I am curious as to what brand of chart plotter is the most popular. Also wondering about hand held as opposed to fixed mount. thanx, garyg
Chart Plotters
- Thread starter gary
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I have a Garmin 76 handheld
Which I feel is more than suitable. I really wouldn't know where to mount a big chart plotter, cause if its not near the tiller its not really doing much good, and if its near the tiller then its generally in the way. The benefits of a handheld also is I can take it with me on road trips, not to mention cost savings The level of detail on the chart is still pretty good, and even with the zoom out to 800ft its still uncluttered and easily readable.
Which I feel is more than suitable. I really wouldn't know where to mount a big chart plotter, cause if its not near the tiller its not really doing much good, and if its near the tiller then its generally in the way. The benefits of a handheld also is I can take it with me on road trips, not to mention cost savings The level of detail on the chart is still pretty good, and even with the zoom out to 800ft its still uncluttered and easily readable.
GPS cause deviation in Compass
I believe my Ritchie compass is not accurate and I was wondering if all the new big plotters and radar units that are mounted on the binnacles could cause deviation to the boat's compass? I don't think anyone has addressed this and I see tons of boats with large electrical units in very close proximity to their compass. Any thoughts on this? My compass, I think, is not oriented down the boat's center line. My GPS helps me correct, but I set the autopilot off the compass bearing (which is significantly off). Regards, Dan O'side H45
I believe my Ritchie compass is not accurate and I was wondering if all the new big plotters and radar units that are mounted on the binnacles could cause deviation to the boat's compass? I don't think anyone has addressed this and I see tons of boats with large electrical units in very close proximity to their compass. Any thoughts on this? My compass, I think, is not oriented down the boat's center line. My GPS helps me correct, but I set the autopilot off the compass bearing (which is significantly off). Regards, Dan O'side H45
Second on the garmin GPS
Inexpensive, mobile, cheap enough that you really could keep a spare on board, use it to find a fix on a paper chart or simply follow the dot. Ithink if you want high resolution for navigation that is as good as paper charts, you need a very expensive chartplotter, and expensive electronic charts. BTW, I actually got a good deal on mine at west marine. $270 for a GPSMAP 76Cx online. As opposed to the junky $55 sidelights which are going to be replaced within a year...
Inexpensive, mobile, cheap enough that you really could keep a spare on board, use it to find a fix on a paper chart or simply follow the dot. Ithink if you want high resolution for navigation that is as good as paper charts, you need a very expensive chartplotter, and expensive electronic charts. BTW, I actually got a good deal on mine at west marine. $270 for a GPSMAP 76Cx online. As opposed to the junky $55 sidelights which are going to be replaced within a year...
Garmin
I bought the Garmin 76csx. The difference between the 76cx and the csx is an electronic compass. Not sure it is much value on a boat though since it changes it readings depending upon how level you hold the compass. If you're way off you get a screen prompt that the it must be held level. How can you tell level on a boat? Probably only of much value on land held with a small level. In any case I really like the unit and the charts are good. I was anchoring with a friend in a cove near Winter Harbor last week and his depth sounder wasn't working. We used the chart on the Garmin to read the depth of our position; it was very accurate, confirmed when we dropped a line over the side after we were anchored. The only drawback is that the Garmin uses only propriatory charts and they are expensive. For Vancouver Island, they divided the Island down the middle north and south, so you have to have two charts if you want to go on both the east and west sides of the island. I also bought a serial/usb cable that allows me to conect my garmin to my laptop. I can can the use the full screen with some other software. It's a great compliment to paper charts.
I bought the Garmin 76csx. The difference between the 76cx and the csx is an electronic compass. Not sure it is much value on a boat though since it changes it readings depending upon how level you hold the compass. If you're way off you get a screen prompt that the it must be held level. How can you tell level on a boat? Probably only of much value on land held with a small level. In any case I really like the unit and the charts are good. I was anchoring with a friend in a cove near Winter Harbor last week and his depth sounder wasn't working. We used the chart on the Garmin to read the depth of our position; it was very accurate, confirmed when we dropped a line over the side after we were anchored. The only drawback is that the Garmin uses only propriatory charts and they are expensive. For Vancouver Island, they divided the Island down the middle north and south, so you have to have two charts if you want to go on both the east and west sides of the island. I also bought a serial/usb cable that allows me to conect my garmin to my laptop. I can can the use the full screen with some other software. It's a great compliment to paper charts.
Dan, I mounted my GPS...
on a swing out arm under my compass. I checked for deviation by watching the compass and moving the GPS closer. I found that the GPS affected the compass if it was next to or on top of the compass. But the compass was unaffected with the GPS mounted below. On my hunter, I have separated the two, but if you have other electronics, you may want to run a few tests by moving the compass near the other equipment.
on a swing out arm under my compass. I checked for deviation by watching the compass and moving the GPS closer. I found that the GPS affected the compass if it was next to or on top of the compass. But the compass was unaffected with the GPS mounted below. On my hunter, I have separated the two, but if you have other electronics, you may want to run a few tests by moving the compass near the other equipment.
I love my Gamin 172
I had a handheld garmin that I put my foot on, and it cried: bad reception. (the antenna was in small pieces) Then I bought a garmin 172 with a built in antenna, and used the cup-holder area on the starboard side to mount it. Just a little piece of teak wood under and a similar piece above, joined with a couple of screws, made a perfect mounting ground. And I use the other cup holders for my beer. I really love the chart plotter. Shows the way beautifully among all the thousands of small islands. I have the motor control on the same side, so it works just fine. Occasionally in very strong sunlight, it could be hard to see the chart, but that's easily fixed, shading the screen with my palm. toomas
I had a handheld garmin that I put my foot on, and it cried: bad reception. (the antenna was in small pieces) Then I bought a garmin 172 with a built in antenna, and used the cup-holder area on the starboard side to mount it. Just a little piece of teak wood under and a similar piece above, joined with a couple of screws, made a perfect mounting ground. And I use the other cup holders for my beer. I really love the chart plotter. Shows the way beautifully among all the thousands of small islands. I have the motor control on the same side, so it works just fine. Occasionally in very strong sunlight, it could be hard to see the chart, but that's easily fixed, shading the screen with my palm. toomas
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