One screen electronics

[Gerald]

I saw a system at the boat show by Raymarine that uses one screen for many different applications. Is anyone selling sensors that hook to a computer for wind speed, fish finder, boat speed etc. etc.? The Raymarine unit was REAL expensive.
Gerald

[rbgarr]

If there isn't, it's a product that would do well in the market. So many people carry their laptops around that it would be a dead cinch to sell a set up whereby you could plug your computer ino a set of sensors that included the above plus engine performance.

[willmarsh3]

I have a Raymarine ST40 depth/speed. It's a high quality product. I can easily read it day or night. There are separate depth and speed sensors. The temperature sensor is built into the speed sensor. Both plug into the back of the display unit. More complicated systems would use the so called Seatalk network to hook up multiple separate sensors.

I did a lot of research in Practical Sailor to determine that this was the best unit to get. And then I shopped around to find the best possible price. It still wasn't cheap.

Another idea is to try to look for adapters and software to plug into the back of the laptop and display the data.

Good luck in finding something.

[Gerald]

On the surface it seems like you could put a big dent in Raymarines profits if a system of sensors were developed as stated above? Include GPS map, radar etc.
My boat has an inside and outside steering station. The nav table is positioned so the instruments can be seen from the inside steering station. I was thinking about, maybe, directing a web cam in the direction of the instruments and installing a monitor at the outside steering station?
Gerald

[Lew Barrett]

I have a Raymarine C Series system. I don't think it's possible to duplicate it's function on a PC, especially the radar. You'd need a radar antenna (radome or open array) and right there you run into something more than just a sensor. I also have plotting software on my PC, which we run in tandem with the C80 system. If I had to choose one it would be the Raymarine system hands down. It doesn't run on Windows, never freezes up and has dedicated controls that make the changes fast in real time when you need them.
You can get the features you want from Jepperson (Nobletech) but it costs more, not less to set that up.
If you include the cost of a PC into the equation instead of considering it free, the costs become more in line. You always need "the sensors." These include the radome, the through hull transducers and the GPS receivers if you want a fully integrated system. There's no way you can buy weather and water proof versions of these things without incurring cost. The actual display for the C80, which is the heart of the system, is about $1500. Compare this to the cost of a computer and the requisite charting and radar software and you come back to square one. In the fog, you won't care what you paid as long as the system is reliable. I put my entire system together (not including the computer) for about $3000. This is not over the top for an integrated 2K radar and radome, gps and chart plotter with radar overlay, gps antenna, and charting software.
All marine rated.

[Gerald]

If I could buy a Raymarine system for $3,000 the computer thing would never have come to my mind. For an example ....... Garmin 76 GPS costs over $800 and that is from the 2004 catalog. The price is up at least 20% in three years.
In my case ..... I would consider the computer as free. The computer is there if for nothing else a means of communication. The total capacity of the computer is not used so it is more or less free.
Gerald

[Lew Barrett]

If I could buy a Raymarine system for $3,000 the computer thing would never have come to my mind. For an example ....... Garmin 76 GPS costs over $800 and that is from the 2004 catalog. The price is up at least 20% in three years.
In my case ..... I would consider the computer as free. The computer is there if for nothing else a means of communication. The total capacity of the computer is not used so it is more or less free.
Gerald

Not so. The computer is heir to a problem that the C80 is not; namely, it is Windows based. If you are actually using this thing for navigation in all seas, that can bite you.
In any case, please follow me through on this: You still require the radome. The radome (the little revolving microwave oven on the roof of the boat) is going to set you back $800 to $1000. It's not just a sensor. This must then be interfaced to a display, but lo! There is no commercial product that allows you to interface this to the computer, apart from the Jepperson (Nobletech) system. And don't ask about the cost of that!;)
Now, it's simple enough to add charting software to the computer and a GPS card, so that much you can have relatively cheap. Once you get past that, you still need a transducer for depth indication, which usually runs two to four hundred dollars or so, and a program to interpret the transducer's output onto the computer. See where this goes? As a practical matter, it's cheaper to buy the system.

Added: I enjoy having my computer onboard for all the reasons you do, and as a long distance cruiser, I have twenty three years experience in dodging rocks up here. I added charting software to our boat's computer for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the C Map system presents data a bit differently than raster or vector charts typical of computer software systems. Having said that, and realizing that not everyone can just go out and spend a few grand here and there for nav gear, I repeat: it will be the best money you ever spent if the safety and security of your boat and family are placed at risk because you are a long ranger. You just can't imagine how significant an addition radar and chart overlays can be to your total boating experience until you have had the opportunity to use them. Know why this stuff costs money? It's worth it.

[Gerald]

You are probably correct. The systems are worth the bucks. I have little fear of windows even though Gates pulls some stunts that I don't really like. After three months working on a 56' in Colon Panama we set sail with a copy of Cmap and Sea Max that a fellow down loaded for us onto our laptop. Both systems seemed to work just fine on the windows based lap top. We lost the information on the laptop but while we had it, it worked just fine. We had a chance to talk with many travelers and many were using lap tops tied to a GPS for navigation.
One of the systems you refer to costs $1,200 dollars. Couldn't figure out if it included the split screen or just the software?
Thanks for you input
Gerald

[Lew Barrett]

Both systems seemed to work just fine on the windows based lap top. We lost the information on the laptop but while we had it, it worked just fine. We had a chance to talk with many travelers and many were using lap tops tied to a GPS for navigation.
One of the systems you refer to costs $1,200 dollars. Couldn't figure out if it included the split screen or just the software?
Thanks for you input
Gerald

Gerald,
If you mean the C series, it does include everything you need except the chart package, which you order depending on what you need. Radome and triducers are extra though. As I recall, the chart pack adds about 100 bucks or so. The Nobeltech stuff, is probably somewhere around a $1000 package as well with the charts and such, perhaps a bit less. With that you get the charts, their tide and current tables, and a split screen (on the computer). But you don't get the capability to do radar with that package. You have to buy the upgraded package from Jepperson to do that.
I meet a lot of people that are very happy to use their laptops with
software and a gps card, and I agree; it's a fine solution, but you can't integrate radar and depth that way as a rule. If you already have a radar and depth indicator, and don't wish to replace the whole shooting match, it's a good answer. On a nice day in known waters, you don't need radar anyway. But on a fog shrouded morning or when you get caught out....priceless. Literally.