A few questions from a non-teckie.
I'm in the process of purchasing a new (used) 45' sailboat that will be sail from Maine to the Caribbean. Being a ragboater I'm tight with money (LOL). Philosophically I've always been in favor of software based solutions rather than rapidly obsolete hard wired boxes. I had Nobletec loaded on a used $250 Leveno XP laptop at a company I worked for and it didn't lack for computing power. I like the idea of two complete computers for $500, one of which lives permanently in a pelican case and only has the nav program on it to keep it free from toredos.
To cut to the chase, what are my alternatives if I plan to have a new digital radar, future AIS, and a PC driven chart plotter? (No Nobletec products, been there done that) Can I use a 10" mil spec touch screen in the cockpit to scroll display between PC data, radar output, and even one of the new engine data apps? Or should I buy a marine chart plotter as the cockpit display?
RADAR and Chartplotters and Software are package deals, and by that I mean they do not interop.
Pick one of the two and you then tied to the compatible (read same manufacturer) for the the other two.
If you want to go PC only and not worry about a chartplotter then you can buy a KODEN RADAR PC (MDS-50R and MSD-51R) or a Nobeltec IR2-4D and you will have about 4 different options in Software to use.
I have a feature comparison of RADARs you might want to check out.
http://cid-221c83e75e672a96.office.live.com/view.aspx/.Public/RADAR%20Comparison.xlsx
I run Coastal Explorer and I bought a KODEN.
-p