Electronic Charts
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Electronic Charts... Editor’s note: Bluewater's chief technology geek emerges from the server closet to deliver a perspective on the changing face of electronic charts. For those persons who now own or are considering the implementation of this technology Rob's article is a "must read." Rob currently lives aboard an Alberg 37 (with wife Susan) and spends his spare time (do geeks have spare time?) refitting a recently acquired Nor'Sea 27. |
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By now there probably isn't any user of technology that hasn't heard about Moore's law. It roughly stated (in 1965) that computer "hardware density" doubles every 18 months, or computer hardware size can halve in the same period. Even though this observation only represents a rough observable trend (and will be eventually foiled by molecular restriction) the world's industrialists seem to integrate Mr. Moore's observation into palpable business plans. Why should a mariner care about Mr. Moore and his observation?
Over the last few years Mr. Moore's observation merged with healthy marketplace competition to provide impressive advances in ENC/ECS and the beneficiaries of said advances are consumers. For instance, a full compliment of C-Map cartography that would allow ENC coverage from Key West to the Maine/Canada border cost about $2500 and required 10 cartridges only a few months ago. With the recently introduced price restructuring of C-Map and Navionics the price for that geographic area now falls to around $1200 and the geographic coverage per cartridge has increased dramatically. (Garmin also is offering a similar value increase, but only with it's "Bluechart" product new plotters). Additionally, some of the new plotters and navigation appliances incorporate bright TFT or Transreflective displays, which honestly represent a new generation data density and can simultaneously combine functions of radar, sounder and chart display. Many of these truly innovative (and truly expensive) dedicated navigation devices can live on an open bridge and compete with the full onslaught of direct sunlight.
First, consider the aging process of computers and plotters . The latest and greatest incarnations of the software mentioned above will actually run on a modest computer of "ancient" vintage (five years being ancient in computer years). But five years ago there were no plotters with crisp LCD color screens and processors more robust than, say, a telephone (please don't write, I know it's an exaggeration). So dedicated plotters, at least historically, have been limited in their ability to upgrade when the data they were being fed would potentially provide a much richer navigation experience. Then there's the argument that plotters are inherently more reliable than a computer. There is no question that that plotters, generally, are physically robust and, because they are single function devices, tend not to suffer the typical "crashes" that computer users have come to know and hate. And it's also true that Microsoft imposes operating systems that support a huge array of function, and therefore clutters the platform (the computer) with unnecessary (theoretically unstable) code. But it's still not an apples and apples comparison. While it's true that anyone who allows their favorite niece to load Frogger 2, AOL's ICQ and Outlook on their navigation PC is inviting a BSOD (blue screen of death), there isn't a plotter in the bunch that can run computer games or IM (instant message) with the kid next door.
Plus, the PC enjoys a unique ability to be user upgraded , a most important aspect for the frugal navigator. For instance, I still own and use a Panasonic PII 133 that has had three operating system upgrades, four hard drive swaps, and retains its 12" TFT screen (200 NITs, about the same brightness as today's convenience store laptop). Its software history included installations of NavTrek with raster charts, then ChartView. Now it's strictly given to ship's business, with Nobeltec VNS 6.5 with all bells and whistles running, vessel management, SSB propagation prediction, Tides and Currents, Visual Passage Planner, medical diagnosis, celestial prediction software, and when the dust settles I'll add stable offshore communications software. I mean the old box still has life! Granted, it handles high-end graphics challenges with the alacrity of an earthworm, but it works, even when considering the scorching SOG of my Nor'Sea 27. If I had a similarly aged plotter on board it would not be able to deliver the same improvement of function even though the data on a chip purchased last month might be crammed with new features. Let's not forget that plotters mostly support vector cartography, the few exceptions being computers in plotter clothing. While I am heavily biased toward the vector solution (for any type of navigation appliance or computer) because of the ability to manipulate and layer screen information elements, many users still prefer the "look" of raster charts because they represent exactly the paper chart that should be open and on the chart table. Some of the computer software solutions available at Bluewater will even use vector and raster charts together, plus 3D contour displays, georeferenced photocharts, topographical information, streets and maps... all displayed simultaneously with navigation charts, ever-improving tides and currents representations, etc. Plotter manufacturers have definitely improved their "image" and, thankfully, C-Map, Navionics and Garmin chart prices are now within reach of mere mortals. But I don't assume that the software manufacturers are giving their carpal tunnel syndrome a vacation. Nobeltec's persistent innovation (Passport Vector charts, 3D contour/bathymetric display, radar overlay, weather integration, Streets and Roads, georeferenced aerial photos, coast pilot/light list, topographical maps, ARPA integration), products with a cult following and excellent cartography support like MaxSea (Admiralty, C-Map vector cartography, most popular raster chart formats, weather overlay/routing from polar plots, ARPA integration), Maptech's competitive feature set (Pocket Navigator, official NOAA raster charts, coastal topographic maps, 3D contour charts with custom data collection, georeferenced aerial photos, coast pilot/light list, enhanced printing capability), and Transas (single purpose, highly reliable) will all continue to evolve. Bluewater continues to monitor developments in this technology and interprets the most timely and germane information for the benefit of our customers. If you have questions don't hesitate to call or email one of our ENC/ECS experts. Whatever the future brings or is available today, it's a horse race, ladies and gentlemen, and the consumer wins! See notes below for new Navionics, C-Map and Garmin information : All Navionics XL charts now include port scales to 1/8 of a mile and generally all charts will display to 1/2 mile resolution. This is an enhancement that users have requested for years and is now available because of the greater data capacity of the chips. Navionics has endeavored to improve the quality of their cartography with greater spot sounding density in many geographic areas.
