Does anyone know when the next Blue Chart CD revison is due? Neither store
I asked knew although Hamilton Marine recommended that I wait until the last
minute next spring to buy it.

It would be nice to have it earlier for winter dreaming but nicer to have
the latest when I load it on my computer.

BTW I did get Metro Guide for road trips this winter. The title made me a
bit concerned about rural area coverage and I was told it could be spotty
out in the sticks. However, it has the dirt road that runs into my family's
six cottage summer colony and you can't ask for much more local detail than
that. It did miss the driveway to my brother's cottage which shows up on
Maptech and other online maps but, nothing is perfect. OTOH, it doesn't
show our driveway as a through road to the next street as does almost every
other map in existance (including DeLorme produced here in Maine), a fact
that often brings us puzzled people sitting in front of our house staring at
their Maine Map and Guide or GPS.

--
Roger Long

Roger Long wrote:
Does anyone know when the next Blue Chart CD revison is due? Neither
store I asked knew although Hamilton Marine recommended that I wait
until the last minute next spring to buy it.

It would be nice to have it earlier for winter dreaming but nicer to
have the latest when I load it on my computer.

BTW I did get Metro Guide for road trips this winter. The title made
me a bit concerned about rural area coverage and I was told it could
be spotty out in the sticks. However, it has the dirt road that runs
into my family's six cottage summer colony and you can't ask for much
more local detail than that. It did miss the driveway to my
brother's cottage which shows up on Maptech and other online maps
but, nothing is perfect. OTOH, it doesn't show our driveway as a
through road to the next street as does almost every other map in
existance (including DeLorme produced here in Maine), a fact that
often brings us puzzled people sitting in front of our house staring
at their Maine Map and Guide or GPS.

I'm using version 8.0, don't know if this is the latest or not. The main
difference between it and V. 7.5 is that the land shows contour lines,
useful for coastal navigation I guess.

Dennis.

Hey Roger ,, happy new year ..

What handheld GPS would you recommend? I've been looking at the various
Garmin models, but haven't bought one yet.
I keep thinking this will be like buying a computer .. on Monday you think
you are getting a great deal .. the thing is obsolete on Friday.

It seems as if the handheld models all do about the same thing. Unless I
purchase the blue chart software I will ony see the marine buoys anyway,
right.

I am looking for a cheapoo laptop. A boat computer. I only plan on using
it for Maptech Nav so I don't want to spend much money.

I am also looking at a solar panel. Do you have one of these? Did some
basic research and found out that the West Marine panels were pretty much
junk. Need about 50watt plus to get any real power. That way the batteries
are fresh and the boat gets a little extra ..

Guy down in Florida told me he uses a portable one. Says he puts it out
when he is at anchorage. He connects the wires to a line into the
batteries, I don't remember whether he had a regulator or not ,, says the
portable panels worked good for him. He puts them away when he sails. He
said he had one attached to the stern rail on a former boat and a wave
washed/smashed it all to hell.

==

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know when the next Blue Chart CD revison is due? Neither
store I asked knew although Hamilton Marine recommended that I wait until
the last minute next spring to buy it.

It would be nice to have it earlier for winter dreaming but nicer to have
the latest when I load it on my computer.

BTW I did get Metro Guide for road trips this winter. The title made me a
bit concerned about rural area coverage and I was told it could be spotty
out in the sticks. However, it has the dirt road that runs into my
family's six cottage summer colony and you can't ask for much more local
detail than that. It did miss the driveway to my brother's cottage which
shows up on Maptech and other online maps but, nothing is perfect. OTOH,
it doesn't show our driveway as a through road to the next street as does
almost every other map in existance (including DeLorme produced here in
Maine), a fact that often brings us puzzled people sitting in front of our
house staring at their Maine Map and Guide or GPS.

