I toyed, for many years, with the idea of buying the MemoryMap Quickcharts Australian Eastcoast CD and then the direct download. By the time I finally pulled the trigger on my purchase, they were no longer available. So my question is, does anybody still use them or, if they have since moved on to something else, would they be interested in selling the CD. I know folk are going to recommend Navionics, but I've been purchasing Navionics again and again and again for years now and I'm getting fed up with the move to subscriptions that many businesses are pushing us towards. Besides, I'm not keen on Vector charts on small screens.
I still use Memory-Map but I am mindfull that the last chart package of raster scanned Australian charts was issued and correct up to 2015. I have this on a 10" tablet and I cross reference and run Ocpn with the latest Australian charts via "O charts" which are kept up to date via subscription for 35 euros per year. I run both apps concurrently on the same tablet.
I much prefer the old school look of raster images of paper charts which were presented by the AHO as the complete picture of all we need to navigate around Aus. But they are sadly becoming more innacurate especially around harbours and rivers.
My MM licences were issued against my name and log in details so cannot be passed on.
The package is no longer legally offered for sale online.
Yeah, I don't fancy my chances of getting hold of them. I'm tinkering with my old paper charts and scanners etc and I'm not overly concerned with accuracy. I'm not sailing oceans and making landfall in a 40 tonne behemoth, I'm pottering along in a fourteen and a half foot open dinghy and relying almost exclusively on the mark one eyeball. It would be nice though to have a reasonable notion of where I am - roughly. With one hand on the tiller and the other for the mainsheet, you sometimes don't have the luxury of handling gadgets, hence the desire for a raster chart based moving map. I've just bought a cool looking 'ruggedised' tablet, with a decent battery capacity, so I'm checking out some options for that.
I'm not a fan of navionics or any other non official chart app. If you're not concerned about accuracy then navionics is ok I guess. If you don't update the app it will still work no need for subscription. I have an old version on an iPad 2017
I have a new device, so I'll have to buy Navionics again. Disturbingly it's only got a 2.6 star rating at the play store, from 47000+ reviews - mostly with regards to the massive jump in price, but it is also suggested many features require the subscription to be renewed every year. Is this true? The play store gives no indication of pricing.
Hi Mobbos.
I come at this parallel, but a bit differently from you.
I have two tablets with Navionics and C Maps plus paper charts.
The most expensive of these are definitely charts.
If you want to upgrade your nav system, again charts are the most expensive way to go.
Navionics is a one time purchase that can be downloaded onto two devices. This gives you redundancy if one devise fails.
The upgrades that they charge for are not absolutely necessary, but you can opt for them every few years as an option.
Nobody that I know upgrades their charts every few years, because of the cost.
As for safety.
Old charts scanned and stitched together would be the worst choice.
Old charts do not show new features. I am using charts that have so many things missing it is a joke.
However, I find many features in even old paper charts useful
For coastal sailing Navionics with upgraded every two years or so would be the safest way to go.
Navionics without the upgrades would still be safer than old charts.
My C Map has not been upgraded for almost 10 years and I bought my Navionics last year (old tablet left in the cockpit in the rain and smart phone died). I can't really see any difference between the 10 year old system and the new system, so am not so fussed about upgrading and paying for that service.
Any memory map CD will be old and you would still have to pay for it.
I wonder how much you would actually save, going for an old MM CD instead of a new Navionics install.
Lastly, as you mentioned the 2.6 star rating in the App store probably relates to pricing.
Buyers want cheap, but then moan when the upgrades come at a cost.
We all have choices
gary
I know that I'm going to buy Navionics, simply due to impatience - I have a brand new gadget and I want to play with it ASAP. But I would still like to go down the raster route as well, I think it would suit my type of sailing well.
Mine is a small boat, less than 200kg empty, a little over fourteen and a half feet long, she draws about three foot with the board down and less than six inches with it up. I don't need to thread my way into unfamiliar narrow channels at night and running aground is not a disaster. For navigation purposes I'd just like to know where I am in relation to my destination and the shoreline I'm seeing around me.
Rocks and reefs do worry me, but would they have moved around much over the years?
Navionics tend to put x in random places saying caution rocks. I guess it's a butt covering exercise, along with the fine print that you accept to use it ( not for navigation) gold standard is Australian hydrographers ENC it needs a device that can read the incription, sounds like your new tablet may be able to. Otherwise paper charts while you can still get em, or google earth
FWIW, I believe there's an OpenCPN implementation for Android, although based on the website it hasn't been updated since version 5.0.4 in 2019 or so. There's no iOS version of OpenCPN.
The Android version is still available on Google App store for $14.05. I presume on top of that you need to source the charts from o-charts. Apparently there are some tricks and traps about getting the chart files into the right place under Android secure file locations.
Given lack of updates for several years, support / compatibility may be an issue.
