My chartplotter has died and I need a new one. Either a commercial one or OpenCPN.

Has anyone seriously used OpenCPN on the Australian coast and can comment on it? Are the charts good?

I like the idea of OpenCPN but cant think of a weatherproof way to have a screen visible in daylight it at the helm.

Here ya go Trek!
www.ieci.com.au/products/product_list.asp?Class=21&BaseCat1=309&Title=Sunlight-Readable-Monitors&gclid=CjwKCAiAo4OQBhBBEiwA5KWu_2n9l7cVpTs3T8m5vX9pjRifldjp3-cGozGlGN1B5DPJbctacbr2-RoCJHkQAvD_BwE

I don't know the distributor I've linked to, but I do know the manufacturer. Good outfit, their screens work and do what they say on the box.
A normal monitor/screen is about 350 nits, anything from 800nits and above is sunlight readable.,

I've got a 19" 12VDC 800 nits screen I had left over from a test bench in the workshop, it works a treat.
I've never used OPenCPN so sorry mate, nothing to add here.

Thanks Shaggy. Im curious about the charts. All the demos and tutorials on the net show northern hemisphere stuff. Aside from that, and making a computer weather proof, it looks good.

I used OpenCPN on a cheap netbook for multiple cruises all over Bass Strait and it was excellent.

Thanks Wongaga. Does it have a "road" or compass rose with course and heading or similar for the helmsman to follow to a waypoint?

Hi Trek;

I always use it in "north up" mode, like I'm looking at a real chart. You can switch it to "course up" mode which might give you what you want.

OpenCPN is a free download, so you can get it and practice at home. Charts are another matter, but some searching might allow you to get them as per some previous threads here and elsewhere. If you get stuck, pm me.

Cheers, Graeme

I've played around a little with the OpenCPN interface and was impressed with it.. Unfortunately I haven't actually used it with charts. WA DoT have issued free of charge legitimate DPI Marine charts but they are in PDF and I can't for the life of me figure out how to convert PDF to imgKAP files

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Trek said..
My chartplotter has died and I need a new one. Either a commercial one or OpenCPN.

Has anyone seriously used OpenCPN on the Australian coast and can comment on it? Are the charts good?

I like the idea of OpenCPN but cant think of a weatherproof way to have a screen visible in daylight it at the helm.

I have a 20 inch monitor in portrait mode on the bulkhead and OpenCPN which I can easily see from the helm position. The charts in the Australian area are excellent. Because I'm in NSW the portrait mode suits the East coast. I have the IAS contacts showing on the screen and also the speed through the water in a large font. You can have a compass rose if you want, there are probable hundreds of options. The ships heading marker is all I need and I put up 1 mile range rings. I use the GPS from the Standard brand VHF but a SIRF 4 puck works well.
If you have wheel steering you can use an old tablet and Wifi. Tiller steered boats like my Currawong I would just look at the big screen TV with openCPN and an air mouse if required.

There are two very brief views of openCPN on a 24 inch TV in this video.

Thanks all, I'll give OpenCPN a try.

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Toph said..
I've played around a little with the OpenCPN interface and was impressed with it.. Unfortunately I haven't actually used it with charts. WA DoT have issued free of charge legitimate DPI Marine charts but they are in PDF and I can't for the life of me figure out how to convert PDF to imgKAP files

Have a look at Seaclear. I used to use it when I was a commercial fisherman. The trawler operators used it too. The manual shows how to convert the charts.

www.sping.com/seaclear/

The trouble with Seaclear is that it is run by one person whereas OpenCPN is opensource and it's constantly being improved and there is a ridiculous amount of add-ons. You just need a friend with the CM93 files!

Hi Trek, I found the installation instructions on this episode of Dangar Marine helpful when setting up OpenCPN on my laptop:
Starts at 11:11

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Trek said..
My chartplotter has died and I need a new one. Either a commercial one or OpenCPN.

Has anyone seriously used OpenCPN on the Australian coast and can comment on it? Are the charts good?

I like the idea of OpenCPN but cant think of a weatherproof way to have a screen visible in daylight it at the helm.

I have been using both OpenCPN with the Australian charts on a 20" monitor at the chart table and Navionics on a 12" B&G chartplotter in the cockpit, for the last 4 months from Fremantle to Hobart. The OpenCPN charts are ok for planning, however the Navionics charts are way more detailed and I rely on them whenever we are anchoring in a bay or approaching a new port. I have also recently downloaded the Navionics app on my iphone and ipad and they are the same quality as on the chartplotter, plus very easy to use. From memory the Australian maps on the Navionics app were $30-40 for a year, so a no brainer.

