I came across a Garmin 18 WAAS-enhanced GPS for a laptop. That led me
to search for other types and brands, but I didn't get many answers.

These units are sold with road use in mind. What if I wanted to use one
with nautical charts? Does anyone know if the BSB and roadmap formats
are the same?

I'd like to hear from anyone who might be using this equipment.

Gualtier Malde (Chuck) wrote:
I came across a Garmin 18 WAAS-enhanced GPS for a laptop. That led me
to search for other types and brands, but I didn't get many answers.

These units are sold with road use in mind. What if I wanted to use
one with nautical charts? Does anyone know if the BSB and roadmap
formats are the same?

I'd like to hear from anyone who might be using this equipment.

So long as the GPS can be set to download in Lat./Lon., it can be used for
nautical navigation.

Dennis.


- - -
Satellite photocharts of the UK & Ireland
available, excellent detail and accurate
calibration using Oziexplorer.
Remove *nospam* to reply.

Dennis Pogson wrote:

Gualtier Malde (Chuck) wrote:

I came across a Garmin 18 WAAS-enhanced GPS for a laptop. That led me
to search for other types and brands, but I didn't get many answers.

These units are sold with road use in mind. What if I wanted to use
one with nautical charts? Does anyone know if the BSB and roadmap
formats are the same?

I'd like to hear from anyone who might be using this equipment.


So long as the GPS can be set to download in Lat./Lon., it can be used for
nautical navigation.

Dennis.

That's good news - so generally the formats of nautical charts and ones
for highway use are the same?

Chuck,

I use a Garmin GPS with my laptop with Delorme products for highway use and
with the Cap'n Firstmate for nautical use.

I love it.

Ansley Sawyer
SV Pacem

Gualtier Malde (Chuck) wrote:

I came across a Garmin 18 WAAS-enhanced GPS for a laptop. That led me
to search for other types and brands, but I didn't get many answers.

Try these:

https://www1.securesiteserver.co.uk/holux/catalogue/

http://www.rikaline.com/gps_receiver.htm

Also, do an eBay search for GPS devices and you'll see a lot of makes
and types of GPS receivers.

You have to carefully consider which version of the GPS 18 you buy and
how you want to use it. Here is an extract from a Garmin web page:

"The PC and LVC versions both default to output data in the industry
standard NMEA 0183 data format, but may also be user programmed to
output data in the GARMIN proprietary format. The USB version produces
data only in the GARMIN proprietary format."

If you are not using a Garmin automotive navigation software (nRoute,
MapSource City Navigator, etc.) the 18 USB will not work for you. If
you are looking for a NMEA output the GPS 18 USB will not work for you.
And, as far as I know, the GPS 18 USB is not compatible with any of
Garmin's marine charting packages.


These units are sold with road use in mind. What if I wanted to use
one with nautical charts? Does anyone know if the BSB and roadmap
formats are the same?

For marine use, you want a GPS receiver with a NMEA output and that
rules out the GPS 18 USB. But you could use the GPS 18 PC or LVC for a
NMEA input for a marine navigation software.

And BSB and the routeable road maps are not the same. BSB is a raster
format (a bitmapped image) while most of the road navigation packages
are vector formats to allow automatic routing. For the most part, the
vector road navigation map packages are much more expensive and limited
to use with specific brands of hardware.

I'd like to hear from anyone who might be using this equipment.

For the most part, I would not buy hardware from Garmin because it would
mean I could use only Garmin's mapping/charting packages. Further, any
interoperability (automobile, marine, topo, etc.) would be limited to
what they wanted to market or allow and require additional purchases of
more Garmin mapping packages.

I don't have anything against Garmin, their marketing is simply not
aimed at me.

Jack

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

In article ,
"Gualtier Malde (Chuck)" wrote:


That's good news - so generally the formats of nautical charts and ones
for highway use are the same?

NO, they are not the same or even close. what the guy said was that if
your GPS can output Lat/Long it will drive the map system that you have
loaded in the application. Each mapping system is usually mutually
exclusive, and propritary to the program. BSB isn't the same as Delorma,
which is different from Bluechart or some of the others. One program
doesn't do both......


Me

Me wrote:
In article ,
"Gualtier Malde (Chuck)" wrote:


That's good news - so generally the formats of nautical charts and
ones for highway use are the same?

NO, they are not the same or even close. what the guy said was that
if your GPS can output Lat/Long it will drive the map system that you
have loaded in the application. Each mapping system is usually
mutually exclusive, and propritary to the program. BSB isn't the
same as Delorma, which is different from Bluechart or some of the
others. One program doesn't do both......

But all of them understand the NMEA protocol, which is the language of GPS.
The NMEA sentences
are usually downloaded in decimal lat/long and interpreted by the receiver
into degrees, minutes and centiminutes to 3 decimal places for nautical
nav., but you can set most receivers in their built-in setup programs to
Deg, Min.sec., or Ordnance Survey co-ords, or many other formats.
My Garmin does this, but I can't answer for all GPS recevers.

Dennis.
- - -
Satellite photocharts of the UK & Ireland
available, excellent detail and accurate
calibration using Oziexplorer.
Remove *nospam* to reply.

I use a GPS from Deluo Electronics with Windows Streets and also Capn
Firstmate and Maxsea. Works great with each program.

Ansley Sawyer wrote:
Chuck,

I use a Garmin GPS with my laptop with Delorme products for highway use and
with the Cap'n Firstmate for nautical use.

I love it.

Then you must have a Garmin GPS that has an NMEA output. Not every
model of Garmin GPS is able to do that.

Jack

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

Jack,

You are right. I have set up the Garmin 76 to output NMEA for the Cap'n
Firstmate and the Simrad autopilot.

Ansley Sawyer
SV Pacem