Panbo

Fuel management 4, Maretron N2KView

Remember Maretron’s N2KView? I tried the initial version last fall, and later wrote a column about the whole concept of packetizing NMEA 2000 data. Recently I’ve been testing Version 2.0 and can tell you that it’s faster, prettier, and more configurable—better in every way. Perhaps more important, though, is Maretron’s recent decision to position the original $2,995 product—which can or will eventually control switches, take action on alarms, handle cameras, etc.—as the Platinum version, and offer a Standard view-the-data-anywhere version for $995 (as explained in this PDF).

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Memory-Map, new tricks and free starter edition

It’s wicked hot and sticky here, especially at this big computer, so what a fine time to receive a Panbot e-mail suitable as a guest entry! Richard Stephens—developer behind, and sometimes soggy user of, Memory-Map charting software—recently sailed aboard the Tripp 33 TRPXPRS in the Bermuda Ocean Race and reports:

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Jeppesen NNS MAX Pro, it's shipping!

It’s been a while since Jeppesen bought C-Map, and even longer since the 9.0 version of NNS (Nobeltec Navigation Software) came out. But the new versions of VNS and Admiral are now shipping, and looking good too (big Admiral screen here). Of course, the major change is that the programs now support C-Map MAX Pro cartography, which is why they’re called MAX Pro and not version 10.  Besides a world portfolio of some 30,000 charts—versus Passport’s 10,000–another bit of nice news is that everyone who currently owns NSS 9 gets a free upgrade to Max Pro, and a free MAX Pro chart region for every Passport region owned, and a free copy of the new Raster Plus Pack. (Owners of earlier NSS versions get various deals, depending, as explained in the press releases.)

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Jensen NVX3000PC, a car/boat computer?

Smaller, faster, cheaper! I’m wondering if some of the new automobile computers, like this Jensen NVX3000PC, wouldn’t work pretty nicely on a boat. You got your built-in GPS, 7” touch screen, 30 gig drive, Windows XP, SD card slot, dual USB ports, 12v and li-ion power supplies…even WiFi and a remote control. There’s also the Azentek Atlas CPC-1000, which apparently adds AM/FM/Satellite/HD audio, a CDRW/DVD/MP3/WMA drive, Bluetooth, and CANbus integration. And no doubt there are others, at least concepts. I don’t know if any of these things are actually shipping, and I’ve heard that states like California are clamping down on how much computing you can do, or visual entertainment enjoy, while driving…which might impede developments. But isn’t some sort of inexpensive, mass market computer going to make sense afloat?

Nav software info, in Mad quantities

A subscription-based online boating magazine? Yeah, right! At first I thought the Mad Mariner concept darn right mad. But not anymore, and that’s not because it became a (highly appreciated) Panbo Sponsor. MM has been rapidly building a body of work that’s worth paying for. A particularly good example is their Navigation Software series. Primary authors Diana and Mark Doyle, who also create Managing the Waterway guides, set out to test and review every PC and Mac charting program available, including the free ones, and they’ve done an outstanding job. You’ll never see reviews this lengthy and thorough in a magazine. Actually there’s already a book’s worth of nav software information at Mad Mariner, with just about every program I know of covered, and apparently more resource material and gosh-knows-what to come. In fact, to my knowledge, there is no equivalent book in the print world, and if there is it certainly wouldn’t be this up to date. Plus MM has a lot of other electronics coverage spread amongst its articles and blogs, not to mention something new of general boat-nut interest posted every day. Some Mad Mariner content is available to anyone, and there’s a free 30 day trial of the whole site, but, what the heck, why not treat to youself to a year’s subscription? That’s my mood. As I’ll explain on Monday, I’ve gone and treated my boating passion very well indeed. 

"Time Zero", the second meaning

If you’ve been studying up on NavNet 3D, or watched yesterday’s video, you’d know that Furuno describes the product’s remarkably fast and smooth charting engine as based on “Time Zero” technology. And it’s so distinctive—especially, say, when you go into 3D mode and freely fly around placing a route, eye-balling radar overlay, etc.—that it deserves a name. However, Iker Pryszo, whose father Bryce founded MaxSea way back in 1985, explained to me that “Time Zero” has an entirely other meaning. In the life of a software program there comes a TIME to dump all the old code and start again at line ZERO. That’s just what MaxSea did some four years ago, even starting with a new programming language (though Iker didn’t say which). So apparently while some developers continued to work on the old code—evolving MaxSea up to its present 12.5 version, plus building the module that can integrate 12.5 with Furuno NavNet vx2 system—others worked on MaxSea Time Zero, the entirely fresh product that launches tomorrow at the Paris Boat Show. 
   Judging from the screen shot above, bigger here , Time Zero is much more like what we’ve been seeing demoed on the NavNet 3D machines than it is any earlier version of MaxSea, despite those familiar icons running down the left side. And I’m told that the two, NN3D and MSTZ, are going to work together very nicely. Plus, simultaneous with Time Zero, MaxSea’s cartography company MapMedia is announcing a wide expansion of its coverage including new vector charts “Powered by Navionics”, with 3D data and photo maps, and new raster areas. Hopefully, there will be much more detail on all this at www.MaxSea.com very, very soon.

More 3D & G, are they computers?

So you know I think the new Raymarine G Series and Furuno NavNet 3D are pretty big deals on the high end of marine electronics. But they are computers, aren’t they? Interesting question. I don’t see Raymarine using that term on the G Processor pages, nor Furuno on the NN3D MFDBB pages. But they both have hard drives, they both handle lots of data and graphics very fast, and NN3D even supports conventional USB mice and keyboards. In fact, if you ask the guys who designed these machines, they’re not shy about what’s going on. The G Series run on Linux and NavNet 3D runs on Windows XP Embedded. So, yes, I think these are computers, even if built for the purpose (does the G above look rugged, or what?), and thoroughly locked up against normal PC software/hardware compatibility issues.
   But does even a heavy-duty locked-up computer make you nervous on a boat? I’ve heard some worry about the drives but mind you these are heavy duty shock mounted units, and, besides, it’s easy (if costly) to build redundancy into either system. Both are essentially headless, with all major sensors like radar connecting via Ethernet hub. And both, I think, automatically copy created routes, etc. to all processors on a network. Sounds pretty reliable to me, plus I like some of the Windows related interface features seen on NN3D screens like the fishfinder setup one below. What do you think?

