Which Chartplotter ?

[dodgey rascal]

Hi Fellow MOBo's,
I need to buy a chartplotter - I want to connect it to the DSC radio and for it to be fairly cheap as I plan to leave it on the boat. Does anyone have any suggestions ?

Thanks in anticipation

 

[RAI]

My recomendation is Standard Horizon both for radio and CP.

 

[dodgey rascal]

Thanks Rai, I have a Lowrance DSC already fitted - when I bought the boat last year the vendor wanted his chartplotter hence my current search for a new one...only a few more days before putting her back in the drink ...too much still to do

 

[PaulGooch]

Boat ?

Size of plotter ?

Budget ?

 

[lisilou]

We had Standard Horizon chart plotter on our old boat; we now have Raymarine on the new one. Raymarines good but I prefer the SH tbh.
L

 

[ontheplane]

Another vote for Standard Horizon - unbeatable at the money

 

[dodgey rascal]

Boat ?

Size of plotter ?

Budget ?

Hi its 21 Ft Cuddy sportsboat, Small plotter would be fine 4 - 5" screen...Budget small as possible maybe £300 - £400

 

[Tranona]

Plenty of choice in that range. SH gets good reports. Not sure why you want to link it to your DSC. Chartplotters are standalone instruments, although they can take feeds from AIS, but thats not the same as DSC radio.

 

[PCUK]

Probably to give the DSC a position.

 

[Tranona]

OK see now might want GPS output.

 

[RAI]

SH DSC radios will also output received mayday coordinates and SH CP's will display the mayday position as a form of way point. It makes it easy to get range and bearing.

 

[l'escargot]

Hi its 21 Ft Cuddy sportsboat, Small plotter would be fine 4 - 5" screen...Budget small as possible maybe £300 - £400

Garmin 451 - comes preloaded with charts as well

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=28758

Pick one up for under £350 in one of the big chandlers

 

[dodgey rascal]

Probably to give the DSC a position.

YEP

 

[dodgey rascal]

Garmin 451 - comes preloaded with charts as well

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=28758

Pick one up for under £350 in one of the big chandlers

Yeh I looked at these at boat show - some people say the interface is easier than other plotters

 

[PaulGooch]

The Standard Horizon CP180i is a good quality plotter, from a very good company in terms of support. It is, however, getting a bit long in the tooth. Not long ago i would have said it was the best value for money small plotter in it's class.

That was before the Garmin 551 was born. Another quality company with exceptional support. 5" plotter with integral antenna and pre-loaded cartography for the UK and Ireland. Not to be confused with some companies rubbish pre-loaded stuff, this has the same level of detail as Garmins G2 Vision cards, just no Vision features. Can be found for £415 delivered (with a haggle), try Cactus Nav. Really, really intuitive to use and no need for fancy card readers and expensive software to be able to view your charts on the PC, passage plan etc. Just need a blank SD card and 25 quids worth of Garmin Homeport software.

I'm sure the 451 would be of similar quality/features etc, but it's not much cheaper for having the smaller screen.

 

[rafiki_]

I have a Garmin 550 (5" screen) easy connect to the DSC. Great plotter and easy to use. A little bit more expensive that the SH, but I can use the G2 Vision cards which are stunning.

 

[maby]

If they still have any left, have a look at the Lowrance HDS5m offer from Force 4 :

http://www.force4.co.uk/9257/Lowrance-HDS-5m-plus-FREE-Navionics-28XG-Chart.html

Lowrance have just released a MK2 version and Force 4 seem to have got hold of the remaindered stock of the MK1. The current offer includes the latest Navionics charts for the whole of the UK - worth nearly £200 on their own. We bought one as a reserve plotter to mount below at the nav table - and to control the Sonic Hub that was already installed on the boat. It has almost exactly the same functions as the MK2, just a slower processor so panning and zooming are not quite so responsive - but still a very nice piece of kit. Unlike some of the similarly priced alternatives, it is part of the full Navico family and expandable to broadband radar and the very impressive structure scan sonar.

 

[PaulGooch]

If they still have any left, have a look at the Lowrance HDS5m offer from Force 4 :

http://www.force4.co.uk/9257/Lowrance-HDS-5m-plus-FREE-Navionics-28XG-Chart.html

Lowrance have just released a MK2 version and Force 4 seem to have got hold of the remaindered stock of the MK1. The current offer includes the latest Navionics charts for the whole of the UK - worth nearly £200 on their own. We bought one as a reserve plotter to mount below at the nav table - and to control the Sonic Hub that was already installed on the boat. It has almost exactly the same functions as the MK2, just a slower processor so panning and zooming are not quite so responsive - but still a very nice piece of kit. Unlike some of the similarly priced alternatives, it is part of the full Navico family and expandable to broadband radar and the very impressive structure scan sonar.

That'd be a good combination.

A plotter from the company with the worst quality and the worst record of support in the industry, coupled with a Nobionics card from the most horrible chart company in the Country

 

[PaulGooch]

I have a Garmin 550 (5" screen) easy connect to the DSC. Great plotter and easy to use. A little bit more expensive that the SH, but I can use the G2 Vision cards which are stunning.

The 550 has been replaced with the 551. The 551 is cheaper than the CP180, because you don't need to buy charts.

 

[Philiz]

That'd be a good combination.

A plotter from the company with the worst quality and the worst record of support in the industry, coupled with a Nobionics card from the most horrible chart company in the Country

Come on Paul, get off the fence, what do you really think