Aaron Burke of Navionics reports: "Since last year, we have updated Florida, Bahamas, the northeast, Chesapeake, Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, Puget Sound and Maine. This spring, final updates will be implemented on the Caribbean, CA, Georgia, the Carolinas and Central America. Also, Alaska and BC are being reworked as well". The Northstar 951 cannot use XL chips and all plotters using the Microchip (PC card) data medium will not be able to purchase the broader geographic areas offered by XL. A little bird told me that eventually Northstar will discontinue this model in favor of more contemporary plotters. However Navionics will continue to provide chips appropriate to those units with smaller areas of geographic coverage. Other older plotters will be able to display the increased data density but they won't be able to purchase broader geographic areas if the plotter software is not upgradeable by the manufacturer. C-MAP NT+ is reverse-compatible with older plotters and some of the benefits will be universally available. However some plotter owners may elect to upgrade the plotter software to fully realize the new NT+ benefits. New chart plotters are being announced that will fully incorporate the NT+ changes that can include:
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By way of introduction let's examine technology utilized in the sci-fi
thriller "Tron", just coming up on it's 20th anniversary.
According to Tech TV, Tron "...used refrigerator-sized,
supercomputers like the Cray XMP (right, notice the person-sized
protection suit in the background, just to suggest the computer's size).
Today, that amount of processing power fits easily on an average
desktop." Tech TV's article further explained that Tron used about
9000 hours of Cray processing time to render about 30 on-screen minutes.
your basic Xbox turns out killer interactive 3D graphics in real time
and doesn't require liquid hydrogen to prevent thermal disintegration.
Mr. Moore's size/resource theory can also be applied against ECS
(Electronic Chart Systems) and ENC (Electronic Navigation Charts).
I was an ECS/ENC neophyte when I came to work at Bluewater over five
years ago, but I can remember (with little nostalgia) the dominant
computer-based navigation solutions of the time, which included Laser
Plot, NavTrek, The Cap'n and Maptech. Tower computer and monitor
combinations generated enough heat to melt a hockey rink and were only
viewable in an enclosed bridge where light might be kept away from the
screen and the computer might be protected from marine environmental
elements. Laptops were coming of age and being allowed consideration as
navigation instruments, but they were not yet regarded as tower or
"desktop" replacements because of horsepower/expansion
limitations, physical vulnerabilities and cost. There were no vector charts
(small file size, user configured views) available for any of these
computer-based systems, and hard drive size limited the number of
raster charts
(large file size, actual pictures, non-configurable) that could be
at the ready without digging out expensive (and often damaged) CD
originals. While dedicated plotters of that time (many of you
still own these venerable servants) were relatively small and
weatherproof, their processing power and display were hardly robust. The
simple re-scaling of a plotter chart was an exercise in pre-Prozac
patience and the geographic breadth of any cartridge was limited.
With the advent of modestly larger/noticeably brighter screens and more
user options, one might speculate that the plotter and vector
cartography manufacturers are attempting to compete with the
"computer solution" to ENC/ECS, such as Nobeltec, MaxSea,
Maptech, etc. No doubt the price for plotter cartography has been
reduced and, combined with the new generation of plotter/multifunction
instruments, there's never been a better time to invest in this
technology. But important distinctions remain between the plotter
solution and the computer/software solution.
A properly installed PC with known good hardware, reliable operating
system (like the wonderfully stable Windows 2000), well written software and
singular thematic purpose (ship's business) will yield a reliability
factor that can rival the dedicated plotter. Plus it's
range of function won't be limited by the manufacturer, only by the
informed user
. PC purchased at your corner 7-11 still might not be appropriate to
the exposures of an open bridge, nor will it be visible in direct
sunlight. But this is the 21st century and rugged computers proliferate,
some with bright (make that large and brilliant) screens that mollify
most of these negative aspects, if at a higher price than their
technically pedestrian counterparts.
The example at left is new Navionics cartography, at right see the old
data resolutions. Quite a difference.