AmbientNAV Alpha, & a wee rant

That’s the hind end of an AmbientNAV 17” Alpha monitor, just announced but not yet up at the company site. Check the bigger shot to see the amazing diversity of inputs available, not to mention the sharp engineering.

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"Touchscreen", mind the meanings!

That’s a Panasonic Toughbook MDWD I tested for PMY back in early 2003, and mentioned here when Nobeltec began selling it as a navigation accessory. It came with a simple plastic stylus—nice for, say, setting a waypoint bang on a buoy—but it could also be fingered. Check the larger shot and see how easy it was to tap common underway controls like zooming using those big buttons in Capn Voyager (or in Nobeltec Admiral’s NavView). Well, I’m a bit shocked to discover that the current model of Panasonic’s wireless display seems to use an active digitizer stylus, and will not respond to a finger.

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HP TouchSmart, a good pilothouse PC?

The product image may be a little fruity—HP calls it the “perfect kitchen computer”—but I think this TouchSmart IQ770 might make one heck of a boat computer. That’s a  19” “BrightView” 1,440 x 900 pixel touchscreen display that responds to finger or stylus. I’ve tried navigating on tablet computers and think that while a stylus is fine for planning it’s not so great for underway work, especially if you get your hands on (sorry!) a navigation program truly designed for finger commands.  

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Faria Maestro, in print and on line

My June PMY column about Faria’s do-it-all PC-based Maestro helm system is now online, along with write-ups of the ACR ResQFix PLB, McMurdo SmartFind EPIRB, Icom M34 handheld VHF, and Cobra 425 handheld (I know, the picture is of the F80; we’ll fix it). Maestro is quite a system, and I’m glad that Faria now has dope about it on their Web site (online marketing is not the company’s forte, but they have strong relationships with lots of boatbuilders, which may be more important in the case of Maestro). Bigger here is the collage below which I made to illustrate some of Maestro’s connectivity. I believe the finished version also has a PCMCIA card slot on the back, meant for a cellular data card.
   Also online are all four of PMY’s June electronics features, including my take on ideal systems (which some of you contributed to back in March). The piece got titled “Perfect Picks” though of course they’re not, which I’ll probably be hearing about from manufacturers at any moment! Meanwhile some of you have asked about PMY’s sale to the “supermarket mogul” Ron Burkle. Well, rumor has it that we may be included in a secondary sale to some other publishing conglomerate, and, besides, we’re doing fine…in short, “business as usual”. In fact I’m writing my 73^rd straight monthly column right now. Year seven at PMY begins.

MacENC meets Furuno NavNet BB, a grin

There were several reasons for that grin on John Gass, Electronics Manager at Wayfarer Marine, the most obvious being that he was beating a particularly nasty February Maine day by testing a possible upgrade system in his shop. Second would be how unusual the system was, closeup here, a Mac Mini running MacENC (review link here) and talking to both a Furuno RD-30 and a NavNet vx2, black box model. John was stressing the whole kit by inputing GPS either from the laptop running Nema Talker or a Garmin 192, plus he had an AIS simulator running on a PC in the next room and connected to the Mini via Bluetooth, and a radar simulator that Furuno apparently supplies to dealers. There was also a Keyspan serial-to-USB converter plus lots of wires and alligator clips involved, which made me feel better about some of my test setups, and may account for the embarrassed portion of that smile.
    Regardless, John got all the data—routes and waypoints included—running around quite well except for one little MacENC-waypoint-to-NavNet glitch. Despite good support from both companies, he didn’t get that one solved before the potential owner of this system—who already has a very nice one, but wants MARPA and AIS—decided to put the R&D on hold. At any rate good geek fun was had, and I also became acquainted with Firma Mats Kagstron’s AIS Simulator (source of many other NMEA software products) and Effective Solutions’ combined AIS and NMEA Simulation, both of which I’d like to investigate further. Thanks, John!

Vista revisited, and check the cool Globalstar

Well, it turns out that my verklempt (definition) marine PC buddy didn’t have his facts right. Apparently Microsoft’s fee for driver certification is actually in the 2–3 grand range, and is waived entirely until May! Also, the new Globalstar 1700 satellite phone I mentioned is, or soon will be, Vista certified, and so will the older 1600.
    And this new phone looks sweet, with what looks like a number of usability improvements besides a major size reduction (though that folding antenna is still large enough to impress the swabbies). Globalstar has full coverage here,  and OCENS is ready to sell you the phone, accessories, and service plans here. In fact, the phone comes with trial versions of OCENS Mail and WeatherNet, and is supposedly very easy to interface with a PC via USB: “Works with any PPP standard Internet device, including Windows, Mac OS and Linux.” And I notice that OCENS seems to have a promotion running that will get you an annual 1,800 minute voice/data plan for about 30 cents per. I dare say that other marine sat comm specialists like NavCom Digital and Marine Computer Systems will soon follow suit. 

MS Vista, a marine PC train wreck?

So this morning an acquaintance who sells and services laptops and peripherals to cruisers gives me a buzz. He’d rather not be identified (and don’t bother guessing, cause I know lots of guys like this), but he was some agitated: “This is a train wreck! This is going to shake up the whole marine PC world!” He was ranting about Microsoft’s new Vista operating system, and specifically the new “security feature” whereby it will not accept hardware drivers unless they are Microsoft Certified. Well, now, just yesterday I installed an older Deluo USB GPS on a tablet computer I’m trying, and I had to check a box saying that I understood that the driver is not Microsoft Certified, something I’ve done many times.
    Apparently this GPS will be useless with Vista, and a small company like Deluo will need to fork over $40,000 minimum to get that driver Certification. Interfacing is the soft, weak underbelly of marine computing, what with all sorts of little developers making sensors, multiplexers, SSB modems, sat. phone data connections, weatherfax demodulators, etc. etc. that wire into PCs, whereas most computer users only plug in a few items, all of which are manufactured in huge volume. And as of about today, you’ll have a hard time finding a new PC that isn’t running Vista, though even a fairly high profile device like the new Globalstar GSP 1700 sat phone, supposedly superior in all ways to its predecessors, is not “certified” for Vista hook-up, and hence data comms. That’s whats got my friend so riled up that he’s spending time at sites like BadVista.org, the folks who have been harassing MicroSoft’s Vista tour, often humorously (above). So I’m hoping that the many Panbo readers who develop and/or install marine PC apps will now speak up here about what’s working, and what isn’t.

PS 2/1: This entry was quoted on the Trawlers & Trawling list, and got some interesting replies (click on “Next message”).

