Just in over the fax:

summarized:

Noeltec has just released a product that will be offered for sale through
Nobeltec dealers. It's called eChart Planner.

According to the fax, eChart Planner is designed to function as an introductory
media for the entire line of Nobeltec navigation products. For $10, the
customer gets a CD-ROM that "allows the customer to plan their upcoming trips
using clear, colorful, and detailed vector planning charts from Nobeltec's
Passport Chart database. Other features include one year of tide and current
predictions, high-resolution chart printing, and US highway database:......"

Internet access is required for "registration, for downloading weather
predictions, and for activating the one-year of tide and current predictions.

Sounds like a lot more value than we boaters are accustomed to getting for ten
bucks. Think I'll drop in on my local Nobeltec guy and see if they have any
"review copies" for the media. :-)

On 07 Oct 2003 02:43:04 GMT, (Gould 0738) wrote:
Noeltec has just released a product that will be offered for sale through
Nobeltec dealers. It's called eChart Planner.

According to the fax, eChart Planner is designed to function as an introductory
media for the entire line of Nobeltec navigation products. For $10, the
customer gets a CD-ROM that "allows the customer to plan their upcoming trips
using clear, colorful, and detailed vector planning charts from Nobeltec's
Passport Chart database. Other features include one year of tide and current
predictions, high-resolution chart printing, and US highway database:......"

Internet access is required for "registration, for downloading weather
predictions, and for activating the one-year of tide and current predictions.

Sounds like a lot more value than we boaters are accustomed to getting for ten
bucks. Think I'll drop in on my local Nobeltec guy and see if they have any
"review copies" for the media. :-)
=========================================

The gov'mint has already started releasing their next generation of
electronic charts on the internet for free, which is exactly what the
original price should have been. This is obviously going to put a lot
of creative pressure on the existing vendors like Maptech, etc., to
come up with some new value added. A series of charts which combined
highway data with marine data might be interesting when scoping out
waterfront properties. I've done a lot of that over the last several
years and frequently found myself flipping back and forth between two
different mapping systems just for that purpose. Of course only one
of the two could read the GPS data at any given time.

=========================================

The gov'mint has already started releasing their next generation of
electronic charts on the internet for free, which is exactly what the
original price should have been.

Do you have a pointer to the location of the charts of which you speak? ;^)

Cheers-thanks.

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 07:05:00 GMT, "Neophyte"
wrote:
=========================================

The gov'mint has already started releasing their next generation of
electronic charts on the internet for free, which is exactly what the
original price should have been.

Do you have a pointer to the location of the charts of which you speak? ;^)

Cheers-thanks.

===============

http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/mcd/enc/index.htm

What's your favorite viewer for these charts? On a busy day about a month
ago, I tried one from the list at this site and it was awful. I believe it
was from Seven Cs.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 07:05:00 GMT, "Neophyte"
wrote:
=========================================

The gov'mint has already started releasing their next generation of
electronic charts on the internet for free, which is exactly what the
original price should have been.

Do you have a pointer to the location of the charts of which you speak?
;^)

Cheers-thanks.

===============

http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/mcd/enc/index.htm

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 16:18:19 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:
What's your favorite viewer for these charts? On a busy day about a month
ago, I tried one from the list at this site and it was awful. I believe it
was from Seven Cs.

=====================

I don't have a favorite viewer yet but am watching developments with
interest. I have a big investment in Maptech/BSB raster charts at
this point, thanks to the sweet heart deal they were able to negotiate
with our government (and tax money).

7C's is probably the best of the bunch! The free charts are never going to
have the detail of the other stuff available, and are only going to cover
commercial shipping areas, nothing shallow. You get what you pay for! I have
7C's and Fugawi's free viewers, and a few charts of my area. The second
generation charts are better, the 1st. generation are pretty plain Jane.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
What's your favorite viewer for these charts? On a busy day about a month
ago, I tried one from the list at this site and it was awful. I believe it
was from Seven Cs.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 07:05:00 GMT, "Neophyte"
wrote:
=========================================

The gov'mint has already started releasing their next generation of
electronic charts on the internet for free, which is exactly what the
original price should have been.

Do you have a pointer to the location of the charts of which you speak?
;^)

Cheers-thanks.

===============

http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/mcd/enc/index.htm

The free ENC Charts are being developed by NOAA for all U.S. coastal
waters. There is a good FAQ he
http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/staff/faq.htm#encfaq

Also, the Army Corps of Engineers are making ENC charts (also FREE) of
the Inland waterways (called iENCs, see
http://www.tec.army.mil/echarts/inlandnav/index.html

FUGAWI has a free viewer (you can download from he
http://www.fugawi.com/viewenc/viewenc.html), which is the fastest and
easiest to use ENC viewer I have seen to date. They also have full GPS
navigation software for these charts called FUGAWI Marine ENC
available, see http://www.fugawi.com/docs/navframe.html. This product
also supports traditional raster BSB nautical charts such as Maptech.



"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
What's your favorite viewer for these charts? On a busy day about a month
ago, I tried one from the list at this site and it was awful. I believe it
was from Seven Cs.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 07:05:00 GMT, "Neophyte"
wrote:
=========================================

The gov'mint has already started releasing their next generation of
electronic charts on the internet for free, which is exactly what the
original price should have been.

Do you have a pointer to the location of the charts of which you speak?
;^)

Cheers-thanks.

===============

http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/mcd/enc/index.htm

On 9 Oct 2003 06:07:45 -0700, (John) wrote:

The free ENC Charts are being developed by NOAA for all U.S. coastal
waters. There is a good FAQ he
http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/staff/faq.htm#encfaq

Also, the Army Corps of Engineers are making ENC charts (also FREE) of
the Inland waterways (called iENCs, see
http://www.tec.army.mil/echarts/inlandnav/index.html


damn, that's a useful site...thanks...
---------------------------
to see who "wf3h" is, go to "qrz.com"
and enter 'wf3h' in the field

Well, maybe I'll try it again. But, the 7C's viewer was one of the most
hideous pieces of software I've ever used. Free is no excuse for that,
either.

"Keith" wrote in message
...
7C's is probably the best of the bunch! The free charts are never going to
have the detail of the other stuff available, and are only going to cover
commercial shipping areas, nothing shallow. You get what you pay for! I
have
7C's and Fugawi's free viewers, and a few charts of my area. The second
generation charts are better, the 1st. generation are pretty plain Jane.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
What's your favorite viewer for these charts? On a busy day about a
month
ago, I tried one from the list at this site and it was awful. I believe
it
was from Seven Cs.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 07:05:00 GMT, "Neophyte"
wrote:
=========================================

The gov'mint has already started releasing their next generation of
electronic charts on the internet for free, which is exactly what
the
original price should have been.

Do you have a pointer to the location of the charts of which you
speak?
;^)

Cheers-thanks.

===============

http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/mcd/enc/index.htm