Flemming Torp wrote:

snip As I do not
want to make physical changes to this set up, and as I do
have a notebook and a PPC with a GPS (a little RoyalTek RGM
2000-thing), I'm looking for a cheap solution to my
'cockpit-chartplotter-problem' ...

Since you have a PPC and a GPS receiver for it (the RGM-2000) you might
want to look at trying out a trial version of an application like Ozi-CE
(http://www.oziexplorer.com/). Ozi-CE may be able to use the Maptech
BSB charts you have now if they are on CD-ROMs. The BSB chart files
require some conversion for use by Ozi-CE, that can be done using the
trial version of Ozi Explorer PC (Ozi-PC).

You may also be able to use your DLSK charts if you can import them into
Ozi-PC and calibrate them for use. Once those are converted and
calibrated they can be used with either Ozi-PC or Ozi-CE.

Another possible avenue for using the DLSK charts is that if you can
export or save bit mapped images of the chart files, those can be
imported and calibrated with Ozi-PC (and a number of other applications
that get frequent mention here).

To get the most flexibility with Ozi-CE the Ozi Explorer developer
recommends also buying Ozi-Explorer for the PC. But you may be able to
get along without buying it. I purchased Ozi-CE to use on an iPAQ 3630
and am managing fine without having bought Ozi-PC also. I'm using
Maptech BSB charts and USGS topo maps (both come with calibration data
files) and those can be converted for use with Ozi-CE by using the
trial version of Ozi-PC. What cannot be done with the trial version of
Ozi-PC is to import and calibrate map images or edit a map image.

A nice piece of freeware that you may want to look at that also has
good capabilities for importing and calibrating map images is
SeaClear II (http://www.sping.com/seaclear/). The process is a little
convoluted but I have been able to create routes on SeaClear II (using
Maptech BSB charts) and upload those to my handheld GPS (which was being
used with SeaClear for NMEA input).

I could then download the routes and waypoints from the GPS using GPS
Utility (www.gpsu.co.uk/) and then import the routes and waypoints into
Ozi-CE. Once you sort through the details of the various file formats
and the like, you'll find there are a number of GPS utilities that data
to be migrated from one platform to another.

My feeling is that the iPAQ screen size is okay for navigation in the
sense that you just glance at it occasionally to see if you're still on
track, in the same place you that your think you are, and are just
looking at the various details of data like course, speed, etc.

Route planning can be done on the iPAQ but it is much better done on a
laptop or other PC with a larger screen, a mouse, full sized keyboard,
and the other bells and whistles that make it easier and more pleasant.

If your PPC has removable media (my iPAQ uses CF cards) you can more
easily store chart files and move data around between the PPC and PC. I
can store the Ozi-CE program and data files and hundreds of BSB charts
on a 1GB CF card.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)