Captn. Jack's Maptech/Garmin bundle, a winner

Last Fall I tried Captn. Jack’s Garmin 76Cx bundle, and liked it a lot because it not only includes a Maptech Waterproof Chartbook of your choice, but comes with all the printed waypoints already programmed into the GPS.  Turn it on, pick the desired waypoint from a list, and—bada bing—you have a solid connection between a traditional chart and electronic positioning. Given your distance and bearing to the waypoint, you can simply eyeball where you are, helped out by all the course lines Maptech lays out (bigger picture here), or you can use dividers and parallel rules for more accuracy. 
  I think this is the nuts for beginners and traditionalists, not to mention small boat navigators and lazy old coots (like me). And whereas Chartbooks also come with a CD of digitized pages and a basic charting program, and you can get full detail charts for the 76Cx (or the larger Garmins in the other bundles), this kit gives you a couple of ways to grow. It’s also a good example of how a retailer can add serious value to some already good products. All of which is why this was one of my Sail magazine Freeman K. Pittman Award picks, just announced today. I notice that Motor Boating included it in their “Gear of Year” too. Now, wouldn’t it be cool if Maptech, and other chart/guide publishers, made their waypoint files available for anyone to download? And it might sell more printed products, so there’s some motivation!

Iris PC radar, a new face

Iris PC Radar is a relatively new product purportedly able to “interface as a slave or display-only with almost any radar antenna, and at present can control Raymarine, Kelvin Hughes and the Simrad/Koden/Anritsu family…soon to be more”. Moreover, “its 8-bit digitization gives far superior picture quality and sea clutter performance compared to ordinary boat radars”, and it incorporates a target tracker with AIS input and S-57 chart overlay (screen below, bigger here).  Iris is currently marketed for harbor surveillance and is also integrated into the interesting monitoring and control system FT NavVision, but—head’s up, integraters and developers!—owner Ledwood Technology is “looking for partners to sell and continue to develop the radar.” My sense, by the way, is that 2007 is going to be a significant year for marine radar.

Argonaut's bargain marine monitor, pretty good so far

That’s Argonaut’s Tflex-G615, the $1,000 waterproof 15” monitor, looking pretty good in direct sunlight (though a low winter Maine sun partially filtered by trees). If I wasn’t also testing yet another compact camera (the unfamiliar UI being my excuse for erasing most of today’s shots), you’d see all four of those screens lit up, and you’d probably be pleasantly surprised that the Si-Tex ColorMax 15 looks almost as bright as the benchmark Raymarine E-120 (at least in these conditions). But both the Si-Tex and the Argonaut screens are more reflective than the Raymarine (and the Northstar 6100i), as you can see in this close-up. I’ll have more about the Tflex, ColorMax, and 6100i eventually, and also about my new super duper test bench, not yet finished.

NavSim, new products for sailors and pros

It’s hard to make out until you view the bigger image, but this screen is a Google Map demo of an interesting utility that can guesstimate an ETA for a boat that’s tacking into the wind. It was originally developed as SailTimer, but is now going to be incorporated into a new SailBoat Edition of NavSim’s BoatCruiser. I think that full-on routing modules, like RayTech’s and MaxSea’s, can provide this same sort of real life ETA, based on weather forecasting and a boat’s performance data, but maybe I’m confused?
  Starting yesterday at the WorkBoat Show in New Orleans, NavSim is also previewing a new version of NavCruiser Pro that uses C-Map Max Pro charts. Prior to this product, the Pro format—which looked very powerful in a presentation I attended at the NMEA conference—was only available on the Northstar 8000i, a system I gushed about last year, but is only now coming to market (there were some problems). At any rate, I flew down to New Orleans today, mostly for a Charles Industries product introduction, but plan to visit the Show tomorrow (anything particular I should check out?). Which is why there’ll likely be no Panbo on Friday, but I may get to see NavSim’s latest.

Tiki Navigator, worth a look see

It’s worth checking out this screen shot in all its colorful pixels. Tiki Navigator is slowly gaining a devoted following, largely for its clean and attractive interface. I made this screen show some interesting options like the context sensitive help windows and the function key map, but they disappear completely if you want them to. Tiki only shows raster charts, but otherwise seems to have a lot of features, depending on the version you choose, all reasonably priced.

Zenarc 10" touch screen monitor, in the field

Here’s a report from a Panbo reader (thanks Ron!):

“I've been evaluating Xenarc's 10" touchscreen monitor for the past two months, having purchased it from Xenarc Direct thus taking advantage of their reasonable return policy {ed: Captn. Jack also has a decent policy}. Unfortunately, the first monitor proved defective but Xenarc replaced it quickly. It's connected to a laptop below decks running a Nobeltec navigation program. Also, Milltech's AIS unit is connected and displayed.

It's mounted at the helm of a sailboat and the screen's 500 nits is quite visible under all conditions, but keep in mind the bimini is always kept up. The monitor isn't waterproof as it has an open grill but the substantial aluminium case and 8 watt power demands make sealing the unit possible. A mouse GPS makes the system independent of the existent Raymarine radar/plotter system. The best part is that its $600 price makes it quite reasonable to be used as a redundant navigation system.”

Argonaut 15" monitor under $1,000, and other good new$

In a way, this photo, bigger here, doesn’t do Argonaut’s new Tflex-G615 monitor justice, but then again I took it at the NMEA Conference with a Canon XT flash aimed directly into the poor thing’s LCD. Try that with a conventional lap– or desktop screen! It is indeed noteworthy that Argonaut has come up with a “waterproof sunlight readable” monitor under a grand, but do note that its claimed 2,000 NITS transflective equivalency is figured in direct sunlight. I’m going to test one soon and will be interested to see how it does in bright situations without direct light. Note, too, all the added features—optical bonding, multiple inputs, wider range dimming, PiP, etc.—that you get with the Tflex-G515, the same underlying LCD, I think, but costing nearly three times the money.

More good pricing news:
* Apparently due mostly to lowered memory card costs (all the data for an XL3 size region usually requires two Gigs of space), Navionics has dropped the price of Platinum cards from $499 to $299. Plus there are more Platinum regions available, like in Europe, and US cards still include the right to a free Fish’n Chip (which, by the way, deserves better Panbo coverage).
* And, get this, Captn. Jack’s is now offering Maptech’s U.S. Boating Chart DVD for $19.50, still with free ground shipping, money back guarantee, and technical support. And here I thought this a great value at $50. But this special holiday price may not last long; I guess ‘Jack’ wants to get noticed.

