Just been doing a bit of research on best deals around.

If you happen to be traveling to the US you can pick up an Eagle  Intellimap 502c for about £160 but basically only a GPS because internal outline map map is USA based-so you have to buy navionics Charts-a gold UK;Ireland and northern France will cost about £125-if you buy tax free you can get everything shipped duty and tax paid for about £350.If you already have Navionics Charts it will run any of them.A  STANDARD HORIZON CP180 CHART PLOTTER WITH EXTERNAL GPS ANTENNA will cost you about £200 over there-about £260 delivered with duty and vat over  here-a saving of about £60 on UK price-but again you need mapping programme and a C map UK;Ireland and N.France will cost you another £100 plus-AND over here there are bundle deals-on Plotter and chart for about £400.

What I do like about the Standard Horizon (and I was playing with a demo one -both the small and large-yesterday at our Marine Superstore) is that its cross hair type cursor is controled by a little joystick-much easier than the more common disc with arrows on and in case of my Garmin a PC type arrowed cursor.

Having said all of this if I was rich and had around about £1000 to spend the top of range Standard is great!

Phil

Having said the above what I would really like doesnt exist at an affordable price-imagine an interactive flat screen in various sizes up to full chart driven by a GPS plotter.such that you could use an interactive stencil to draw on it etc,as you would do on a traditional map-it would use affordable ENC technology.

After all such TVs and PC screens can be had for well under £200.

What I dislike about the small screen plotter is that whilst you can view a ten mile stretch of water such as Loch Duich were I moor the screen is too small to identify features without panning in at which point you loose oversight of the rest of the ten miles which is important if piloting as oppose to navigating!Wheas the current Admiralty Chart when half folded gives you both the overview and with our eyes ability a pan in all at the same time-so an electronic chart displayed at this size would allow the human eye to do what it is good at.

A 15 inch laptop screen would of course be a good comprimise-but not built for or dedicated to navigation/marine environment.

What would really benefit the market would be a small GPS plotter containing a reasonably accurate local map as part of its price-there is now one in US which offers both accurate car navigation and coastal and lakes mapping-expandable if you want.

I would be quite happy with my Garmin 165 if it contained an accurate coastal outline map.

Also the reason the Eagle is very competitive is that in the US it is being aimed across the leisure market-cars,offroad as well as marine.

So what do you think?

Phil

Been playing with plotters again at my local store and tried Standard Horizon;Navman and Lorwrance(Eagle Intellimap).

I am definitely sold by the Horizons Joy Stick with a pan in/out immediately next to it and world outline map.

Just remains to be seen how bigger one I get and whether I buy whilst in US/Hong Kong duty free or extra £100 over here!

There is some advantage to your grandson living inNewZealand and brother in law in Canada!

Phil