On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 04:25:29 GMT, "John Glynn"
wrote:

So, do you find MapTech relatively easy to use and pretty helpful for
navigating?

It absolutely is helpful since I haven't relied on paper charts for
years and that takes in many thousands of miles over the entire east
coast. And yes, I have an extra laptop for backup just in case.

Ease of use is hard to judge once you are experienced with a piece of
software. There is definitely a learning curve but it is not too
steep. I have it installed on my desktop at home and am constantly
using it for trip planning and such, and that is a good way to learn
as well.

It is very easy to export routes, waypoints and tracks from one
computer to another which is quite useful.

Let me know if you have specific questions about how do do something
and I'll try to help.

John Glynn wrote:
I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but
thinking of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator
Pro by MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they
like and don't like about it.

Thanks!

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net

If you have little time for learning, and want few functions other than the
basics, go with Maptech

But if you want a really highly-functional nav. system which can be
self-maintained and upgraded regularly, and you are patient with the
learning process, there is nothing to touch Oziexplorer.

BTW, I have used 3 or 4 different systems over the past 6-7 years, 2 of them
high grade vector systems, and Ozi is king.


Dennis.

The only one I don't recall seeing in this thread is the one used by the
Coast Guard, the Cap'n.

What's the opinion on that program compared to the others which have been
getting lots of discussion?

L8R

Skip, still rehabbing

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
http://tinyurl.com/384p2 The vessel as Tehamana, as we bought her

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
"Dennis Pogson" wrote in message
...
John Glynn wrote:
I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but
thinking of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator
Pro by MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they
like and don't like about it.

Thanks!

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net

If you have little time for learning, and want few functions other than
the
basics, go with Maptech

But if you want a really highly-functional nav. system which can be
self-maintained and upgraded regularly, and you are patient with the
learning process, there is nothing to touch Oziexplorer.

BTW, I have used 3 or 4 different systems over the past 6-7 years, 2 of
them
high grade vector systems, and Ozi is king.


Dennis.

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 08:49:49 -0500, Skip Gundlach wrote:

The only one I don't recall seeing in this thread is the one used by the
Coast Guard, the Cap'n.

What's the opinion on that program compared to the others which have been
getting lots of discussion?

While limited in features compared to the Maptech bloatware, The Cap'n
works very well for what most people do and is very easy to use. I like
it, and recommend it. I use it as a backup when our Maptech stuff gets
screwed up, unfortunately often.

Matt O.

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 08:49:49 -0500, "Skip Gundlach" skipgundlach at
gmail dotcom wrote:

The only one I don't recall seeing in this thread is the one used by the
Coast Guard, the Cap'n.

What's the opinion on that program compared to the others which have been
getting lots of discussion?

In my opinion for what it's worth, it is overpriced and over hyped.

Here is another to look at:
http://www.navsim.com/products/boatcruiser2/

Reads: bsb 1-4, nos/geo, geotiff,S57, CMAP MAX and displays AIS.

Saw it at the Seattle boat show. It was selling for $499 at Captains
Nautical. What made it intersting is that it comes with an unlock code for
one Cmap region. That can be Canadian . So for anyone who uses Canadian
waters thats about $330 worth of charts.

SaltAir

"John Glynn" wrote in message
news:22WAf.311283$2k.110578@pd7tw1no...
I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but
thinking of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro by
MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like
and don't like about it.

Thanks!

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 01:10:22 +0000, John Glynn wrote:

I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but
thinking of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro
by MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like
and don't like about it.

I've used most of the PC based systems up to the latest generation, which
I haven't tried. They all have their good and bad points.

For the last 3 years I've been using Maptech's Pocket Navigator, which
runs on a PDA, with a companion program on a laptop. You can't use one
without the other. It works great though, the PDA being much faster and
easier to use, plus you can see the screen in direct sunlight. So far
this is my favorite.* The downside is you need a PDA with GPS, and a
power cord. (PDA batteries don't last long enough for continuous
operation.) So it's not a cheap setup, nor is it convenient for everyone.

Previously I had used every version of Maptech since 1.0 for DOS*. All of
these except 1.0 are slow, even on fast computers; very cumbersome to use,
and buggy. The problem is poor software design, and that raster charts
are too slow to load.

Nobletech was better, but it had two problems that drove me nuts. One,
you can't adjust the size of the boat icon, so when you zoom out you
can't see it anymore. Two, if your computer crashes while Nobletec is
running, you have to completely wipe Nobletec off your drive and reinstall
the program from scratch. Other than that it's pretty good. I believe
Nobletec is the #1 selling PC nav program.

For a less expensive setup that's simple and easy to use, it's hard to
beat The Cap'n. It's the closest thing to Maptech 1.0 for DOS.*

I have not tried any of the new vector chart programs, which should be a
big improvement for many reasons. There's one caveat with vector charts
though: when you zoom way in, it may be hard to know when you're at the
limit of the chart's resolution. Raster charts are simply images of paper
charts, where you can see the limit of resolution, and/or you get a
pixelated image when you zoom in too far.