Raymarine G's, seriously hunky monitors

Geez, anyone know where the “Big Belly Reduction” Tool is in PhotoShop? Also, what’s the drill when your full res photo reveals a half-naked Florida boat guy? At any rate, here’s another FLIBS product intro, this one splendidly orchestrated by Raymarine’s well oiled marketing machine. Simultaneous to this “VIP preview” event in a nicely shaded and catered boat shed, Raymarine “insiders” got the news via HTML e-mail (you can be an insider too). In fact, there’s no need for me to repeat the awesome specs on the new 17” and 19”, nine-input monitors, nor mention the spectacular prices. But I will point out how neatly they can work with an E-Series VGA Out port (pictured) or a PC running RayTech 6.0, though apparently you can’t do both with the same cool dedicated keyboard. They look similar but one is SeaTalk2 and the other is USB. And I’ll add that a trustworthy Raymarine Product Manager told me that he’s seen these puppies in direct sunlight head-to-head with the competition and with an E-120, and “they rock”.  

SiMON trackball alarm system, how cool is this?

I always enjoy poking around the megayacht tent at FLIBS; it’s full of gorgeous booths, boat models, and some awesome electronics. Palladium Technology is in the latter category, and it seems like every year it comes up with an interesting addition to its PC/Ethernet based SiMON monitoring system. This year it’s integrating in an elaborate, but simple to work, entertainment system, which I’ll write about when I get more info and better images. In the meantime check out that trackball the company came up with. It's translucent, and colored LEDs underneath are used to indicate alarm states. When everything is cool, it glows green. But if some system moves into warning territory (whose very sophisticated  parameters you can set in SiMON), it goes to yellow. Finally, if alarm status is reached it throbs red. It strikes me as way better than an audio alarm on the bridge, neat looking, and an idea that could come down to us little people.

Simrad GB60, so connected!

Since my first Simrad Glass Bridge post, the company has posted more information plus an 8 page PDF brochure. That’s where I snipped this hind-end shot of its super-connected black box computer (also here in a larger, unlabeled version). Check out the dual SimNet/NMEA 2000 and four serial ports—no multiplexers needed around here! Note too that the GB60 will support up to to two radar scanners (via that built in Ethernet switch) from a wide range especially designed for the system, or can connect to stand alone, even type approved, Simrad radar sets (via the RSI).

I understand that Simrad is hoping to demo the GB60 at the NMEA Conference and Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show, both in late Oct. I’ll be at both myself, and look forward to seeing it. I know that megayacht specialists can build systems even more powerful, and Raymarine has its elegant H6, but isn’t this is the new king of really high-end all-from-one-manufacturer systems?

Monitor hoods, they really work

I came across this late 90’s picture of my first ECS set up on Ralph, the boat’s that’s still looking for a new owner, yee scurvy dogs (hey, yesterday was supposedly Talk Like a Pirate Day). That cloth-over-something-stiff hood velcroed to the laptop made a tremendous difference in usability, even on cloudy days. I got it from Hoodman but now they only seem to have a hard plastic ‘desktop’ model (do not get the pop-up version, as you have to put your head too close for boating). Captn Jack’s has one that looks pretty good, and there’s also GlareStomper, which specializes in fabric and stiff foam hoods fitted for smaller machines like Garmin 492. Anyone know of other choices, besides some cardboard and duct tape?

Tender tracking, good for exploring too

With so many megayachts in the world—some with extra large tenders that they have to tow offshore, some with wild and crazy champagne-guzzling jet-ski-riding charter guests—tender tracking is a big deal. The Nobeltec Admiral 9 Plus Pack looks like quite a complete offering, as seen in these screen shots, and I know that there’s another interesting product about to enter this niche. Some thoughts:
   * I think Admiral can track more sorts of targets than anything else out there: MARPA, AIS, DSC, and now tenders. Won’t other navigation systems follow suit? And what new target type next?

   * The Seetrac transmitter/base station system that works with Tender Tracker (with Transas too) can also send wind info, using an option that sounds like the Airmar WeatherStation. Thus you could send your sailing yacht’s tender out to survey a race course America’s Cup style.
   * By the same token, your tender can also send back depth readings. I’m not sure how they are displayed in Admiral, hopefully as a track of varying colors, but I do know that if you have the optional Bathy Recorder, the tender’s readings can rebuild the 3D data right ahead of your yacht. Yeah, you’d be down $2,300 just in software options (and I can’t find Seetrac prices), but how cool is that! (Actually, has any reader devised a poor man’s way to collect soundings from a dinghy, lead line excepted?)

Nobeltec 9, lots'o'goodies

The above screen shot, full size here, is actually Nobeltec’s Bathy Recorder, a “plus pack” option to Admiral and VNS 8 that Jeppesen Marine introduced last year. I’ve seen these results of a tester’s survey of heavily dredged Port Everglades, and all the ways you can display it, demonstrated at a boat show, and it was quite impressive, though not inexpensive. But I’d neglected to mention this for so long that we are now seeing the arrival of Nobeltec 9! The press release went out last night, marking the start of the Newport Boat Show today (Admiral PDF here and VNS PDF here). Some highlights:

   * Both Admiral and VNS will now display regular GRIB weather files and have new “Nav Info Panels” which can show strip charts as well as numbers. (All seen below and bigger here).
   * Admiral also gets “AIS Filtering” (I don’t know what that means yet) and now include OCENS WeatherNet.
   * Admiral 9 can also support a new Plus Pack called Tender Tracker which integrates with Seetrac hardware. 
   * Either charting package can work with the new Sailing Plus Pack, which can display existing polars, build new ones, overlay laylines and wind info, and provide “basic instrument support for B&G and Ockam instruments”.
   * And either can support the new XM Plus Pack, which apparently integrates the WxWorx PC version of XM Marine Weather with Nobeltec.

So…wow…goodies for megayachts, racing sailors, and all the rest of us who care about weather (more detail and screen shots coming to Panbo soon). And we already know that Jeppesen/Nobeltec has been working with Simrad, and is also in a quiet period while it finalizes a deal to acquire C-Map. Looks like a really big year for these guys.

Simrad Glass Bridge, who knew?

