WOULD BE INTERESTED IF Y’ALL COULD LIST OUT POSSIBLE TECHNICAL ISSUES AND OVERALL PITFALLS WITH AN ECDIS- NOT JUST THE EQUIPMENT BUT THE OVERALL EFFECT ON THE BRIDGE TEAM MANAGEMENT…<br><br>
<P>I think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. Having said that, it is still a tool - just like paper charts. And the more tools one has at their disposal, the better the decision making process.<br><br>With Nobletec we had an option to change the brightness to “night mode” or something similar. Problem was that if you did it during the day with any glare in the wheelhouse, you could not see the cursor, or anything else on the screen, to reset the screen contrast. Not too good if you don’t have your log and chart plotting current when that event occurs.<br><br>In the Bahamas we would be at anchor and the screen would show us on the other side of a sand dune. In Europe our position was always very accurate. <br><br>Here is the real question to be asked is: Is it better to be safer even if it makes the bridge team’s job less sophisiticated? I think the answer is pretty simple. <br><br><br><br>.</P>
I do not like the fact that some people stick their nose in the ecdis and make all their decisions on it. Most are guilty of this for no other reason, its a one stop shop for information. Do not use GPS as the sole position reference. Make sure you use radar overlay, it is a good way to double check your GPS’s accuracy and for god sakes look at the window, not every boat has a AIS or a good radar return.