*Maptech 1.0 for DOS is still the best designed, easiest to use program
ever, but charts and support are no longer available.

I hope competition among the new players in this field will improve the
breed. Until now, Maptech's monopoly on chart publishing has stifled
innovation, resulting in a lot of poor software. With a new chart format
that's open and free, it will be interesting to see what happens.

Matt O.

I'm not sure what you mean about the boat icon in Nobeltec. I have used
most versions and never noticed this problem. I'm on 8.0 now and checked it
out. While you can't adjust the boat icon size, it doesn't shrink as you
zoom out either so it remains the same size no matter what the zoom level.


"Matt O'Toole" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 01:10:22 +0000, John Glynn wrote:

I'm sort of used to navigating with paper charts and a pencil...but
thinking of moving a little higher-tech.

Been looking at PC Navigation Software. Looked at Chart Navigator Pro
by MapTech, the Ozi one, Fugawi and others.

I sure would appreciate users input on what they use, and what they like
and don't like about it.

I've used most of the PC based systems up to the latest generation, which
I haven't tried. They all have their good and bad points.

For the last 3 years I've been using Maptech's Pocket Navigator, which
runs on a PDA, with a companion program on a laptop. You can't use one
without the other. It works great though, the PDA being much faster and
easier to use, plus you can see the screen in direct sunlight. So far
this is my favorite.* The downside is you need a PDA with GPS, and a
power cord. (PDA batteries don't last long enough for continuous
operation.) So it's not a cheap setup, nor is it convenient for everyone.

Previously I had used every version of Maptech since 1.0 for DOS*. All of
these except 1.0 are slow, even on fast computers; very cumbersome to use,
and buggy. The problem is poor software design, and that raster charts
are too slow to load.

Nobletech was better, but it had two problems that drove me nuts. One,
you can't adjust the size of the boat icon, so when you zoom out you
can't see it anymore. Two, if your computer crashes while Nobletec is
running, you have to completely wipe Nobletec off your drive and reinstall
the program from scratch. Other than that it's pretty good. I believe
Nobletec is the #1 selling PC nav program.

For a less expensive setup that's simple and easy to use, it's hard to
beat The Cap'n. It's the closest thing to Maptech 1.0 for DOS.*

I have not tried any of the new vector chart programs, which should be a
big improvement for many reasons. There's one caveat with vector charts
though: when you zoom way in, it may be hard to know when you're at the
limit of the chart's resolution. Raster charts are simply images of paper
charts, where you can see the limit of resolution, and/or you get a
pixelated image when you zoom in too far.

*Maptech 1.0 for DOS is still the best designed, easiest to use program
ever, but charts and support are no longer available.

I hope competition among the new players in this field will improve the
breed. Until now, Maptech's monopoly on chart publishing has stifled
innovation, resulting in a lot of poor software. With a new chart format
that's open and free, it will be interesting to see what happens.

Matt O.

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 11:14:13 -0800, johnhh wrote:

I'm not sure what you mean about the boat icon in Nobeltec. I have used
most versions and never noticed this problem. I'm on 8.0 now and checked
it out. While you can't adjust the boat icon size, it doesn't shrink as
you zoom out either so it remains the same size no matter what the zoom
level.

I think you're right. I knew there was something about the non-adjustable
size of the boat icon that bothered me, but it was actually the opposite
of what I just wrote. It was really a pain sometimes, like when passing
close to something on a large scale chart, or poking into tight spots.
It's not always practical to be switching between higher and lower
resolution charts.

I don't remember which Nobletec version I used last, but I'm thinking 6.0.

Matt O.

On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 14:04:16 -0500, Matt O'Toole
wrote:

For the last 3 years I've been using Maptech's Pocket Navigator, which
runs on a PDA, with a companion program on a laptop. You can't use one
without the other. It works great though, the PDA being much faster and
easier to use, plus you can see the screen in direct sunlight. So far
this is my favorite.

Pocket Navigator = old and crippled version of Memory Map Navigator.

MM has an upgrade program where all you pay is the difference between
what Maptech charges for Pocket Nav and what they charge for Memory
Map Navigator or the Pro version. The Pro version even has support
for AIS display on the PocktPC.

http://www.memory-map.com/software_upgrade.htm can give you the cost
to upgrade to MMN or MMP. This is probably the cheapest route.

Upgrading will probably be cheapest way to get MM, but FYI for anyone
else buying new: The cheapest retailer for the Pro version that I
have found is the Canadian http://www.maptown.com. They have the Pro
version for US$173 (vs $225 retail) for the retail boxed version
delivered to the US. They also have the retail box version of MM
Navigator for $111 delivered to the US, but it's cheaper to just buy a
license from http://www.memory-map.com and download the software.

Why Memory Map is not more well known i beyond me. It is written by
an active sailor and cruiser and it is by far the most intuitive and
easy to use chart plotting software out there IMHO, and it is blazing
fast, like no other bar none.

--
BRENT - The Usenet typo king.