Above is the new home page at Maptech.com, and while it represents the end of the old Maptech, it sure doesn’t mark the end of the Maptech name. In fact, the blue “Marine Software” tab takes you to a new company called Maptech Navigation. It’s the creation of Peter Martin, who’s worked for Maptech, Chartkit, and as a professional mariner. Martin bought the rights to develop and market Maptech’s digital charts and software packages (except for The Capn, which found its own good home). Martin says his plan is basically “business as usual”…
Two days in the deadline mill and I’m tuckered. But I thought you might enjoy this rather gorgeous helm, bigger image here. It’s the custom Wesmac 50 I mentioned back in June, i.e. the boat on which I got a taste of my writing subject, Garmin’s new autopilot. So let’s forget about that for the time being and take a look at the ergonomics of this dazzling command and control center. My notes:
I know a lot of salts, some of them geeks too, who've been using The CAPN for years, and don’t want to switch. I’ll bet they’ll be pleased to learn that this venerable charting software package will now be managed and developed by new owner Star Technologies, as announced here. I had a long chat with principals Bob Strunce and Witt Wittmaack today, and was impressed with what a good home this looks to be. For one thing, Star Technologies really is about rocket science, better yet the software side of it, and has been for some 30 years. For another, Strunce is a serious boater who’s been using The CAPN since 1993, and Wittmaack is Naval Academy graduate with time on submarines. Here’s what they have in mind for The CAPN:
Well, I’m impressed, and you may be too when you check out the bigger image. Repeating the image on that Garmin 5212 (via VGA cable) is a Planar LX1201PTI, one of the marine touchscreen family recently discussed. Both are turned up to max brightness and I did my best to balance the three photo lights arrayed around them. I think the Garmin 5000 Series has become the bench mark of bright touchscreen displays, and to my eye the LX is just a dite less bright, but has slightly more saturated and contrasty colors. The waterproof and reasonably priced LX also seems well made and is designed with multiple mounting options besides the surface mount I rigged (by snapping off the plastic bezel). Nice.
Good times: I spent most of yesterday testing electronics on Gizmo and visiting around Camden Harbor. One system I was mostly pleased with is this little wireless communications and navigation PAN (Personal Area Network), if I may apply a long name for what’s a fairly doable setup these days (bigger picture here). The Palm Centro is running ActiveCaptain Mobile and has the Region 101 raster portfolio loaded on its 1gb micro SD card. That’s a single 353 mg file containing all charts from the Canadian border to Block Island, which scale, zoom, and pan very quickly, and look good. Better than the photo(s) actually, if you put the Centro’s transflective screen in direct sunlight or use its full blast backlighting in heavy overcast conditions.
Continuing yesterday’s ode to the Lowrance LCX-113, I’ll explain how I’ve been using it to test GPS sensors against each other. Every NMEA 2000 MFD and instrument I’ve tried can handle multiple GPS (and other sensor) inputs, which is good, but they do it with a variety of styles. Some—like Raymarine’s—just grab the first one they see coming down the backbone and use it, unless it pooches out and then they will use another if available (aka “roll over on failure”). Others, like Garmin’s and Simrad’s (NX models excepted), will pick one source automatically but will also let you choose from a list of redundant sources if desired. Lowrance, as I’ve discussed before, goes a little further, letting you use more than one redundant source at once. But Lowrance does something special with GPS, because those sensors send out Dilution of Precision (DOP) values based on the strength and breadth of satellites they’re locked onto.
So far this season, I’ve had two excellent, and very different, voyages of discovery aboard Gizmo, and the test Lowrance 113–LCX HD has been very useful for both. As shown earlier this month I’ve got it rigged to a small NMEA 2000 network, which feeds the LCX the output of at least two GPS receivers, a Lowrance EP60R fuel sensor, and a Maretron Weather Station, with many add-ons possible. Check out a bigger above image , showing Gizmo up a tidal tickle in Maquoit Bay, about as far into Casco Bay as a boat can go…if the tide is high! The LCX, using just the Skimmer transducer it comes with, had no trouble with these shallow readings, even at 20 knots (once I got confident that the immense mud flats are flat indeed). Notice too the 76 degree water temp, which I’ve never seen in Maine salt water and which partially accounts for the happy bird life in this new preserve.
As of yesterday, Furuno’s FI-50 (aka FI50) instrument family is officially available in the U.S. and Canada, and thoroughly documented at FurunoUSA. I’m a bit chagrined as I thought they’d be out much sooner, in fact chose them for a Pittman Innovation award that was partially predicated on them being out sooner. Oh well, ship dates slip…and I understand that part of the delay was perfecting FI-50 compatibility with Simrad’s somewhat quirky AT10 NMEA 0183/2000 converter. Which is good for anyone wanting to, say, use FI-50s with 0183 wind and depth data already available on their vessel (and especially good, Furuno-wise, for NavNet 1 and 2 owners who want to add the instruments). Plus the premises of my award choice have withstood actually testing some FI-50s for a while…
Lowrance’s LMF-400 is one impressive NMEA 2000 gauge, and I should have included it in my N2K instrument round up. On the above “fuel management” screen it’s totaling the flows of the two FloScan FloNets and calculating nm/gal using boat speed, while also showing the tank level % from a Maretron adaptor. You can easily change the data fields or build a custom screen showing from one to four data types—either virtual needle style or numeric—and thus monitor individual engine flows (good for catching mechanical problems), fuel used by trip or season, remaining fuel, and range. You can also choose data sources, set up your engine/tank configuration, and calibrate Lowrance fluid level and gasoline flow sensors with the LMF-400; it’s quite visible in sunny conditions; and the little devil can be had for about $120, only $40 more with a flow sensor. In short, it does everything you could want in fuel management, inexpensively (see way below for more details).
Good to see a new player in the marine monitor biz, especially a company as significant and capable as Planar. And they’ve arrived with a bang. The LX Mariner Touch Monitors claim a raft of desirable features, like bonded sunlight-viewable screens, completely sealed cases (IP65), and reasonable prices. They’re not in Planar’s online store or anywhere else I can find yet, but the MSRPs are $2,200 for the 15” model, $2,100 for the 12”, and $2,000 for the 8”, and I’m told the two larger units are available now if you call Planar (Ask for IBU sales).
