Affordable, easy chart plotting software - Oziexplorer.
Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:57 pm
You might take a look at OziExplorer. It is cheap, easy to use and very, very versatile.
There is a free laptop version that does most things and lets you test out most of its functions. There is also an enthusiastic internet community from which you can get heaps of advice, maps and other stuff, as well as add-on functionality, much of it freeware
Oziexplorer's laptop/PC version has astonishing capabilities. it also interfaces with Garmin and several other chart plotters for trip planning, way points, tracks, etc although not, unfortunately with closed C-map vector plotters like my Seiwa Seahorse. The CE version of Oziexplorer interfaces easily with the laptop data and has good tracking and way point features as well as an excellent range of customisable displays and touch screen or button controls. It lacks a few of the laptop version's capabilities such as anchoring drift alarms and shallow water zone alarms but is still very powerful.
Oziexplorer handles any raster map (including scanned map images from any source and even Google-earth images) and switches seamlessly to more or less detailed maps of the area (marine, topographic or even street maps, whichever is applicable) and between overlapping maps.
Although map images do have to be calibrated, this is very easy to do with marine charts because of their detailed existing lat/long information. I've found that for marine charts with a UTM projection 3 calibration points (one at each corner and one near the middle) gives a high degree of accuracy, but you can have up to 9 calibration points which is useful for scanned maps or those where the projection is a bit suspect.
I use Oziexplorer on either my Laptop or its CE version on my Imate JasJam (WM5) with an Iblue 737 iBT-GPS Bluetooth GPS Receiver. The biggest problem I've had has been inadequate display brightness in glaring Aussie sunlight. I ran the charts through a graphics program to increase their native colour contrast which helped a bit, but prefer the true daylight screen of the marine-proof Seiwa for cockpit use.
Protection from salt sea spray is essential for the laptop, pocket PC and the GPS receiver. I keep the laptop below decks and have a soft transparent waterproof phone casing for the pocket PC that can be hung around my neck for cockpit use. It works okay for protection, but dried salt spray on the phone casing can quickly make the display very difficult to see.
There is a free laptop version that does most things and lets you test out most of its functions. There is also an enthusiastic internet community from which you can get heaps of advice, maps and other stuff, as well as add-on functionality, much of it freeware
Oziexplorer's laptop/PC version has astonishing capabilities. it also interfaces with Garmin and several other chart plotters for trip planning, way points, tracks, etc although not, unfortunately with closed C-map vector plotters like my Seiwa Seahorse. The CE version of Oziexplorer interfaces easily with the laptop data and has good tracking and way point features as well as an excellent range of customisable displays and touch screen or button controls. It lacks a few of the laptop version's capabilities such as anchoring drift alarms and shallow water zone alarms but is still very powerful.
Oziexplorer handles any raster map (including scanned map images from any source and even Google-earth images) and switches seamlessly to more or less detailed maps of the area (marine, topographic or even street maps, whichever is applicable) and between overlapping maps.
Although map images do have to be calibrated, this is very easy to do with marine charts because of their detailed existing lat/long information. I've found that for marine charts with a UTM projection 3 calibration points (one at each corner and one near the middle) gives a high degree of accuracy, but you can have up to 9 calibration points which is useful for scanned maps or those where the projection is a bit suspect.
I use Oziexplorer on either my Laptop or its CE version on my Imate JasJam (WM5) with an Iblue 737 iBT-GPS Bluetooth GPS Receiver. The biggest problem I've had has been inadequate display brightness in glaring Aussie sunlight. I ran the charts through a graphics program to increase their native colour contrast which helped a bit, but prefer the true daylight screen of the marine-proof Seiwa for cockpit use.
Protection from salt sea spray is essential for the laptop, pocket PC and the GPS receiver. I keep the laptop below decks and have a soft transparent waterproof phone casing for the pocket PC that can be hung around my neck for cockpit use. It works okay for protection, but dried salt spray on the phone casing can quickly make the display very difficult to see.