Fugawi 3.x.x V. The Crapn
 

I've been a contented user of The Capn since ver. 4.3 up to 6.1 (upgrading
each time the card comes).

However, the latest upgrade would require that I move to a more power full
laptop computer (I suspect, because of the Mosaic crap and SoftCharts). Now
I'm finding it difficult to get product support for Capn Voyager.

Rather than spend the $49 for an upgrade that I can't use (recent marked dwn
special), I'm considering crossing over to Fugawi 3 for $99.

I looked over the Demo and read about all the features and conclude that
although it isn't as 'slick' as The Capn, it is more flexible (in chart
formats), more capable and user friendly.. It also can be used with the
street/highway (land based) map data bases. Allows you to scan and register
your own charts. The list goes on, while the basic navigation program seems
simple and user friendly..

With an upgrade, I could also be using the ENC vector charts.

So, Why am I here?? I would like the hear from others who might have been
exposed to either Fugawi and/or The Capn.

Thanks for any comments on actual usage.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Fugawi 3.x.x V. The Crapn
 

On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 14:51:17 -0800, "Steve" wrote:

I've been a contented user of The Capn since ver. 4.3 up to 6.1 (upgrading
each time the card comes).

However, the latest upgrade would require that I move to a more power full
laptop computer (I suspect, because of the Mosaic crap and SoftCharts). Now
I'm finding it difficult to get product support for Capn Voyager.

Rather than spend the $49 for an upgrade that I can't use (recent marked dwn
special), I'm considering crossing over to Fugawi 3 for $99.

I looked over the Demo and read about all the features and conclude that
although it isn't as 'slick' as The Capn, it is more flexible (in chart
formats), more capable and user friendly.. It also can be used with the
street/highway (land based) map data bases. Allows you to scan and register
your own charts. The list goes on, while the basic navigation program seems
simple and user friendly..

With an upgrade, I could also be using the ENC vector charts.

So, Why am I here?? I would like the hear from others who might have been
exposed to either Fugawi and/or The Capn.

Thanks for any comments on actual usage.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions


Just to add to the religious war that's brewing, you might want to
add OziExplorer to your list. It's downright frugal with your
computer resources, and will read dang near any raster map format. I
think it will do just about anything Fugawi does. It does not support
any vector charts, though. In my experience, the autopilot support is
a bt dodgy, but I haven't really tried to resolve those issues. It
might be my problem. It's not primarily desgned for boaters, but it
is definitely useable.

Unlike the other packages I've messed with, Ozi has a published API
that lets third parties develop stuff that interfaces with the main
package. One of them sends water depth data to OziExplorer, which
integrates it wth the position data for display and logging. My own
little program can exchange position and waypoint data with Ozi. I've
been a Maptech fan for awhile, but I find myself using Ozi more and
more.

I've always disliked CAPN for its inflexible setup. I haven't tried
FUGAWI, but you have to respect people who name their product after a
bad joke.

__________________________________________________ __________
Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at worldwidewiley dot com
To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious.

Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and
logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/

Fugawi 3.x.x V. The Crapn
 

On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 14:51:17 -0800, "Steve" wrote:

I've been a contented user of The Capn since ver. 4.3 up to 6.1 (upgrading
each time the card comes).

However, the latest upgrade would require that I move to a more power full
laptop computer (I suspect, because of the Mosaic crap and SoftCharts). Now
I'm finding it difficult to get product support for Capn Voyager.

Rather than spend the $49 for an upgrade that I can't use (recent marked dwn
special), I'm considering crossing over to Fugawi 3 for $99.

I looked over the Demo and read about all the features and conclude that
although it isn't as 'slick' as The Capn, it is more flexible (in chart
formats), more capable and user friendly.. It also can be used with the
street/highway (land based) map data bases. Allows you to scan and register
your own charts. The list goes on, while the basic navigation program seems
simple and user friendly..

With an upgrade, I could also be using the ENC vector charts.

So, Why am I here?? I would like the hear from others who might have been
exposed to either Fugawi and/or The Capn.

Thanks for any comments on actual usage.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions


Just to add to the religious war that's brewing, you might want to
add OziExplorer to your list. It's downright frugal with your
computer resources, and will read dang near any raster map format. I
think it will do just about anything Fugawi does. It does not support
any vector charts, though. In my experience, the autopilot support is
a bt dodgy, but I haven't really tried to resolve those issues. It
might be my problem. It's not primarily desgned for boaters, but it
is definitely useable.

Unlike the other packages I've messed with, Ozi has a published API
that lets third parties develop stuff that interfaces with the main
package. One of them sends water depth data to OziExplorer, which
integrates it wth the position data for display and logging. My own
little program can exchange position and waypoint data with Ozi. I've
been a Maptech fan for awhile, but I find myself using Ozi more and
more.

I've always disliked CAPN for its inflexible setup. I haven't tried
FUGAWI, but you have to respect people who name their product after a
bad joke.

__________________________________________________ __________
Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at worldwidewiley dot com
To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious.

Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and
logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/

Fugawi 3.x.x V. The Crapn
 

FUGAWI, but you have to respect people who name their product after a
bad joke.



I appreciate all of your comments Wiley, but please expand on the above
'snipe'..