--
Roger Long

I just bought the Garmin 76Cx for Christmas for my new boat partner (Isn't
that sort of like buying your girlfriend a new set of socket wrenches as
they joke on "Cartalk"?). I bought that one because it fits the mount I
already built for the boat and my aging eyes need a color screen. It's hard
to see how you could get more bang for the buck though. The only reason I
can see for buying something else would be to get a larger screen. Your
laptop can supply that. Take note though of other threads on how much
laptops draw. I've given up trying to run one on a sailboat for just that
reason. Solar would keep it going but it's just not something I want to
complicate my life with. Charts and the GPS will get me where I want to go.

--
Roger Long

Roger ,, I hear ya ................. Why? Because I can't see ya!

I am investing in a handfull of those reading glasses one buys at Brooks
Pharm. And a couple more magnifying glasses.

When did they start writing so small?

I will do some shopping now that the new year is here. Garmin 76Cx ??
Sounds like a plan.

What is it with Garmin, seems like they change the model number on these
GPS's about once a week.

West has the old models for like $200. This is weird, it is like selling a
black and white tv for the price of color.

On the laptop computer front. I agree, the power they take is tough. My
plan, so far just a plan, is to buy a cheapoo laptop, and then shop on Ebay
for a couple of backup batteries.
I bought a portable DVD player at Christmas time for the boat. It is on its
way back to the store. The power these babies suck up is amazing. And the
extra batteries are $72 bucks, and that is for 3-4 more hours of power.
Heck, one movie goes 2 hours.

One other thing,, the portable DVD's, they get real hot when using. There
is no fan, unlike a computer.
I think the heat kinda screws them up.

Do the laptops have a fan? I have never used a laptop.

The solar panel. I have talked to a couple of cruisers who used them. One
guy had been out cruising for 7 years! He said he started out with a wind
unit, used a water unit, and then went to solar. He said the solar is the
best. No maintenance.

The problem is cost. For a decent solar panel and regulator with diode ..
$1,000

I am looking for a second hand one. If I find one, I am going to use it as
a portable unit. I will set it up on deck, make a perch somehow, and run
the wire to the battery, etc. Most of the good ones have the regulator as
part of the panel .. the diode is just something you put in the line. Dont
really need the diode if it is portable because it won't be connected after
dark.

I am also thinking of replacing one battery with two gold cart batteries.
Lots more capactiy, same voltage.

See ya ..


"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
I just bought the Garmin 76Cx for Christmas for my new boat partner (Isn't
that sort of like buying your girlfriend a new set of socket wrenches as
they joke on "Cartalk"?). I bought that one because it fits the mount I
already built for the boat and my aging eyes need a color screen. It's
hard to see how you could get more bang for the buck though. The only
reason I can see for buying something else would be to get a larger screen.
Your laptop can supply that. Take note though of other threads on how much
laptops draw. I've given up trying to run one on a sailboat for just that
reason. Solar would keep it going but it's just not something I want to
complicate my life with. Charts and the GPS will get me where I want to
go.

--
Roger Long

On Tue, 02 Jan 2007 14:39:44 GMT, "NE Sailboat"
wrote:

Do the laptops have a fan? I have never used a laptop.

Most of them do, but not all. The ones with a fan do seem to run
cooler as you might expect. I've had one laptop failure with a unit
that was accidently left in direct sun light while turned on.

NE Sailboat wrote:
Roger ,, I hear ya ................. Why? Because I can't see ya!

I am investing in a handfull of those reading glasses one buys at
Brooks Pharm. And a couple more magnifying glasses.

When did they start writing so small?

I will do some shopping now that the new year is here. Garmin 76Cx ??
Sounds like a plan.

I have a 60cs, wouldn't be without it. The Bluecharts are just great, and
you can run Mapsource with the identical charts on you laptop down at the
chart table, with a cheapo GPS feeding the data to it. Always use a
neckstrap though, it's all too easy to put the damn thing down where some
jack-booted gorilla will flatten it.

What is it with Garmin, seems like they change the model number on
these GPS's about once a week.

It's called marketing, and is based on the concept that there's one born
every minute.

West has the old models for like $200. This is weird, it is like
selling a black and white tv for the price of color.

