refuse to touch it if it goes wrong ... quoting that you should contact original vendor !! (Happened to me ... with Bull Honeywell ..)
 
I looked around a few months ago with the intention of buying this winter. At that time the CP180 seemed the best option for features as it's one of the lowest cost units that will accept AIS.

Will look again over the winter but any comments on a low cost unit that accepts AIS will be gratetfully accepted.
 
i got the Navman 5505 from the usa. I bought a cmap cartridge from uk and all works fine. an excellent bit of kit with no compatibility problems.
 
The CP180 is about the cheapest unit to integrate with AIS (even cheaper if you buy the i version ... which is fine down below or on deck...

The problem we've found with AIS on the CP180 is that it is very basic, there are no predicted paths, there is no rate of turn, there is no detailed information - just name, number, call sign and speed, with the alarm function all you get is a popup box that alarms you as to the name/mmsi number of the vessel - along with a beep, if you confirm this and the vessel is on the limit of your avoidance range then it will alarm you every time it breaks into that range. Not only that, but it doesn't paint the vessel in a different colour - so you have to hunt for it. It doesn't even indicate if the vessel will be infront or behind you at the time of CPA ... so makes it almost useless in poorer vis.

But ... we purchased the unit for just over £400 complete with UK Cmap C Card - including channel islands and northern france - more than we're likely to need...

If I was looking again, then I'd investigate the CP300 with the larger screen, but I'd also like to see some massive improvements to the treatment of AIS data because as it is at crucial times I'm going to be running a laptop below with Shipplotter ....
 
Lower cost AIS plotters...

At under £400, both the Navman 5507 and the Northstar 557 have a fairly well-featured AIS capability, as well as the high-definition 640x480 screen. The 557 User Manual gives a good description of what it can do. (Note that although the plotter has a colour screen, the manual is only black & white).
 
Re: Lower cost AIS plotters...

I was a bit concerned about this from the 557 user manual [ QUOTE ]
A vessel will be removed from the list if no
information is received within 6 minutes from the
last message

[/ QUOTE ]
Does that mean that if you haven't received information about a vessel for over 6 minutes it will be removed from the plotter display? SH degrades the vessel by putting a line through it - so you know it was there, and it may well still be, but you've just not received a signal from it - which probably means your single frequency AIS engine is operating on the other channel!
I did like the extra information available though - and the predicted tracks - does it bend if the target is turning?
 
Re: Lower cost AIS plotters...

Yes, with the Navman & Northstar, the vessel would disappear after 6 mins with no AIS reception. I think 6 mins is quite a long time in AIS terms, so this might not be a problem. The Standard Horizon assigns a "lost target" symbol to a vessel after 3.5 mins with no reception.

The predicted track doesn't bend! But it will change if the vessel is turning.
 
I bought a Standard Horizon in July and have mounted it flush in the cockpit. I am very pleased with it. I paid for bundle with a c map that covered uk and Ireland for £460. When i bought mine in the big shop in port solent they showed me the others and the cheaper ones were defiantly lower build quality. The guy said he was stopping selling them as too many came back
 
[ QUOTE ]
When i bought mine in the big shop in port solent they showed me the others and the cheaper ones were defiantly lower build quality. The guy said he was stopping selling them as too many came back

[/ QUOTE ]What makes were the cheaper ones? The only cheaper ones on their website now are Garmin.
 
Certain big shop round that area uses students as sales people .. amongst others ... usually hard to find anyone who knows jack-sh** about any item on the shelves /display. (Absolutely no disrespect to students ... honest)

Bet if you went back to the shop you bought from - bet they still sell the other brands / models ...

/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
There are a lot of details that make a plotter good or bad to use.
Display quality - very dependent on number of pixels; low number = crude graphics.
Screen brightness - can you see it in the cockpit, if you need to.
Can you learn to use it effectively (and your crew)? Some instruction manuals are poor.
Do you like the charts that fit the plotter? e.g. Nauticpath charts dont have marina details (in Sweden) notr bridge and power line hieghts. Would that matter to you. Navionics charts do have this information but some of the buoys seem to be mispositioned to me.
Can you get the chart chip out easily - and can a thief?
I think it is very useful to get hands on experience with the one(s) you might buy. For example make a journey (using the controls) through some area you know very well to see if you like what you see and reckon it agrees with your memory of the area.
 
Thanks to everyone for all this excelent information, its going to be a hard coin flip, but there are a few more aspects to check out now, which you have brought to my attention.
The points about resolution and maybe going for the 5507 could add a new dimension to the choice.
Thanks again all, much appreciated, C_W.
 
This just gone season - I scooted round the Stockholm Archipelago ... in company with another who had the relevant paper charts .... My Lowrance with Nauticpath NE Chart card performed excellently .... even showing a number of buoys in narrow channels between islands that his paper charts did not have ...
It is true that marinas do not show fingers / pontoons etc. - but most are indicated by label.

That and my PC systems with various chart formats - I reckon I have it just about covered !
 
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