I was somewhat chagrined to open the latest issue of PMY and find a full page ad for an interesting new electronics system I had never heard of!  I guess it’s hard to manage a world-wide product introduction; heck, even searching the Simrad Yachting site for the GB60, as this system is called, yields nada, at least today. At any rate, it’s pretty clear from the pictures and European press releases I found that Simrad Yachting has teamed up with Jeppesen Marine, i.e. Nobeltec. The PR references Passport charts, photo maps, etc. but the screen above sure looks like Admiral to me. Which is not a bad thing. Why reinvent the wheel, especially when you have all the hardware that a big Admiral glass bridge system wants to live in.
   When I visited Simrad a few years ago, I was surprised at how many commercial grade marine computer products they made. Hence there’s a lot of experience behind that dual processor black box PC below. Ditto the keyboard and even the cool arm rest control. Simrad has also been making, or at least OEMing, monitors for a while but these, available in 12”, 15” and 19” sizes, are a new super slim design. I dare say that a full 3 monitor GB60 system, like below (and really big here), will be pricey but powerful, and some will love that it’s all under one warranty. Intriguing detail: the system can talk NMEA 2000 (aka SimNet); will regular Nobeltec charting programs acquire 2000 soon? That would be a good thing.

Krill Systems, monitoring for the rest of us?

Did you cruise some mega systems with Intelisea on Monday? Well, now you might want to visit another relatively new monitoring company, Krill Systems, and download its SoftDisplay demo (it’s a single zipped .exe file and needs only XP or 2000 to run, no installation). You may miss that “care for more champagne, sir?” feeling, but I think you’ll find well thought out software for monitoring important stuff on, say, a 45’ trawler. Krill is aiming for less than mega with a starter kit at $4,500. That gets you an Electrical System Sensor Pod (below), a Tank & Switch Sensor Pod, all cables and sensors, an Ethernet Switch, and the SoftDisplay to run on your yacht’s computer. Krill also makes a waterproof 8.4” display (a dedicated CE PC actually) with built-in WiFi lest the Ethernet run is too difficult. Of course more sensor pods can be added and, because Krill’s front end is a small PC application, off ship monitoring should be fairly easy to setup. Here’s the full image of the SoftDisplay screen above but you really should try the demo, drilling down to see how tanks are calibrated, bilge alarms set, etc. Also note developer Casey Cox’s unique bonus display of incoming NMEA navigation data.

InteliSea, a new name in high-end monitoring

Stuck in an office far from your boat? Or maybe your mega ride is in the yard for repairs? Well, then, scooch on over to Intelisea, a relative new comer to the world of high end monitoring and control, and enjoy some mouse time touring its online demo. The software design is elegant (and admired in the programming community), and it’s fun to think of yourself minding a 100+’ yacht packed with sensors and PCs. Intelisea systems are being installed on three large new yachts right now, but the builder is so far unwilling to publicize them (frustrating for the sales guys!). The systems are “complete sensor-to-user solutions” and, of course, very customizable, but Intelisea does quote a “standard” price of 60k for a 30m yacht.

RayTech 6.0, first impressions

Actually I’ve been watching RayTech 6.0 for quite a while, as I was kindly included in the Beta testing. I think Raymarine really got it right this time. Take a look at the full screen shot, and consider all the cartography it supports. On the left is Navionics Platinum being read off a CF card in a Navionics USB reader; RayTech seems to speedily support every Platinum feature—including blended photo maps (shown), panoramic photos, 3D, port info, tides & currents, etc. (by contrast Navionics own NavPlanner hardly supports any Platinum features, yet). On the right of course is a Maptech raster chart; other Maptech products supported are photo maps (with variable blending) and topos. Finally, you can also read NT+ charts using a C-Map reader.

And consider how many ways there are to use RayTech 6.0. You can download it for free (yes, available now), grab some free rasters, and you’re all set to plan routes that you can copy onto a CF card and take to your Raymarine C or E, or email to someone, or whatever (see below, bigger here). Or you can buy a Navionics or C-Map reader and use your plotter charts to plan on, or at least compare to the rasters, again taking the routes to the plotter via card. Or you can license your copy of 6.0, and then a single Ethernet cable feeds it everything that’s on an E Series network (Sirius weather, Navtex, and AIS excepted, for the time being). I’m trying both networked and stand alone versions, as well as the Sirius weather, am impressed by all, and will report further.

NavGator, a multi OS charting program

I’ll characterize NavGator Mariner, above, as a work in process. I couldn’t find many normal ECS features, only rasters are supported, and the chart management is crude to say the least. What’s interesting, though, is that NavGator is written in Java so that it can run on multiple operating systems. So far that means Windows, Linux, and Sun Solaris, but others will “soon be released”. The developer also has a Pro version “designed to be the core of the ‘glass cockpit’, where all electronic functions are integrated into a seamless, highly reliable, high performance environment.” The full screen shot is here (also showing off the full 1440 x 900 pixel goodness of my new laptop LCD).

Maptech buys ...#2, the plan

Yesterday we learned for sure that Maptech has acquired a bunch more marine navigation products, which must somehow be integrated with all the products it already sells. Heck, the long list at right doesn’t even include its latest offering. Here’s a peek at how it’s going to work as explained to me by Maptech PR manager Martin Fox and others:

* The Capn charting software—apparently the main impetus for this deal—will become Maptech’s commercial level product, with customization and fleet pricing available. Recreational users may be offered an easy switch to Chart Navigator Pro, and certainly won’t be left adrift. Dennis Mills, always the chief developer of The Capn, stays on as Product Manager (and is tickled about it).

* The SoftChart brand, on the other hand, will not survive, but some of its technology will. The plan is not finalized but Maptech may adopt some SoftChart features like its highly saturated raster chart color pallet (very effective on dim monitors) as well as a much less obvious “vertices” technique that improves chart quilting. Supposedly there’s also some interesting vector chart assets changing hands. Like Mills, Dick Davis—director of SoftChart cartography since 1995, and head of NOAA’s raster development team before that—is pleased about where his work has ended up, though he will not be working for Maptech.

* Maptech is “not sure” yet what it’s going to do with MarinePlanner.com, but I recall that the site has some interesting weather forecasting, trip planning, and other goodies (though they’re almost all locked behind a “membership” scheme right now).

* Finally, Captain Jack’s online and print catalogs will come back to life, but as an operation “totally separate” from Maptech. Fox must have used that “separate” word a dozen times, which got me laughing and is an indication that Maptech is a little nervous about annoying its own dealers. At any rate, the new Captain Jack’s “won’t look anything like a Maptech catalog” and its emphasis will be on  “solutions”, i.e. bundles of products like, say, a GPS loaded with waypoints from an included ChartKit Book. I dare say it will also still include a nice collection of PC charting accessories, and that’s good.

Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC), a nice mini plotter?

Panbo correspondant Jeff Siegel is excited about the nautical possibilities of this new PC architecture called UMPC, hyped recently as Origami,  and I can see why. I got excited when the first tablet PCs came out, until I realized that you had to use a special stylus, awkward at a helm. A UMPC is a 7” tablet PC on whose touch screen a finger works just fine. Add a USB or Bluetooth GPS, or a whole electronics network connected via WiFi, plus a bracket, and this puppy might make a very nice navigator. (I suspect it might be particularly competitive against the dedicated car navigators). Of course it can do a whole lot more, and it’s supposed to price below $1,000, but some folks are skeptical.

X-keys Stick, an interesting PC/Mac nav accessory

As noted yesterday, the owner/designer of the dual PC helm setup has found a nifty HID (Human Interface Device) that I’d never seen before (bigger here, and set up for Coastal Explorer). The X-keys Stick USB includes software (Mac version too) that lets you define macros and print out key labels, even white on black ones to best utilize the Stick’s backlighting. It is not waterproof, of course, but it sure looks like it would be useful in a pilot house when the going gets jiggy, or you just have other things to do with your hands. The 16 key version shown cost $80, and the company has all sorts of other programmable key boards.

ECS roundup, your suggestions please!

I was so wet behind the ears! One my first attempts at magazine writing was an overview of Electronic Charting Systems (ECS) for the Sept/Oct 1999 issue of Ocean Navigator. I spent months doing the research, actually installing and testing all eleven programs above (table bigger here), and wrote some 11,000 words on the subject. I recall that ON was surprised at the size of it, but published almost the whole thing (some is still online, titled "Power navigation", though you’ll need a subscription to read it).

At any rate—though I’ve tried to avoid big overview articles, particularly about ECS, ever since—I’m about to write one for Sail (which I’ll probably modify at some point for PMY). I’ve got to fit it in 2,000 words/six pages, and my idea is to highlight a good selection of particularly well done features, hopefully in as many different programs as possible. It goes with the idea that there is no perfect program for everyone, and that you can learn a lot about what’s possible via diligent shopping. I’d love your help. What do you think Nobeltec VNS, or Coastal Navigator, or RayTech or whatever does particularly well? And what ECS features are important to you, anyway? Please post ideas in the comments or just e-mail me. Developer comments welcome too.

Computer charting this and that, #1

* Panbo reader Dan Hinckley has put together a thorough and useful review of his experience running both GPSNavX and MacENC on a Mac mini, which is where the screen shot above came from.

* A couple of readers have pointed out www.chartsdvd.com, which is the work of a sailing couple living in San Francisco. They’re offering all of NOAA’s free raster and vector charts on one DVD for $30, shipping included, nice and simple.

* At the other extreme of computer charting is WECDIS, the Warfare version of Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems. Slowly but surely the world’s navies are dumping paper charts in favor of WECDIS, or similar systems with different acronyms. The company supplying the British Royal Navy and hoping to get the U.S. business is OSI.

Northstar 8000i, the touch screen

Touch screen does seem like “the natural interface” (as I just read at some promotional site), but there are two gripes about using it on the water: one, the technology can reduce precious screen brightness 10–20%, and, two, it’s hard to use when a boat starts bouncing around. Northstar has addressed both issues:

* The 8000i uses an unusual infrared touch screen technology; LEDs and photo cells hidden in the bezel create a invisible light grid which your fingertip interrupts. It seemed to work quite nicely during my demo and it doesn’t reduce screen brightness at all. Supposedly even gloved fingers and sticky fish scales won’t phase it. By the way, in the picture above (bigger here), the 8000i is zooming out by tapping a desired new center spot (red target) and dragging a box from lower right to upper left to define the zoom level. Left to right zooms in, the shaded borders let you pan, and all those touch keys can be hidden with the upper right ‘min’ button.

* But there are also zoom ‘in’ and ‘out’ buttons built right into the 12” 8000i, or you can plug in the dedicated key board seen in the system diagram with the 15” model, or you can use any other USB keyboard or pointing device. Interface flexibility!

This 12” unit, incidently, contains a 1.2 GHz processor and a 35 gig hard drive in addition to what seemed like a very bright screen, and it’s completely sealed. Yet, after a couple of hours of use, its relatively shallow aluminum back casing was barely warm, which I thought impressive, and a sign of durability.

Northstar 8000i, the architecture

The 8000i has a lot of sizzle, and some interesting new charts, but let’s start coverage with a system overview (bigger here):

* The sunlight viewable multifunction displays are Windows PCs; the 12” is self contained while the 15” is broken into monitor, processor, and keyboard modules. (Both units are also touch screen, but more on that later).

* This is a ‘masterless’ network, meaning that sounder, radar, cameras, and even the various sensor networks go directly to an Ethernet hub. If one PC is shut down, or craps out, it should not affect what the others can do. Several manufacturers have network black box sounders, and a couple have Ethernet radars, but this is the first time I’ve seen network cameras or a Network Interface Bridge (USB, SmartCraft, and NMEA 0183, with—hooray!—NMEA 2000 coming in the fall).

* The only exception to this ‘masterless’ design is that only one processor can be an entertainment server, burning CDs and DVDs with the built in ‘jukebox’ software. But then any display can play from the music and movie library at will, audio going to a nearby stereo and video either playing right on the 8000i screen or on a TV.

* All the parts shown, and the necessary cabling, are supposedly waterproof and marine tough.

Yes, it’s expensive—the 12” retails at $7,000–-but the 8000i looks like a smartly designed system, with a lot of redundancy, power, flexibility, and pizazz built in. More details to come.

AutoAnchor, a PC connection

I’m a sucker for anything that connects to a PC. The new AutoAnchor Rodecounter for the PC is an interface box that provides anchoring information for PC based applications. It is designed primarily for large yachts, with glass screen PC displays, but is also generating interest for use on smaller vessels using laptops. It features accurate rope/chain or all-chain rode counting, with pre-set calibrations for specific windlasses, a docking alarm to warn the skipper the anchor is approaching the boat, and “plug and play’ software. The company also produces units with a display. — Jeff Hummel

C-Map PC Planner 10.0, bellissimo!

