Somewhat off topic but may help the OP as well. Does anyone have personal/direct experience with Florida Marine Tracks vs. Navionics Platinum Plus? Obviously not the tracks but the satellite overlay
I’ve owned both here in South Florida and the Navionics satellite view is garbage. FMT is as close as you’ll get to Google Maps detail on your chartplotter.
I’ve had both. Excluding the tracks (which is priceless) the satellite imagery isn’t even comparable. The FMT chip is light years ahead of Navionics. Just look at the amount of data on an FMT chip compared to the size of area and amount of data on a Navionics Platinum chip.
Ah, ok, I watched the video. It certainly looks great. How do those images show up in the full sun? I know my phone with Google Earth up can be a bit of a challenge.
Lol, you are missing my point. In certain situations, there is glare on my GPS display. What I am asking is if, when there is glare and my normal map is tough to see, are the satellite images even tougher to see? On my phone, I can read/send a text just fine in the sun, but using Google Earth is tough...for instance
I have no issues in any conditions. But I can adjust my gps screen angles easily if needed. I your screen is flush mounted at a bad angle it could be an issue.
Keep in mind it could be the screen on the unit you are running. The newer Solarmax screens in certain Simard/Lowrance models are far superior in direct sun as well as when viewing with polarized glasses.
With the nss evo3 units there is no problem with glare. The screen is super bright and clear. Now the bigger the screen the better the resolution but I have used a flush mount 7" on my skiff for a year with no issues but the 9" is much better and I can imagine the 12 would be awesome but out of my price range. For what its worth the knob on the nss is clutch. It makes zooming super easy while running. The pinching with the go series can be a pain. I run it side by side with the Navionics Platinum +. I like the FMT much better for nav purposes but when looking at an area map without having to cut the tracks off to have a less cluttered view, its nice to switch the navionics(you don't need the platinum + for this but its what I have).
I kind of wish FMT would do an Eastcoast/Westcoast chip instead of just the North/South. Living in Tampa, Im at the borderline so it makes it kinda difficult to justify the price of it.
I kind of wish FMT would do an Eastcoast/Westcoast chip instead of the North/South. Living in Tampa, Im at the borderline so it makes it kinda difficult to justify the price of it.
If I lived in FL I would for sure have this. But not convinced in LA that the sat photos are going to be as good as in FL due to water clarity and mud bottoms. I just about begged them to do a video showing their chip in the marsh they kept saying it was coming and never did....so went a different direction.
How are users of FMT zooming out to see big picture with all the red lines in the way of the map? The red travel lines are awesome, but, once you get out of a dangerous area, you may want to just get a straight line to a specific area on the map. For example, I had trouble finding duck key after I left the glades and got to open water. Do you turn them off at that point or....?
I run mine without the tracks 99% of the time. Only when I'm in an unfamiliar area and looking for a path, do I turn them on. Or, if I know I want to travel somewhere, I turn them on and plot a route - then turn them back off.
The tracks are awesome to have but the imagery almost tells you where you can go. It would be nice if there were a quicker way to toggle them though...
That video goes into depth how to set up your unit from the get go. The stuff you can turn on and off on the actual FMT chart starts at about the 48th minute. Turning the FMT tracks on and off is shown at 56:05. And yes its very simple.
What I find is that it is not really a resolution issue, but the tracks and the other icons are too large when zoomed out and clutter up the screen so you cannot make heads or tails of the coastline. Also, it seems like it is at somewhat of an angle, not looking directly down, so things are distorted from what you are used to seeing. Using a 9” Simrad NSS EVO3.
Overall it is a great tool, but like anything will have some room for improvement. Not ruling out operator error too, as it is new to me.
Also, it seems like it is at somewhat of an angle, not looking directly down, so things are distorted from what you are used to seeing. Using a 9” Simrad NSS EVO3.
Overall it is a great tool, but like anything will have some room for improvement. Not ruling out operator error too, as it is new to me.[/QUOT
I run most of those options off, like marinas, bathrooms, powerlines...etc. then set my unit to look ahead which slides your boat down to the bottom third of the screen and I also run the blue line heading out to 10NM that gives me the heading off the nose of my skiff and very easy to see when zoomed out if needed.
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