Time Zero, MaxSea navigation

[Antony Masters]

I am considering installing Time Zero, Max Sea navigation. Does anyone have experience of this for the east coast of Australia and South Pacific
It appears to me that the suppliers/agents are not really interested?
Tony
Sv Mandalay111

[swampbush]

Originally Posted by Antony Masters

I am considering installing Time Zero, Max Sea navigation. Does anyone have experience of this for the east coast of Australia and South Pacific
It appears to me that the suppliers/agents are not really interested?
Tony
Sv Mandalay111

I have been using it for the last few years between Southport and Lizard Island. It seems to be the only program that will communicate with Furuno. Chart updates are expensive at 300 Euro each. Route planning is good, but requires a computer or laptop with a powerful graphics.

[Lepke]

I have TZ, but am moving away. Most PC nav programs will work with Furuno. I don't like the cost of charts and infrequent updates (I never use the 3d), I can't use the free charts like the US, NZ and others have, I can't easily use my bearings and ranges and can't plot celestial lines within the program. I'm probably going to a commercial program, but I have used Coastal Explorer and OpenCPN with various Furuno equipment.

[Kenomac]

The ipad version works great, but the pc version we’ve had for four years is a pain. I went through two pc laptop computers looking for one that would run the Nobeltec/Maxsea software, the software is very picky regarding the graphics.

[ranger58sb]

We've used MacSea TimeZero on two towers and a laptop for about 10 years now... as companion to our Furuno NAVNet3D plotter. Over the years I've had only 2 or 3 technical issues, mostly to do with moving licenses as I upgraded hardware. Easily fixed with support from MaxSea/France. Otherwise, it works pretty much as expected, and the computer/plotter compatibility has been useful. Never had any issues with graphics.

We use the free NOAA raster and vector charts for here in the U.S, though C-Map and Navionics charts are also available at various costs.

Charts for Australia are here: https://www.furunousa.com/en/product...&sort_type=asc

Looks to me similar in prices to C-Map or Navionics charts...

-Chris

[TomNH]

If you want high end pc based navigation with a sailing focus, and racing bias, then look at Expedition. It’s the Rolls Royce solution used by Volvo race boats, TP52s ET al and actually written in New Zealand. It’s also very feature rich for cruising.

[Ferrari]

Have used it throughout Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific. Works just fine.
Easy backup with Open PCN and Tablets.

[eheffa]

TimeZero Navigator is very useful if you want to send a planned route to a Furuno MFD / Plotter. It's quite clunky to use the MFD to plan and plot a route.

Having said that, I find the TZ interface to also be quite kludgy (but better than the touch screen MFD) and so I actually do all my route planning on the PC using Coastal Explorer (a much more refined and user-friendly interface) and then just export the routes GPX files to the PC TZ and the plotter. I am based in British Columbia cruising the local waters and inside passage to Alaska; so do not have any experience using these applications off-shore or in the South Pacific.

TZ is also quite expensive to update charts.

-evan

[Antony Masters]

Reply to all contributors
Thank you to all who responded.
My summary of comments are:-
Route planning is good
Requires powerful computer to operate, pic or laptop
Complicated to use, not user friendly in some areas
Charts are expensive
Reliable and good support
Works well on an iPad but pic is a pain
Conclusion
Appears to be very good for some elements,, not simple to use
What are the options, all appear to have issues
I need convincing before I commit
Thanks to all who took the time to respond
Tony, sv Mandalay 111, Australia

[sy_gilana]

Whatever you decide to buy, you would be doing yourself a dis-service by not at least looking at OpenCPN. It will cost you nothing to try it. It will work with most nav systems. It does everything important, and a whole lot of user generated plugins do the rest.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Antony Masters

Reply to all contributors
Thank you to all who responded.
My summary of comments are:-
Route planning is good
Requires powerful computer to operate, pic or laptop
Complicated to use, not user friendly in some areas
Charts are expensive
Reliable and good support
Works well on an iPad but pic is a pain
Conclusion
Appears to be very good for some elements,, not simple to use
What are the options, all appear to have issues
I need convincing before I commit
Thanks to all who took the time to respond
Tony, sv Mandalay 111, Australia

Maybe with footnotes... especially for other readers...

Some of that seems to be based on the eye of the beholder.

