GPS and Navigation Software Options

[Stu Jackson]

OK, I'm dangerous now!

You might be interested in this.  I would appreciate your comments and experiences.

http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=120188

[Craig Illman]

Stu - I think all the USB pucks have NMEA0183 output. I'd recommend getting one with a SiRF III chipset. I don't remember what brand I have, but it will pull signal through the cabintop at the nav station.

Craig

[Gary Brockman]

I use a USB puck by GlobalSat Technology Corp (BU-353) ($69.00) that is SIRF III and sends out NMEA 0183 data. It is powered by the USB port and works great inside the boat, even in the chart table. One thing you should consider, most of the pucks come with a strong magnet that you may want to remove as it can damage hard drive memory if if sits in the wrong place.

One other thing you may want to think about is the Clipper GPS Repeater.  I recently installed one in the  cockpit to show track, bearing, distance to waypoint and either SOG or cross-track error without having to go below and check on the computer.  It uses NMEA 0183 data from the computer but needs power from your instruments circuit.

Gary

[BillG]

Several years ago I was using maptech software on a PC and used a
Garmin hockey puck as an antenna.  When I made the switch over to a Mac, using
GPSNavX software, the garmin antenna would not work.  The reason was that the Garmin
only supported the Garmin protocol through the USB cable and NOT NMEA 0183.  I bought the BU-353 and had no problem.
Not sure if Garmin has become more Apple friendly, but best to check if you are using an Mac on board.

[Terry Forshier]

a point on Maptech and their software. I have the disc set for SW florida including the bottom countours. It is about 5 years old but the tide tables are no longer in date and are not activated. The whole sysatem now will not load up as it keeps saying the tides needed renewing. I called maptech and they said they only last one year now. Cost to reload is about $50 and you need to do it yearly. I really do not need this as I have a Raymarine plotter that has it and a garmin handheld that has it. However the maptech system will just not load until i download this. The help line at Maptech said in so many words, "buy it from us or else" I hope those of you using this have better luck than I did. It was not cheap but I just could not turn off this warniong unless I went through and turned off every tidesatation on the disc. (hundreds) Then at restart to do it again.Terry

[MarkT]

If all that you need is up to date charts and software that places your boat on the chart with course and speed then the free NOAA charts along with the free SeaClear software is a good choice. The USB gps I'm using is a US GlobalSat BU-353 (it does have a magnet) Cost is about $40 if you shop online.

The software works on my Netbook running Windows XP Home and also on my Laptop running Windows 7 pro.

I couldn't be happier with the setup.
There are some notes in the Wiki which is a good place to start.
http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=Electronics#Computers_Onboard

Mark Tamblyn

[MarkT]

For good measure I just removed the magnet from the GlobalSat USB gps. Now I will not be concerned about it.
Peel off the rubber base and pry the magnet out with a small screwdriver.

Mark Tamblyn

[Ron Hill]

Stu : I have Garmin Map source and their Blue chart on the laptop.  Since I got the Garmin 545 chart plotter with the Vision card of my area, I haven't turned on the laptop!! ( 2 years ago)

BTW, for the readers that don't know it, there is a new update for the Garmin 545 that substantially changes the soft ware - FOR THE BETTER !!  A few thoughts

[pablosgirl]

Hi Stu,

After reading the article about e-charting in one of the issues of Mainsheet last year, I purchased the book that the article recommended "Get Onboard with E-Charting, The Complete Reference Guide to Electronic Charting and PC-Based Marine Navigation", by Mark and Diana Doyle.  It was a great reference and led me to buy the Globalsat BU-353 for $37 off ebay w/ free shipping.  http://cgi.ebay.com/GlobalSat-BU-353-SiRF-III-USB-GPS-receiver-/390213710173?cmd=ViewItem&pt=GPS_Devices&hash=item5ada8cb15d.  I Also have a Garmin GPS 76C that I have used for offshore racing as a backup to the main chart plotter on the boats I was crewing on.  It's a great unit and I have it near capacity with all the way points I have entered for the various races.   After reading the above book, I decided not to buy that Garmin chart plotter I had been drooling over for the last year and go with a PC based e-charting solution.  Price was a consideration but the main kicker for me was all the extra features I could get from various software packages.  I considered connecting the 76c to a laptop and using it as a GPS receiver for whatever nav software I planed to use but later decided to leave the 76c as a hand held GPS and as a backup to the PC based e-charting setup.  I narrowed down my search to two software packages and down loaded their trial versions and ran them through the paces.  I tried Fugawi Marine Enc and the SeaClearII software charting packages.  I was also interested in the Bluewater Racing software in addition to the e-charting software.   I chose a Windows XP pro laptop due to its wider support for the e-charting software available.  I first started out with a work cast off while evaluating everything before I went out and bought a new one from Dell.  I also purchased a 12v charging adapter so I can use the boat's house battery to run it and save the laptop battery for emergencies.  I eventually decided on the SeaClearII software.  It was fairly simple to setup (and FREE!) and uses the free NOAA charts you can download.  I also downloaded all the PDF versions of the charts for my cruising grounds (Gulf Coast) as a backup to the e-charting software.  I have also installed the GPS Babel software, since that is what the Bluewater software uses to communicate with the USB GPS receiver.  I have been trully amazed by the Globalsat USB receiver and how well it works with the various software available and even bellow decks from the nav station on the boat.  Good price too!  On a recent business trip, I sat next to a gentleman from the FFA who was using two of these USB receivers connected to a laptop that ran some custom software to verify the GPS coordinates for airport runway approach trapezoids!

