[ebgb]

I sense you've got a grudge

You don't even warrant a reply kid. You've obviously forsaken reading for your own Mac-centric albification as you've not addressed one single issue and continue to rant on the benefits of Mac vs.... well, nothing.

You haven't even considered that there are alternatives better suited to those how do instead of install and have made no attempt to offer constructive assistance.

You are a mechanic. I am a sailer. I appreciate that you can knock together a nav system, but like a faulty program, I wouldn't want you on a 2200 mile trip out of sight of land.

I don't cary a grudge. At least not against GPSNavX and it's developers. That would be clear if your read my posts. To the contrary, I've been a long time user and recently switched to their sister company's product.

I do, however, take fault with those such as yourself who try to cajole and prod people into a "one-size fits all" solution.

blimey, someone got out of bed the wrong side this morning

yes I thought you had an axe to grind, indicated by citing "That little stunt where GPSNavX stopped working....."

its not the only product that requires a serial cable to work, virtually every one does, thats the nature of NMEA data

I'm no mechanic either, and have many thousands of sea miles under my belt thanks for asking, including crossing the atlantic in both directions and the north sea, winter and summer, but I'll pass on your invite to go sailing, especially if you are relying on a handheld battery powered gps!

and when it comes to marine installations, I'm far from 'mac centric' lost count of the number of PC based systems I've worked on or installed, both windows and linux systems, and guess what they all need a serial cable, because thats what NMEA is - serial data, its old its got its drawbacks, but its virtually an industry standard. out of interest did you actually try switching the NMEA protocol on on your garmin?

If you can't get to grips with that concept, then mac (or PC) based chartplotters are probably not for you, spend a few hundred bucks on a proper garmin gps chrtplotter that is designed for use on a boat and a get chartcartridge

the authors of GPSNavX/MacENC must be pissing themselves laughing at this thread!

[ReeferJon]

Let's not get personal please, guys.

A belated welcome to kphinney, BTW.

[ReeferJon]

NMEA 0183 is based on serial communications. It's successor NMEA 2000, is based on ethernet communication (with funny cables)

Connecting your handheld GPS to your laptop is an extremely simple implementation of NMEA 0183. Most yachts that I've been on rely on a dedicated NMEA 0183 network (running serial over a couple of copper wires) with different devices for GPS, Speed, Depth, Wind, AIS etc, all talking to each other.

Pretty much all modern and legacy GPS Displays & Chartplotters (where the unit has a dedicated display and can be used independently of a computer) and, importantly, other marine hardware support NMEA 0183 over serial.

If you're using a handheld GPS, then it may include a USB "gateway" you may be able to use on the Mac. However, if you're connecting your mac to the dedicated on-board systems of your boat then you'll need a "gateway" between serial NMEA 0183 and your computer. Options for this are:

• [li]Serial to USB adapter (needs drivers)[/li][li]NMEA 0183 Multiplexer to Bluetooth / Wireless[/li][li]NMEA Multiplexer to USB (needs driver)[/li]

I suppose you could say that comparing hand-held GPSs and integrated systems is a bit like trying comparing an ipod to a hi-fi separates system.

On High Spirit, I have a Raymarine ST60 network with GPS, Depth, Speed and Wind, a Tack Tick wireless Speed guage, a Nasa AIS receiver and a DSC VHF all talking to each other.. and to the Mac via a Serial to USB adapter.

[GPSNavX]

For a point of clarification - MacSail and kphinney are the same poster.