Although the Raymarine brand has only existed a short time, boaters are long familiar with the name of its founding company, Raytheon. Following a management buyout in 2001, and a subsequent rebranding of all products, Raymarine has become an established leader in electronic equipment for recreational and light commercial boaters, including radars, chartplotters, fishfinders, autopilots and more.
Less well known are Raymarine's two navigation software systems, RayTech Planner and RayTech RNS, both intended to supplement their hardware product line.
RayTech Planner is well named: it is a planner, not a full-featured charting and navigation application. The software is essentially a subset of the licensed full-featured RayTech RNS package, distributed either as a free download through Raymarine's website or as a disc bundled with a Raymarine/Navionics USB card reader. Designed as an "at-home" tool, Raytech Planner cannot connect to GPS devices or live instruments. It is suited for viewing charts and creating and exporting waypoints and routes to a Raymarine C-, E-, or G-Series chartplotter using a CompactFlash memory card.
In contrast, RayTech RNS is a full-featured charting and navigation application. The newest version (6.0) was the recipient of a 2006 Best in Show Award by the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA). However, in many ways, RayTech RNS is very different than the PC-based applications we've reviewed so far. Most noticeably, RayTech RNS uses an interface that mimics a chartplotter, rather than a PC interface. The network application is also different. With RayTech RNS, your PC becomes another node in a networked system of (presumably Raymarine) devices, rather than the center of a collection of attached devices. These differences, and others we will discuss, are consistent with Raymarine's emphasis on providing an integrated system of marine electronics.
The result is that, for those who make heavy use of Raymarine electronics, the RayTech software package may make a great deal of sense. It is not cheap, but the cost is relatively small in the context of a larger Raymarine network. But for a boater who is not already using Raymarine hardware, it's possible other charting and navigation packages may be better suited.
GETTING STARTED
RayTech RNS is available as a boxed set directly from Raymarine's website or for retail purchase from the hundreds of authorized Raymarine dealers in the U.S.
This very professional set includes two discs, a User's Guide, and two hardware items. The first disc, a CD-ROM, includes the software application, SoftChart Coastal Planning Charts, C-MAP NT+ Worldwide Planning Charts, and Navionics Worldwide Tides and Currents data. The planning charts (which are not suitable for navigation) and the tides/currents data install automatically with the software. The second disc, in DVD format, includes a complete set of NOAA U.S. Raster Navigational Charts.
The hardware items are a Navionics USB Multicard Chart Reader, which connects directly to a PC and provides an interface to display Navionics cartography, and a GPS 9-pin serial data cable that allows you to wire your vessel's GPS to your PC.
Given that Raymarine includes a Navionics Multicard Chart Reader with its software, it's safe to assume that Raymarine expects users will purchase proprietary vector cartography from Navionics. Note that the chart data contained on a Navionics CompactFlash chart card is encrypted to prevent piracy and the Navionics Multicard Chart Reader has special circuitry that decrypts the charts for RayTech RNS. You can also read older C-Map NT or NT+ charts with RayTech RNS, but only with a C-Map USB C-Card Reader (not included).
The package also includes free raster charts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but Raymarine's DVD included chart editions dated back to December of 2005. If you rely on raster charts, we suggest installing the latest BSB chart files, which are available as a free download from NOAA or as an entire 1000-plus chart catalog for under $50 from many NOAA-certified chart distributors.
