MaxSea Time Zero vs Nobeltec Navigation Programs

Max Sea

I used to have Nobeltec Version 10 series....after so many problems they replaced the entire package for me back to ver 9.3 at no cost...that's where it will stay. The charts in Ver 10 were terrible also. My 2c.
I have used Nobeltec since ver 4...even before it actually was Nobeltec.

i've used the maxsea time zero in tandem with the fununo navnet 3d on board (for over 3 years now) & it works flawlessly ...

the latest maxsea timezero s/w is really good ... works both ways thru the usb & ethernet connection ... as a result, it duplicates the ais & radar on the notebook ...

love it ... wld not replace with anything else ...

Between the two, MaxSea hands down.

But for a lot less money this is worth a look: http://www.polarnavy.com/

Nobeltec is not state of the art

I recently purchased Nobeltec Odyssey for my laptop (2/2012). I am very dissappointed. After 2 months of hard work, it is not usable for navigation. I have two new Garmin handhelds (eTrexHcx and Oregon 450T) and a Delorme PGS receiver antenna. They all connect via USB. Nobeltec can not read the signal from any of them. I have called Nobeltec customer support four times and Garmin three times. After 2.5 hours today, Nobeltec finally gave up and said they are not able to make their software work. They said it must be that Garmin sends out a corrupted signal. However, I have a $39 Delorme Streets software program that picks up the signal and works flawlessly. Therefore, the only answer is that Nobeltec software can't read state of the art signals. They said the software requires a serial port on the computer. You can't even buy a state of the art laptop with a serial port anymore. They suggested a desktop would have a serial port and might work. I'm not dragging a desktop unit around my boat. Thats not the purpose of computer based software today.

The software has very little help or support and most of the features must be learned by trial and error. It is not user friendly.

After 2 months of hassle and working diligently with the software and Nobeltec it turns out that it simply will not work with modern computers and GPS devices. Upon asking, they were unable to give me the name of any hardware that the software would work with. Since the process of determining the software is unusable has taken more than 30 days, I am beyond the return time frame and am out $800 and still don't have a usable navigation software solution. If anyone has a solution, I am all ears.

I run NN3 and Nobeltec 9.0 side by side. They both have worked well since day 1Nothing beats a PC based system for plotting and saving courses in my opinion. Laying out a course on NN3 is too tedious. NN3's main functions for me are location verification, radar and DFFI. AIS is piped into both NN3 and Nobeltec. Our boating territory is from Puget Sound to Gulf of Alaska.

I'm not too concerned if my smart phone or Ipad can talk to the plotters. I have enough more serious boat things to worry about without getting my nickers in a twist over toys and gizmos. But I well understand that some enjoy the Apple activities versus changing out an impeller and being sure the vessel is ready for the open ocean, tight anchorages, snarly currents and fog that permeate our days' travels and activities.

I ve been using PC based nav software for a few years now. In probably 20k miles I ve fewer failures or loss of position than the Furuno Navnets we have as primary instruments...The handful of issues were caused by the PC not finding the GPS when starting the software and a reboot was all it took

I used openCPN for a year or two (free and ole source) before switching to PolarNavy a year and a half ago. Both are good but Polar includes offline Active Captain data which is a huge benefit. for $49 or do Polar is great value and best of all it is not a resource hog like some of the more expensive packages. I m running it on a 3 year old entry level laptop which also runs a webcam, gos tracking, etc all smoothly

The gps receiver is a Bluetooth globalsat receiver. I also use Franson GPSgate so that the signal from the GPS can be shared by polar and Goops which uploads positions to my website

I actually rely more on the PC than the Furuno as the charts are more detailed and easier to read

If Nobeltec will not give you a refund, at least ask for a downgrade ? to Version 9.3 VNS, it works really well and has been stable for 4 yrs now, all their new stuff is crap...

About 2-3 years ago Jeppsen, the originator of Nobeltec, was sold to a Brazilian company. There now is a back door ownership of charts used by Furuno and Nobeltec. They say this will be good for us, hummmmmmmm.

Can one buy an Ipad 3 with an internal GPS? I've heard yes but yet to talk to anyone with that direct experience.

Good for us how? Translation: Good for their sales.
NOAA charts, free, pretty accurate, and readily accessible online.

I have also used an IPad 1 loaded with INAVX and a bluetooth GPS antenna. The biggest problem is day light visibility.
Best,
Maldwin

I've used capn navigator on a notebook PC for many years now and love it. I run it side by side as a stand alone and with it's ability to keep and store tracks it makes the runs up and down the coast much easier. I like the more detailed charts. I use a garmin hand held connected to a USB which then uses a internal driver to deliver the data to a serial port. It's not expensive and it's reliable and accurate.