Recreational Marine Navigation
Equipment, software, techniques, information and more

May

13

Linux Navigation Software Tease

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In a recent blog, I mentioned that I was developing Linux-based open source navigation software for Willow Garage. In the course of doing this, I discovered that CodeWeavers’ CrossOver Linux product allowed Coastal Explorer / Chart Navigator Pro to run in a win2k bottle. That doesn’t mean that NMEA devices work with programs running [...]

Dec

31

NavPak Pro review

Filed Under Practical Sailor, navigation, software | 4 Comments

NavPak Pro provides the most complete set of features for dead reckoning, however I didn’t recommend it for most sailors in this Practical Sailor review.

Sep

21

GPS Satellite Changes

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Two WAAS satellites have been decomissioned and two commissioned in their place. Satellite #51 on the North American east coast and satellite #48 on the west coast are the new satellites. WAAS GPSes need a firmware update, as do many chartplotters. Garmin tech support said that my old GPS 12 and GPS [...]

Sep

9

Two months of 24/7 testing

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I’ve just returned home after 8 weeks on board my sailboat. Half of that time was spent preparing for a trip from Vancouver to the north end of Vancouver Island; the other half was spent en route. I spent quite a bit of time testing products for various upcoming Practical Sailor reviews. [...]

Jul

4

Open source autopilot

Filed Under navigation | 3 Comments

Paparazzi is a free and open-source hardware and software project intended to create an autopilot system for aircraft. If anyone is interested in adapting it for use on a boat, please contact me (Mike.)

May

30

Armchair navigation on Windows with live AIS data

Filed Under NMEA0183, Practical Sailor, navigation, software | Leave a Comment

To help me test navigation software for an upcoming Practical Sailor review, I wanted a way to simulate NMEA 0183 data streams from a GPS and a wind sensor.
I discovered NemaTalker (29 euros) and the free open source com0com. This software combination allows me to simulate sailing through any area of the world, in [...]

Feb

24

Maretron’s N2KView – NMEA2000 Control Panel

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At the Seattle Boat Show in February 2000 I had an opportunity to speak with Kevin Thompson of Maretron.
Maretron is a manufacturer of NMEA 2000 products. NMEA 2000 is an advanced standard which allows for marine sensors, displays and computers to be connected together. NMEA 2000 is based on CANBUS, which is performs the [...]

Jan

25

Animated weather forecast

Filed Under navigation, software, weather | 1 Comment

This is my favorite feature of all the products I reviewed for the navigation software survey I wrote for Practical Sailor Magazine and Power Boat Reports.
GRIB weather data is provided free of charge by NOAA. Newer navigation products can display GRIB weather data such as pressure isobars and temperature, as well as sea state. Coastal [...]

Jan

24

NMEA 0183 Multiplexers

Filed Under NMEA0183, Practical Sailor, navigation, software | Leave a Comment

I am preparing a review of high speed NMEA 0183 multiplexers for Practical Sailor Magazine. Your chartplotter can act as your boat’s ‘nerve center’, but only if all your instruments can connect to it. NMEA 0183 is the most common standard for connecting marine instruments together, and a NMEA multiplexer is necessary to connect many [...]

Sep

5

Navigation Software Wars

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Maptech masters the art of making sense; at 15 years old, The Cap’n charts a new course.
I sold another feature article to Practical Sailor Magazine; my editor (Darrell Nicholsen) also put a lot of time into this monster review. Of all the articles I have written, this one took the longest to research by [...]

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