A C-Map question this morning reminded me that I’d meant to comment on my experience with the company’s latest PC Planner product. I’ve always liked the concept: bring home your chart card, stick it in Planner’s reader and use it to do fast, detailed route making on a PC, then bring the routes back to your plotter on a user card. These days Planner is a pretty mature program and also nicely shows off the goodies in C-Map's newish Max chart cards. Check out the streets, detailed harbor info, multi-shaded contours (land too), and even a yellow real time current arrow in the screen shot above (bigger here). The program can also display Max’s perspective view, animated nav lights, and harbor photos. I may have razzed C-Map last spring for its Max marketing, but I like the charts and PC Planner.

And I’ve wondered why Navionics has not yet introduced a similar product. (I have been told it was “about to happen” several times, including quite recently.) Even Garmin users can’t plan on a preprogrammed data card, though they can get the same effect by buying BlueCharts on a CD and making their own card (note that the new G2 charts will not be available on CD, at least at introduction). 

At any rate, the question asked this morning was the cost for Malaysian C-Map charts for use on a PC. One reason for the long introduction is that PC charting programs supporting C-Maps can generally read them either from the CD version or from a card via the reader (SOB has a good explanation of the hows and whys here). A "Wide" size CD unlock code for the Malaysian area, either Max or regular NT+, costs about $250 and includes maybe 100 charts (you can drill down to name, scale, etc. detail using C-Map’s online catalog). I’m still working on prices for the applicable cards, which come in two possible sizes for the area; they’re likely a little higher, but can also be used in a dedicated plotter. I was surprised that I couldn’t find these prices online; I think Bluewater usually has such info but their system is down. Any suggestions for other online sources of worldwide electronic charts?

Instruments, goodies from TackTick and B&G

At METS, the U.K. company TackTick—a prior DAME winner for its Micronet wireless instruments—introduced these remote displays. Like the Micronet fixed displays, they’re solar powered and, using a Universal Wireless Interface, can show most any NMEA 0183 data, besides, of course, what’s collected with Micronet sensors. I’m just now realizing how powerful this Interface could be—capable of, say, data networking GPS, PC, another manufacturer’s instruments/sensors, and Micronet. In fact, TackTick even supports proprietary data sentences created on the boat’s PC and then displayed as desired on the Micronet screens (pdf here). It sounds like a savvy sailor or developer could use this to create a very sophisticated instrument system.

Speaking of which, Sailing Anarchy put up a fascinating piece on the super high end sail racing instrumentation that B&G is capable of these days. Note that it is apparently written by a B&G employee, but nonetheless…wow.

Here’s wishing all the Yanks in Panbo world a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. It’s spitting snow here in Maine, perfect for holing up with friends, family, and a lots of good food. There’s much to give thanks for, but let’s include gizmos too. Needed they’re not, but aren’t they fun?

Maptech + Rose Point = Chart Navigtor Pro!

Whoa, things are happening even faster than enthusiastic yours truly thought possible. For $500, Maptech’s new Chart Navigator Pro (CNP) give’s you 13 (13!) DVDs containing NOAA’s entire portfolio of U.S. RNCs and ENCs, plus all of Maptech’s accessory cartography—photo maps, harbor panoramas, topos, bathy maps, pilot books, and information databases. But the real surprise inside is that Maptech ditched its aging, non-quilting, non-vector charting software in favor of Coastal Explorer. The name has changed, but CNP is CE 1.1 with nothing taken out and Maptech’s decent 3D contour engine added. CNP gets introduced today at the Fort Lauderdal Boat Show and will supposedly be in stores next month.

PS, 11/7: Thanks to Greg’s comment for a head’s up that Maptech has launched a new site, freeboatingcharts.com, where you can download all the U.S. RNCs you want. I don’t quite understand why Maptech is doing this before NOAA has a system in place, but it works fine. First you select the charts you want, then the site packages them up in a self executing zip file and notifies you when it’s ready for download. It only took maybe a half hour for me to receive the 15 charts that cover my area in all scales.

Nobeltec 2006, a peek at 8.0 versions

Last night Nobeltec announced the new features coming to VNS and Admiral 8.0 PC navigation software; they’ve been busy! Both packages integrate camera/video displays (for DirectX enabled cameras) and SkyMate communications, plus add a place-name search capability (all illustrated in my collage above, bigger here). Both also now support NOAA ENCs and will plot DSC VHF calls. AIS target tracking has expanded from Admiral to VNS and Nobeltec will be selling the single frequency NASA/Si-Tex AIS100 receiver [corrected 10/16]. Meanwhile, Admiral will now be able to support multiple radars and the InSight Sounder over a GlassBridge Network, resulting in such sexy system possibilities as the one diagrammed below. 

Airmar Smart Sensors, lots

One comment that inspired my “Geeks vs ME Empire” rant a while back was: “Megalomaniacal marine elex vendors disdain such commoditization as evidenced by the disappearance of most stand alone dumb GPS sensors and proprietary integration of d/s sounders into proprietary networks.” I really, really didn’t understand where that commenter was coming from. It strikes me that the planet is awash in GPS sensors that can output in NMEA 0183 format (or 2000) via bare wire, standard serial plug, USB, Bluetooth, etc. etc. I have a cheap Deluo mouse GPS that has swappable dongles so that it can output via DB9, USB, and custom iPaq PDA serial plugs (& get power too), and it’s worked with all sorts of software. How commoditized can you get?

And while it wasn’t long ago that all depth, speed, temp, etc. sensors were proprietary, these days Airmar (which makes most of them) offers a wide variety of “Smart” versions. More than I realized, actually, as I discovered at Airmar’s much improved web site (try the Smart Sensor .pdf for starters). As illustrated, these sensors process their own signals. Add power and out comes NMEA 0183 or 2000 data to feed a plotter or multifunction display from most any of the ME manufacturers or a PC or, in the 2000 case, a network of up to 50 separate devices. So what was that guy talking about?

PCs can be irritating, to say the least

How freakin coincidental! I was going to write a post today following up on “Geeks versus the evil M.E. empire”, but damned if some software didn’t hijack my computer, and my attention, for a significant chunk of the day. It was Adobe Acrobat, a big time program, and one that’s been running fine since I bought this top-of-the-line Dell and installed my fav software on it last December. All of a sudden Acrobat just wouldn’t open a .pdf file, hanging up on the opening splash screen. I tried everything. I installed updates; didn’t work. I went into the Add/Remove Programs dialog and asked Acrobat to “repair” itself; not. (Along the way, I rebooted the machine many times, and quite lost track of all the tasks on my desk today). I used Window XP System Restore (twice) in an attempt to go back a few days to when Acrobat did work; nada. I completely uninstalled and reinstalled Acrobat; still it hung up! That’s when I fled to the gym to watch CNN and sweat for a while. 

