GL: Computer as Chart Plotter

[Seasalt007 at aol.com]

I use Maptech's Offshore Navigator on a 3 year old HP laptop with a bright  
screen like an HD TV on one side of the helm and the CAPN on a 9 year old HP  
laptop with an TFT SVGA active matrix screen on the other side of the 
helm....in  an enclosed pilot house. In a glare the older HP is much easier to see. On 
my  previous boat, a 45' Californian, I used the older HP on the bridge and 
could  see the screen very well except in direct sunlight. The problem is that 
the  newer screens, although brighter, have a slick surface that reflects light 
back  at you making it harder to see the screen in many cases. I doubt that 
you can  still get a computer with the grainy looking active matrix screen, so 
this  information may not be that helpful.
 
Comparing Maptech to the CAPN is harder. I like them both. It took me  longer 
to figure out how to do routes on the Maptech than the CAPN but once I  did, 
I found it to be easy. I run them on separate GPS's.
 
The above is only my opinion based upon my experiences from Galveston, TX  to 
Boothbay Harbor Maine several times over the last 7 years.
 
Doc on the Caloosahatchee



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