Plotter hardware for £45, surely not!
The entrepreneurial sailor Charles Thompson has built the hardware to run PC Plotter for just £45! The system is running on a Dell Latitude CPi 233 computer bought from the web for £10 with no screen. The system runs Microsoft Windows 98, Mobile Intel Pentium II 233, only 48Meg of Ram and a CD drive. The system is run without the battery (to reduce power consumption). Also visible in the picture is the 12v to 19v DC to Dc converter.
The screen shot shows the splash proof screen which cost 35.00 from eBay with the PC plotter software running on it. The system is using a Rikaline GPS which has proved to be very reliable over 5 seasons. This last weekend the new setup was tested with great success on their trip across the Solway from Whitehaven to Little Ross Island out side Kirkcudbright.
Charles Thompson says "We have no objections to you adding this to the web site. It may encourage other users of your excellent software to have a go and that the only solution to chart plotting dose not have to be an expensive single use/operation plotter. With free WiFi in most places the computer is now an essential part of any sailor's kit especially for the weather, email AIS, radar, etc,. We now sail with two so there is always a backup with spare independent battery power something which my friends have difficulty with when using their chart plotters."
He went on to say "All we need now is to be able to interface the AIS with the plotting software for a full integrated system."
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