For example, for some charts are free. For others, charts may cost $$$ but "expensive" may depend on comparison to the competition. If C-Map (for example) charts cost $$$ for TZ, they may or may not cost more than C-Map charts for Coastal Explorer or whatever. (I only use that as an example for illustration; haven't a clue what charts cost for CE or other applications.)

Complicated to use might be another example. I don't find it any more complicated than any of the other nav apps I use. And most applications that offer a boatload of capability also come with a boatload of interface, sometimes a boatload of instructions, etc.

Pic is a pain? Pic? PC? Anyway, I don't have any problems with it on PCs. Don't have iThings, so can't compare there. Possibly a GUI issue; sometimes a given GUI speaks to some users, not to others. I'm about as intuitive as a rock, though, so I actually read manuals... if that matters.

Can't tell about computer requirements. The Win7 box I use was fairly loaded -- when I got it -- but it's about 10 years old now... as is my copy of TZ which is a V2xxxx thing (and I know they've issued at least a V3).

Not at all trying to convince you; no dog in that decision. Just mentioning it might be a "different strokes" thing... possibly similar to how I find Garmin products to be OK but no more intuitive than any others, whereas some swear by the brand for being much easier to use.

-Chris

[swampbush]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

Maybe with footnotes... especially for other readers...

Some of that seems to be based on the eye of the beholder.

For example, for some charts are free. For others, charts may cost $$$ but "expensive" may depend on comparison to the competition. If C-Map (for example) charts cost $$$ for TZ, they may or may not cost more than C-Map charts for Coastal Explorer or whatever. (I only use that as an example for illustration; haven't a clue what charts cost for CE or other applications.)

Complicated to use might be another example. I don't find it any more complicated than any of the other nav apps I use. And most applications that offer a boatload of capability also come with a boatload of interface, sometimes a boatload of instructions, etc.

Pic is a pain? Pic? PC? Anyway, I don't have any problems with it on PCs. Don't have iThings, so can't compare there. Possibly a GUI issue; sometimes a given GUI speaks to some users, not to others. I'm about as intuitive as a rock, though, so I actually read manuals... if that matters.

Can't tell about computer requirements. The Win7 box I use was fairly loaded -- when I got it -- but it's about 10 years old now... as is my copy of TZ which is a V2xxxx thing (and I know they've issued at least a V3).

Not at all trying to convince you; no dog in that decision. Just mentioning it might be a "different strokes" thing... possibly similar to how I find Garmin products to be OK but no more intuitive than any others, whereas some swear by the brand for being much easier to use.

-Chris

Version 2 ran on a low end computer. Version 3 has a route checking built in that prevents creating a route in shallow water, over land etc. I had to disable that option on my old laptop as it took too long to process. Runs ok on the new one that has a dedicated graphics card.
User interface is easy enough and allows on the fly route adjutments that automatically pdsste the navnet3d plotter.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by swampbush

Version 2 ran on a low end computer. Version 3 has a route checking built in that prevents creating a route in shallow water, over land etc. I had to disable that option on my old laptop as it took too long to process. Runs ok on the new one that has a dedicated graphics card.

Interesting to know. I think I've got a graphics card in both of our Win7 boxes... but the laptop is so old I don't even know where my file on specs is...

I might not even have ever noticed anyway, since I've only taken the trouble to build something like 3 real routes in 10 years. I use a few waypoints more often, but I haven't gotten excited about building actual routes... so maybe I wouldn't have been stressing the processor or a graphics card anyway...

-Chris

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Antony Masters

Reply to all contributors
Thank you to all who responded.
My summary of comments are:-
Route planning is good
Requires powerful computer to operate, pic or laptop
Complicated to use, not user friendly in some areas
Charts are expensive
Reliable and good support
Works well on an iPad but pic is a pain
Conclusion
Appears to be very good for some elements,, not simple to use
What are the options, all appear to have issues
I need convincing before I commit
Thanks to all who took the time to respond
Tony, sv Mandalay 111, Australia

These might be your conclusions, but they are more highlights of disparate posts.
Maxsea runs well on my small, low-end NUC computer. Prior to this I ran it on an Atom.

Chart costs are very competitive, depending on the area that you need. For example a Megawide CMap charts coveting the entire S. Pacific including NZ and Austealia costs me about 500us.

The user interface is in the eye of the beholder. It's more consistent and simpler than OpenCpn.

I've used Maxsea for a long time, primarily because it integrates well with my Furuno Navenet3d gear and allows me to share the charts. I wouldn't buy or use Maxsea if I didn't need the integration.