Ilenart

If you are using CM93 files check your settings under charts. My mate was complaining about lack of detail and was considering going Navionics but when it was shown what he should have it was the same as any admiralty chart.

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Ilenart said..

I have been using both OpenCPN with the Australian charts on a 20" monitor at the chart table and Navionics on a 12" B&G chartplotter in the cockpit, for the last 4 months from Fremantle to Hobart. The OpenCPN charts are ok for planning, however the Navionics charts are way more detailed and I rely on them whenever we are anchoring in a bay or approaching a new port. I have also recently downloaded the Navionics app on my iphone and ipad and they are the same quality as on the chartplotter, plus very easy to use. From memory the Australian maps on the Navionics app were $30-40 for a year, so a no brainer.

Ilenart

I have exactly the same setup except a Raymarine chartplotter and totally agree - I also have Memory maps on another PC with 20" monitor as well. For the nitty gritty stuff I like the Navionics!!

I haven't looked lately for the latest free CM93 files so mine are a few years old!! I'm not going to pay for both Navionics & OpenCPN charts.

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Ramona said..
If you are using CM93 files check your settings under charts. My mate was complaining about lack of detail and was considering going Navionics but when it was shown what he should have it was the same as any admiralty chart.

I'm using the Australian oeSENC charts from O-Charts

I've played with OpenCPN and before that SeaClear but I had concerns about how up to date the charts would be. For cockpit use I just use a cheap mobile phone in a waterproof case running the Navionics App. Think that was $34.95 for a year for Aust coverage; worth it to ensure you're always looking at the latest charts. A 4G tablet would be even better, if I could find a waterproof case to suit.

Has anyone looked into the AUSenc from the AHO ? Windows 98 will run it so an old laptop should cut it. Or are the cost prohibitive ? Subscription & permits ?

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woko said..
Has anyone looked into the AUSenc from the AHO ? Windows 98 will run it so an old laptop should cut it. Or are the cost prohibitive ? Subscription & permits ?

Last time I bothered to check it was about 700 dollars a year. Mind you have already paid for them with your taxes so basically you are paying twice!

I will put another vote in for Open CPN. We have used it since 2014 for trips up the coast and down to Tassie. Great stuff. I love how it integrates with AIS (Love AIS on night sails).
It has a vibrant community that continually updates the software package. You can integrate radar, AIS, an open source autopilot called PyPilot and a lot more. I run it from a computer that sits on my bridgedeck cabin table. It is easily viewable from the cockpit. That being said, I am not really sure that it is vital that you can see your large screen form the cockpit. I try to navigate further "ahead" than in real time, so going inside and checking the laptop is fine with me. But I remember back in the day when I would have been excited just to be able to draw a certain position on the chart.
We also have Navionics too, but integrating the AIS was a cinch with OpenCPN and it looks great with the big screen.
I like the detail of Navionics charts but I am an old humbug when it comes to any chart. When it comes down to less than 100 metres I do not like to rely on any chart. Navionics has been involved in at least one case of a yacht hitting a reef because the users left no leeway for the chart to be wrong. So high resolution is nice, but I am very very wary of any chart that gets down to high resolution. For my piece of mind, I really should have my head out of the boat and be surveying the channel in the dinghy if it gets that tight.
But in reality - both are fabulous and awfully cheap - I remember cruising back in the 90s when sailors bought GPS for over $3000 in 1992 dollars. We really have it good now.
cheers
Phil

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sydchris said..
I've played with OpenCPN and before that SeaClear but I had concerns about how up to date the charts would be. For cockpit use I just use a cheap mobile phone in a waterproof case running the Navionics App. Think that was $34.95 for a year for Aust coverage; worth it to ensure you're always looking at the latest charts. A 4G tablet would be even better, if I could find a waterproof case to suit.

One of our Seabreeze members visited my homeport using Navionics on a mobile phone. After one of the professional fishermen towed him off a sandbar he called me on the phone and I went down to the main wharf to offer guidance on how to get to the mooring field. This proved to be a tricky exercise as he had to head West into the sun. Looking at a small screen with sun in your eyes and then trying to make a phone call while motoring singlehanded up a channel is challenging! Fortunately I had my handheld VHF with me. There is no substitute for real estate when it comes to chart plotter screens. I think 19 inch is the minimum and study the route carefully before crossing the bar. Then look ahead and only glance down at a big screen if you really have to.

