In looking around the web for a good PC laptop based navigation software suite, I find a surprisingly limited amount of reviews and usable info to aid with my decision making.
I’d be interested in hearing opinions and experiences with the different offerings on the market.
For example, I recently had a brief encounter with the MaxSea software and liked the look of it, but I had no chance to delve deeply, and would welcome input.
Thanks in advance!
disclaimer: this post did not trip my c. captain pointy stick-o-meter, but it may need adjustment. Please advise.
I’ve ran Nobeltec and Rosepoint Coastal Explorer, the Coastal Explorer is by far the best bang for the buck. I believe it is $395. I’m currently running Rosepoint ECS but at $2,395 it is a little cost prohibited for some folks .
We just switched from Maxsea to Rosepoint. I find the Rose Point user interface much easier to use but far less customizable. It also doesn’t include a radar interface so ARPA targets don’t show up on the plotter and it doesn’t do a radar overlay on the chart. I’m told it’s an option but it wasn’t out yet. I also can’t customize my vessel to show up scaled on the plotter.
Further research indicates Nobletec and MaxSea are running a new(ish) code engine called TimeZero which allows for instant updating of heading, depth, and other info and allows for very smooth zoom, pan, and scrolling, amongst other goodies. Anyone had much exposure to these newer products?
(I guess the Nobletec TZ is a whole different program from its predecessors as there is no way to upgrade from an older version.)
[QUOTE=tarpaulin;145920]Further research indicates Nobletec and MaxSea are running a new(ish) code engine called TimeZero which allows for instant updating of heading, depth, and other info and allows for very smooth zoom, pan, and scrolling, amongst other goodies. Anyone had much exposure to these newer products?
(I guess the Nobletec TZ is a whole different program from its predecessors as there is no way to upgrade from an older version.)[/QUOTE]
TimeZero took a bit of getting used to, and version 2.1XX is better than the earlier ones. Nobeltech had a “center on Predictor Line” which gave a longer look ahead than “center on boat”.
It wasn’t included in TZ till 2.1xx. It’s now back, in a certain manner.
One thing to keep in mind. Whichever brand you start with, you will likely need to continue with darn near forever.
Mostly because as you collect waypoints and routes, they don’t always transfer over to a different brand easily, and you may lose your data’s usefulness
Nobeltec TimeZero and Furuno MaxSea are almost identical. I’ve used both. The zoom in/out feature with no re-draw time delay is nice. It’s instant. They both use a lot of computer RAM, so be sure to meet the hardware requirements. You can get add ons to both, to overlay AIS and ARPA data, etc. As a stand alone chart plotter, all you need is GPS input. If the boat already has Furuno equipment, why not stick with something similar?
Rosé point coastal explorer for play, Rosé point E.C.S. For work. I have used Nobeltec old software “2000-2008” but converted over to Rosé point. They update the charts weekly and the software about 2 times a year and have great tech support.
Nobeltec made life on the bridge so much nicer. Started using it around 2000 and loved it. But with so many new options out on the market that are cheaper and computer friendly it’s getting harder and harder to justify standing with Nobeltec. Rosepoint works great with good shoreside support but voyage planning was so nice on Nobeltec. Oh well. C’est la vie.
I’m not a power user with either Nobeltec or Rosepoint, but When I can, I like to run the both of them all the time on two separate computers. That way I have backup, and I’m making tracks and routes that I can reuse on any boat that has one or the other. I have iNavix on an ipad, but I have not used it much. There are things that I prefer about Nobeltec and other I prefer about Nobeltec. I have not seen the new Time Zero.
I believe that Rosé point allows you to import tracks and routes off of other software including Nobeltec. On YouTube you can ck out Time Zero also Rose point, they are both very good.
I agree. Being using NOBELTEC - VNS and ADMIRAL - I recently upgraded to TZ.
It has always been a struggle adding GPS and sounders and so on on these products.
Now with the latest TZ I can not get TZ to find the GPS! Impossible!
Support tries but I been battling this for many days and nights now - and all time is money.
I installed ROSEPOINT and it detected the GPS in just minutes! WOW!
There will probably be a refund on TZ - and then switching to ROSEPOINT.