Looking to update my ye olde Garmin chartplotter with new charts, $350!! this seems wild to me, what am I missing.
Posted by Tommy_Schlaaang@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 20 comments
Anstigmat@reddit
https://www.maptattoo.com
This guy is a good iPad alternative. A little basic, no automatic routing for example. But it's fully water proof, the screen is visible in all light, the battery lasts so freaking long, and it works with OpenCPN.
That being said, an iPad with Savvy Navvy would also be a great option. Not sure what Garmin thinks they're doing but trying to be ultra expensive is not a great strategy in the face of consumers with vastly more options.
Admirable-Emphasis-6@reddit
Is it just me or did the desktop Navionics vanish completely and it can only be run on a phone or tablet now?
caeru1ean@reddit
yes
Bigfops@reddit
Oh man, I love that, I'm always squinting at my android tablet in the light. Shame it's sold out. How is Savvy Navvy, I downloaded a trail of that but haven't had much chance to use it.
Anstigmat@reddit
I dig it. It has 'sailing' directions which will tell you tacks and things but I find that in practice it's kind of silly. You can't really predict conditions with that level of specificity in advance. However everything else works well. Good weather graphics, AIS, etc. I use it on my phone and haven't gotten an iPad because I use the MapTattoo. Once the good folks at Maptattoo can add a few things like an anchor alarm and automatic routing, it will be an amazing device. That will likely take a hardware update however.
somegridplayer@reddit
Did the rocks move?
Tommy_Schlaaang@reddit (OP)
the shoals did...
hdg3xb@reddit
You don't need the vision charts unless you want pictures of marinas or are doing serious offshore fishing. The regular G3 charts will serve you just fine and are half the cost for the full US. Assuming you already own the charts ( including the ones that came with the unit if your the first owner) you can get an update for half price ish. I'm a Garmin dealer out of MD, pm me if you want more details on the update process.
caeru1ean@reddit
You're not missing anything, apart from Garmin is a garbage company that is all about buying up smaller companies and enshittifying their products while raising costs for the consumer.
Seriously I would love a new chart plotter but they cost $1,500 for a decent one, and then you have to pay for the charts on top of that. If I had to start over now I would build a cheap Nav computer with a raspberry pi or Nuc and then either run openplotter or just download and use OpenCPN. You can get O-charts for OpenCPN or go the ChartLocker.com to download mbtiles, plus you can learn how to make your own
wkavinsky@reddit
Signal.k on a pi ($100) to get NMEA data.
Galaxy Tab 9 Ultra ($900) for chartplotter with OpenCPN ($10) installed.
14.6" moveable chart plotter for just over a boat buck.
NOAA ENC charts are free to download and update.
Note: The Galaxy Tab 9's are all IP68 waterproof, so more than good enough for chart plotter use in pretty much any weather.
amhotw@reddit
This is great, I already have a raspberry pi. I just need a boat now.
ccgarnaal@reddit
This, I run a Windows tablet with opencpn. And a android tablet with navionics. Gives me 2 chart sources at all times.
My ais and all on board nmea equipment it linked to opencpn via nmea over wifi. Works perfectly.
severalsmallducks@reddit
How do you get opencpn to work? I tried getting it running on my surface but had a lot of issues, no map ever appeared no matter what I tried.
ccgarnaal@reddit
I run it on a chines tablet. But I never had problems with opencpn on any pc.
Whick maps did you install? Opencpn does not.come with any maps standard.
Leweyb@reddit
Just look around, someone will gladly (and easily) make a copy of their blue charts on a drive and share it with you. I know a guy who shared his charts when he ran with a garmin chartplotter. ahem
Individual-Ad-6624@reddit
And here I was for years using paper charts manually updating it with NOAA revisions. I had a room dedicated to all the different regions, and each region had different scales. It was a full-time job, but then again, I was a Quartermaster.
MissingGravitas@reddit
You're paying for the all-weather screen with a massive brightness range (visible in full sun, to almost black at night). Apart from those factors (and the radar functionality if you have it), there are few other reasons not to use other mobile devices.
I also suggest digging through your user manual: it's a longshot, but if the plotter supports S-57 or S-63 chart formats, you should be able to download them yourself from NOAA for free.
infield_fly_rule@reddit
My b&g Zeus3 with navionics works very well. The screen is fantastic in full sun. No tablet can compare.
at735@reddit
We run a blackview tablet on our boat with navionics. Great battery life and waterproof. Haven't looked at the plotter in ages, except for when we need radar view. Haven't even bothered to link the boat's instruments, depth wind etc we can easily monitor from the helm and navigation is a separate job. We sail in very tidal waters, so it's nice to have a crewmember on navigation while the helm can focus.
sdbest@reddit
Been awhile since we parted company with our venerable Cal 2-46, but when we had her navigation app on the iPad worked just fine. Used a program called Fugawi, no deep-sixed, it seems.
At any rate, you might explore an iPad, laptop, or mobile device option.