I have been able to move way points between the Garmin, the SeaClearII, and the Bluewater software.  I use the GPS babel software to format the way point date for input into the Garmin MapSource.  The other software reads the native Garmin formatted way point data directly without a conversion step.

I have used the SeaClearII software on a couple of trips and I am happy with it so far.  I had hoped to race the Galveston to Veracruz, Mexico race this year, but projects at work prevented me from going.  I had hoped to use my laptop on the 650 mile race to some competitive advantage.

Paul

[Craig Illman]

One caveat on SeaClear for us folks close to the Canadian border. I found I couldn't use the BSB4 encrypted Canadian charts you have to purchase at a substantial fee. Otherwise, combined with NOAA's great policy of FREE raster or vector charts, SeaClear is an amazing value. Another usefull bit of shareware is XTide for global tides and currents.  http://www.flaterco.com/xtide/xtide.html

Craig

[Jim Hardesty]

Craig,
I agree with you, the reason that I don't use SeaClear II  for my charting is the Canadian problem.  I use it for a backup and the ease of having up to date charts.  BTW, being a bit of a pirate I scanned, from a chart book, the Lake Erie Canadian ports into SeaClear II, was easy, and the ports that I have checked have been just as accurate as my chartplotter.
Jim

[Stu Jackson]

MapTech instructions for downloading NOAA charts into MapTech Offshore Navigator products:

http://www.maptechnavigation.com/support/doc.cfm?docid=412&CFID=2019264&CFTOKEN=25485268

This update to ON Lite is also helpful:

http://www.maptechnavigation.com/support/doc.cfm?docid=176&CFID=2019264&CFTOKEN=25485268

There is also an update for drivers to include many Garmin GPS units:

http://www.maptechnavigation.com/support/doc.cfm?docid=508&plid=24&CFID=2446275&CFTOKEN=90248323

[Stu Jackson]

a point on Maptech and their software. I have the disc set for SW florida including the bottom countours. It is about 5 years old but the tide tables are no longer in date and are not activated.

Terry, I noted that the MapTech 5.08 update, included in my previous post, corrects tidal information.  If your ON program is NOT yet 5.08, you should be able to update it and use it with the fixes in those links I provided.

I bought mine in June 2006, so that's four years ago, and it was already 5.08, so maybe all you need to do is check on your five year old version and update it.

All the best,  Stu

Corrected see reply #24, page 2 of this topic

[Stu Jackson]

I have Garmin Map source and their Blue chart on the laptop.  Since I got the Garmin 545 chart plotter with the Vision card of my area, I haven't turned on the laptop!! ( 2 years ago)

Ron, I have a Garmin GPSMap76Cx, as I noted in the first post which is in the link that started this topic.  I also have the MapSource software with the Garmin.

The purpose of this topic is to investigate the options available on a laptop, since I just got one (!) and am interested in what I can do with it.  I also don't feel the need to get into the advantages and disadvantages of laptops vs. handhelds vs. chartplotters.  Been there, done that.

I'm ONLY interested laptop use with the Offshore Navigator Lite MapTech software using the free NOAA charts and a GPS USB dongle to the laptop.  Separate from the Garmin handheld and its own proprietary MapSource software.

From what I'm beginning to understand, from the great replies to this topic and the one on co.com, as well as the MapTech updates I've linked above, it appears that the Garmin GPS can actually be used directly with the Offshore Navigator Lite MapTech software by plugging in the Garmin 76Cx handheld USB output.  

Even so, that's NOT what I'm interested in because I want the Garmin handheld in the cockpit.  I'm interested in using the GPS USB puck connected to the laptop as another source of information and planning with the free NOAA charts on the Offshore Navigator Lite software.

Babel should let me switch back and forth quite easily.

The more I get into this, the more options appear to be available.

Thanks again to you all.  Keep 'em comin'.

[horsemel]

This has been a informative discussion and I have gained some good insights.  It has gotten me to wondering how using a laptop in the cockpit works out.  How do you mount it?  How do you keep it dry?  Or, are you just using it as a back-up and/or planning tool at the nav station? We purchased a Garmin GPS Map 640 in the spring and have been extremely happy with it.  The touch screen technology makes it exceptionally easy to use.
Mark Mueller