IIRC, the Aus Hydrographics Office are moving to all electronic charts (Aus ENC) and moving away from paper. These were floated at one point a few years ago to be issued free to recreational boaters, but I dont think it got legs.
A quick check shows it is subscription service now, It's only $23 for Brisbane Port and approaches but it's an annual subscription.
The entire Aus coast is available for $800.
I remember CYCA did a session where they invited AHO to talk to yachties. They did a comparison to I think it was Navionics, it was pretty sobering how different the accuracy was between the two.

My Adrena nav software wasn't compatible with the S-63 encryption and authentication so I couldn't use it, but I remember OpenCPN did support it, so there is a tick in the green column right there.
.

On the subject of mobile phones, there is a spot just south of the prom where the GPS on my phone consistently gets confused, but the chart plotter's position is firm. I don't know what is going on down there, but I don't fully trust mobile devices for their position only. Always check your position with visual references.

The problem with all this stuff is that you no longer get to jump down below into the cabin, lean over the snoring navigator with just the correct tilt to let the water stream off your plastic Line 7 wet weather gear onto their face, and then say "where are we and where should we go?"

Okay, we may be safer now, but there's not just the same level of mystery and sadism there used to be when I were a lad.

There is an interesting thread here about navionics in the Bahamas and if their accuracy has improved.

www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f121/navionics-charts-any-good-for-bahamas-after-their-2018-revisions-260915.html

I don't really care about navionics but there is an interesting link in that thread about making your own charts for openCPN that is really interesting and goes a little beyond using Google earth for charts.

svocelot.com/Cruise_Info/Equipment/mbTiles.htm

There are also links there for downloading CM93 files if you don't have any friends!

The consensus seems that OpenCPN is great for display and usage, but Navioics Charts are better?

So find a way for OpenCPN to use Navionics Charts? Or can it already?

Whilst I find OpenCPN with CM93 charts very good running on Windows, my experience of the Android version of Open CPN on a Galaxy tablet was pretty poor.

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Trek said..
The consensus seems that OpenCPN is great for display and usage, but Navioics Charts are better?

So find a way for OpenCPN to use Navionics Charts? Or can it already?

Navionics charts are proprietary that only run on their systems. Some volunteers from OpenCPN run O-Charts where you can get all of Oz and NZ charts for around $25 per year.

If you want the full Navionics on a chartplotter it will cost $250-350 for the first year, then around $150 per year for updates.

www.o-charts.org/?lng=en

To give some comparisons of Navionics to OpenCPN, a few months ago after leaving Middle Island near Esperance, I noticed our route was about to take us over a small island. I had created this route on OpenCPN and transferred it to the B&G plotter running Navionics. The island is at 34.62.33S 123.53.266E, is called Round Island and is a group of 4 islands. Navionics has a 7nm ring around it, which I assume you avoid. When I checked the OpenCPN chart none of the islands were on the map!

Later when we were approaching Daw Island I decided to do a comparison between the OpenCPN and Navionics charts. I found one rock I could clearly see about 50m wide and 20m high, plus 2 other rocks I could not see, plus a shallow spot 2nm to the east of Daw Island, all listed on Navionics. None of these rocks / shallows were detailed on OpenCPN.

We now always check any OpenCPN created routes with Navionics.

Ilenart

Wow that's an eye opener.

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Ilenart said..
To give some comparisons of Navionics to OpenCPN, a few months ago after leaving Middle Island near Esperance, I noticed our route was about to take us over a small island. I had created this route on OpenCPN and transferred it to the B&G plotter running Navionics. The island is at 34.62.33S 123.53.266E, is called Round Island and is a group of 4 islands. Navionics has a 7nm ring around it, which I assume you avoid. When I checked the OpenCPN chart none of the islands were on the map!

Later when we were approaching Daw Island I decided to do a comparison between the OpenCPN and Navionics charts. I found one rock I could clearly see about 50m wide and 20m high, plus 2 other rocks I could not see, plus a shallow spot 2nm to the east of Daw Island, all listed on Navionics. None of these rocks / shallows were detailed on OpenCPN.

We now always check any OpenCPN created routes with Navionics.

Ilenart

That is interesting. I have 3 different directories of CM93 on OpenCPN. They all show Round Island and the 3 adjacent Rocks. I show Round Island at 34 06' 10.8 and 123 53' 15.9. The updates dates for those files are 2010-01-04, 2000-07-06, 2009-05-11.
I cannot find Daw Island that you refer to. I would be interested in a Lat & Long
If you have multiple directories of C-Maps it is not always the newest revision that will give the most detail. There fore I will dis-able "Chart Quilting" and flip between directories to find the file with the most detail.
Mike