Finally I Goggled “adobe won't open” and—bingo—learned from some other users somewhere that a glitch in Acrobat can sometimes cause it to create, then choke on, thousands of .tmp files in an obscure directory. Sure enough, there they are above. Even this powerhouse couldn’t delete them all at once. I had to hack through them 6–10 thousand at a time. There must have been over 100,000 files created in just the last few days (and XP’s “clean up” disk utility doesn’t go near them). Finally I can open a .pdf file, though Acrobat is asking me register again (for the 4th or 5th time, I think). So even now I’m not quite back to where I was before this glitch, and I have no assurance that it won’t happen again.

Please don’t write that I should have Googled, or gone to Adobe help, first…you know that can be a wild goose chase. And please don’t tell me that I should be using a Mac or Linux or something…if you haven’t had problems with those it’s largely because can’t fool with a fraction of the software I use.

Most days I love computers, and I’ve had pretty good luck using them on boats. But today is a day I certainly understand people who despise them, and are happy to spend good money for a dedicated plotter instead of chancing navigation on one of these FUBAR machines.

Micro hard drive, meet Mikey

The race to get hard drives into cell phones and PDAs may result in drives that really lend themselves to tough marine environments. Hitachi just announced a 1”, 8 gigabyte drive with ESP (“Extra Sensory Protection”). It uses a 3-axis accelerometer to detect a fall in as short as four inches and switch into non-operational mode, which according to Hitachi can handle 2000 Gs of shock. It’s hard to imagine where such tiny, rugged drives will take us… or to fathom what it means about the future when tech companies name a hard drive "Mikey" and promote it as “the new bling!” Is it politically incorrect to laugh, imagining a roomful of Asian marketing execs discussing “bling”?

Update 9/7: How timely; today Apple announced a new iPod “nano” that obviously uses a drive like "Mikey". Walt Mossberg, the gadget guy at The Wall Street Journal, is in love with it.

Geeks versus the evil M.E. empire, part 1

Last week, when I enthused about plotters displaying DVDs, reader Don Parker unloaded on me about how easy this is to do with an onboard PC. He further expressed his general disgust with the “megalomaniacal” marine electronics industry and took a shot at me for failing to point out “when the value added doesn't justify the price”. And Don is not the only smart, techy reader who has a bad attitude toward the electronics companies, and thinks I’m too positive about them. A recent e-mail from Mike took me to the woodshed over the enthusiasm I’ve expressed for NMEA 2000 here and in PMY, and ended with, “You need to think hard about whether you are a reviewer, columnist, or cheerleader for the industry.” Ouch!

Don and Mike are both computer industry veterans and both have some points worth discussing, but first some generalities. Fellas, I have no dog in this fight! In fact I don’t even see a fight. There are perfectly good reasons that some boaters like dedicated electronics, others like computer centric solutions. I use both, and am enthusiastic that both are advancing (and, hey, I write for what are called “enthusiast” publications). The marine electronics industry is not a big nasty monolith out to do you you harm. It’s comprised of tiny to medium size companies, and a lot of generally decent people, competing to make products that make money. If one thought it could do that peddling a generic radar sensor, for instance, there’s nothing to stop them from trying. (I wish this would happen too, Don, but don’t see anyone to blame). And what is value? Getting a powerful system cheap, even if you have to do a lot of friggin around to make it all work? Getting a proprietary system that works pretty well and is all supported by one company, though expensive? There are many angles on this subject. Don, for instance, is using an expensive SeaView computer monitor (right) that came out a few years ago with much hoopla (so waterproof that it was exhibited in a fish tank). The brand didn’t last much longer than a year, and I’m not sure Don can even get his repaired at this point. Was that good value? Unfortunately this sort of thing has happened fairly often with marine computer gear, which has turned some boaters off on that choice. (I’m seeing boaters who used to navigate with laptops switching to plotters, because they’ve gotten so much better, and in a situation like Don’s—a 42’ sailboat—they can be mounted and used right at the helm). At any rate, I don’t get the anger, but will deal with more of Mike and Don’s feedback soon.

Onboard PC, what's the ideal?

Over at rec.boats.electronics there’s a great thread underway about the ‘perfect’ built-in onboard computer. I’m particularly interested as I’ll likely go that route if and when I ever manage to finagle a larger cruising boat. In the meantime, last week I put some miles on the rather funky rig above (bigger here), and it actually performed pretty darn well, even gunkholing around the hairy unmarked ledges in Penobscot Bay’s outer waters (it was calm and clear). I used the old soft case (and sometimes a towel) to keep the laptop from sliding around. Valuable accessories are the Hoodman screen hood (really cuts glare, though I notice they don't seem to sell this model anymore), a tiny Atek optical USB mouse, and an old Deluo USB GPS (no WAAS and weak signals in my cabin, but still consistently accurate). Here I’m using Coastal Explorer 1.1 (now shipping), which is giving me that “the more I use it, the more I like it” feeling. It happens that the designer of CE has an interesting description of his own onboard PC system here.

MacENC, & how about those ENCs?

It was just last week that Rich Ray sent me this screenshot of MacENC, a new version of his GPSNavX charting program that supports NOAA’s free ENC vector charts. But after Tuesday’s news about free raster charts, it no longer seems like a big deal. Now we know that by about next spring Rich and other developers will probably be able to sell their charting software on a DVD that includes the digital equivalent of every single NOAA U.S. paper chart, without any encryption hassels and at little added cost. And users will be able to update those charts weekly if they want (making that easy will be another chance for developers to add value). But ENCs aren’t going away. They’re better than RNCs in many ways, and they’re definitely the future. Eventually—when ENCs are perfected and coverage complete—NOAA will drop raster chart production altogether, even printing paper charts from the vector database (if they print charts at all). Right now it’s quite useful to have both RNCs and ENCs for the same area; each has data or display features that the other lacks. In fact, if I was a Mac person, I wouldn’t think twice about paying the extra $35 for MacENC. I’m looking forward to inexpensive DVDs loaded with both types of free U.S. charts.

By the way, breaking the raster story generated a record number of readers here at Panbo, and for a moment made me feel like Matt Drudge (in a good way). A big thanks to whoever it was out there e-mailing Panbo links all over the planet!

Coastal Explorer 1.1, the current thing (and a Maine story)