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Fugawi 3.x.x V. The Crapn
 

FUGAWI, but you have to respect people who name their product after a
bad joke.



I appreciate all of your comments Wiley, but please expand on the above
'snipe'..

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Fugawi 3.x.x V. The Crapn
 

I've used them all:

The Capn - really poor user interface. Bad feel. The only people who like
it are the ones who've been using it for many years and don't know any
better.

Fugawi - very basic stuff. Not the best and certainly not the most
reliable.

OziExplorer - buy software from an American company or else support will be
a nightmare. OziExplorer is very similar to Fugawi in my experiments.
Again, not the most reliable.

Nobeltec VNS, etc. - the best. Best features and user-interface. It is
reliable. Also the most expensive. I don't think that their product
justifies the $500 - $1,000 cost any longer.

Maptech - good compromise between everything. Excellent support. Features
are good enough for most uses. User interface is pretty good. It is
reliable.

Transas, Raymarine, and all the others - not ready for prime time.


If you can afford it, Nobeltec is the way to do. For a more reasonably
priced product with great features and excellent support, you would be very
happy with the Maptech products.

Safety is the most important thing. Don't forget that!

Fugawi 3.x.x V. The Crapn
 

I've used them all:

The Capn - really poor user interface. Bad feel. The only people who like
it are the ones who've been using it for many years and don't know any
better.

Fugawi - very basic stuff. Not the best and certainly not the most
reliable.

OziExplorer - buy software from an American company or else support will be
a nightmare. OziExplorer is very similar to Fugawi in my experiments.
Again, not the most reliable.

Nobeltec VNS, etc. - the best. Best features and user-interface. It is
reliable. Also the most expensive. I don't think that their product
justifies the $500 - $1,000 cost any longer.

Maptech - good compromise between everything. Excellent support. Features
are good enough for most uses. User interface is pretty good. It is
reliable.

Transas, Raymarine, and all the others - not ready for prime time.


If you can afford it, Nobeltec is the way to do. For a more reasonably
priced product with great features and excellent support, you would be very
happy with the Maptech products.

Safety is the most important thing. Don't forget that!

Fugawi 3.x.x V. The Crapn
 

I may be misunderstanding you Steve but if you are asking what the joke is
it goes something like this:

Have you heard about the Fugawi tribe recently discovered by anthropologists
in Africa?
Apparently they are a tribe of Pigmies that live in the grasslands of the
central plains. They are on average about 4' tall and live in a region
where the grass grows about 6' tall.
We call them the Fugawi because they are always going around saying, (wait
for it) "We're the Fugawi, we're the Fugawi." ;-)

Happy New Year!
--
Ken Heaton & Anne Tobin
Cape Breton Island, Canada
kenheaton AT syd DOT eastlink DOT ca

"Steve" wrote in message
...
FUGAWI, but you have to respect people who name their product after a
bad joke.



I appreciate all of your comments Wiley, but please expand on the above
'snipe'..

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Fugawi 3.x.x V. The Crapn
 

I may be misunderstanding you Steve but if you are asking what the joke is
it goes something like this:

Have you heard about the Fugawi tribe recently discovered by anthropologists
in Africa?
Apparently they are a tribe of Pigmies that live in the grasslands of the
central plains. They are on average about 4' tall and live in a region
where the grass grows about 6' tall.
We call them the Fugawi because they are always going around saying, (wait
for it) "We're the Fugawi, we're the Fugawi." ;-)

Happy New Year!
--
Ken Heaton & Anne Tobin
Cape Breton Island, Canada
kenheaton AT syd DOT eastlink DOT ca

"Steve" wrote in message
...
FUGAWI, but you have to respect people who name their product after a
bad joke.



I appreciate all of your comments Wiley, but please expand on the above
'snipe'..

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Fugawi 3.x.x V. The Crapn
 

Thanks. That was the type of comparision I was looking for, although not
what I wanted to hear.

I believe that Nautical Technology (The Capn), Nobeltec and Maptech have an
agenda to lock the navigator into a chart format. And of course they control
the market on these formats.

Not only do I have about five hundred buck invested in The Capn, but I have
nearly a thousand invested in BSB and other raster formats that run on Capn
and Maptech software.. Now I see each company introducing their new
formats/type of digital charts.. The money is not in the navigation
software, the money is in the charts. The race among the three leaders is to
get the navigator locked into a format before he becomes aware of the ever
increasing number of vector charts being released for free..

Although I have been locked into BSB and The Capn for about 4 years, I have
only sailed two seasons with this software and chart format. I am content
with the choice of chart format but I have lost confidence in Nautical
Technology since there fail to provide comprehensive interface with external
devices. (subject of previous posts here and in rec.boats.electronics)..

For my present and future navigation requirements, I don't see any need for
SoftCharts, Vector charts or enhanced video presentations with my charts. I
just want my laptop screen to look like the paper charts that I have laying
on the chart table.

One of the feature of The Capn that I would miss with a Fugawi change over
would be the Tides & Currents, however, I still will have their Tides and
Currents available though the Graphic representation, I just won't be able
to display this information on the chart.

I guess I have ranted enough (for now).

Steve
s/v Good Intentions