On the laptop computer front. I agree, the power they take is tough.
My plan, so far just a plan, is to buy a cheapoo laptop, and then
shop on Ebay for a couple of backup batteries.

A much better idea is to buy an rather more upmarket laptop with a Pentium
"M" processor and Centrino wireless technology. They use less than half the
amps that an older laptop uses, and will run on their internal batteries for
up to 4 hours. If you are marina-based, you can use the e-mail facilities
and surf away on the Internet, often at someone else's expense (but we won't
go into that!).

I bought a portable DVD player at Christmas time for the boat. It is
on its way back to the store. The power these babies suck up is
amazing. And the extra batteries are $72 bucks, and that is for 3-4
more hours of power. Heck, one movie goes 2 hours.

One other thing,, the portable DVD's, they get real hot when using.
There is no fan, unlike a computer.
I think the heat kinda screws them up.
Most laptops will run DVD's better than a DVD player these days.

Do the laptops have a fan? I have never used a laptop.

If you find one without a fan, it must be an eighties model. If it's still
running, buy it, Sotherbys are always looking for good antiques.


The solar panel. I have talked to a couple of cruisers who used
them. One guy had been out cruising for 7 years! He said he started
out with a wind unit, used a water unit, and then went to solar. He
said the solar is the best. No maintenance.

The problem is cost. For a decent solar panel and regulator with
diode .. $1,000

Could it be the Power Generating Untilities have got it wrong about wind
farms? Should they be looking at solar panels instead?

I am looking for a second hand one. If I find one, I am going to use
it as a portable unit. I will set it up on deck, make a perch
somehow, and run the wire to the battery, etc. Most of the good ones
have the regulator as part of the panel .. the diode is just
something you put in the line. Dont really need the diode if it is
portable because it won't be connected after dark.

I am also thinking of replacing one battery with two gold cart
batteries. Lots more capactiy, same voltage.

That's a great idea! Battery technology is advancing at as fast a rate as
the boffins can invent new gadgets to use up the energy, so why not take
advantage of this?

See ya ..


"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
I just bought the Garmin 76Cx for Christmas for my new boat partner
(Isn't that sort of like buying your girlfriend a new set of socket
wrenches as they joke on "Cartalk"?). I bought that one because it
fits the mount I already built for the boat and my aging eyes need a
color screen. It's hard to see how you could get more bang for the
buck though. The only reason I can see for buying something else
would be to get a larger screen. Your laptop can supply that. Take
note though of other threads on how much laptops draw. I've given
up trying to run one on a sailboat for just that reason. Solar
would keep it going but it's just not something I want to complicate
my life with. Charts and the GPS will get me where I want to go.

--
Roger Long

In article ,
"Dennis Pogson" wrote:

The solar panel. I have talked to a couple of cruisers who used
them. One guy had been out cruising for 7 years! He said he started
out with a wind unit, used a water unit, and then went to solar. He
said the solar is the best. No maintenance.

The problem is cost. For a decent solar panel and regulator with
diode .. $1,000

Could it be the Power Generating Untilities have got it wrong about wind
farms? Should they be looking at solar panels instead?

Prime difference is that most cruisers try to anchor where there aren't
many waves, and that's usually where the ain't much wind.

And no-maintenance goes a long way, too.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

On Tue, 2 Jan 2007 08:55:29 -0500, "Roger Long"
wrote:

Take note though of other threads on how much
laptops draw.

I've had quite a bit of experience with that over the last 7 years.
It seems to vary between 3 and 5 amps at 12 volts DC depending on the
laptop and inverter combination.

Take note though of other threads on how much
laptops draw.I've had quite a bit of experience with that over the last 7 years.
It seems to vary between 3 and 5 amps at 12 volts DC depending on the
laptop and inverter combination.

Well my the power supply on my sony Vaio pcg-k37 (the laptop I use to
render video) says it needs 20 12 volt amps input. It really does use
about that much when it's working hard. I keep another laptop for
charting and it uses about 3 12 volt amps.

-- Tom.