Unfortunately, the chartplotter-like interface of RayTech RNS affects some features that would be considered standard on a PC application. Most notably, just like a chartplotter, RayTech RNS does not have a printing feature. If you want to print your chart images you must purchase screen capture software such as SnagIt for $39.95 (see link below)
LOOK AND FEEL
Installing RayTech RNS was straightforward. Chart installation was also trouble-free. It took about 15 minutes to install the 907 files from a Maptech Region 65 DVD (Block Island, Rhode Island to the Canadian Border), which includes BSB, photo and topographic files.
Connecting a USB GPS sensor was our only installation stumble. Although there is a Startup Wizard, RayTech RNS doesn't include a Port Wizard. Instead one must check the Window's Device Manager for an occupied port that suggests a GPS, then select that communication port in RayTech RNS. We wondered why, in 2007, a software application wouldn't include a Port Wizard. But, in fairness, the RayTech RNS target configuration is connecting the PC to an integrated marine electronics system rather than a standalone, non-Raymarine device.
Most of the charting and navigation packages we've reviewed so far strive for a Windows application interface. In fact, occasionally we dinged a manufacturer if its interface deviated from this standard. RayTech RNS takes a completely different approach, designing a hybrid interface that partially mimics a chartplotter display.
RAYMARINERayTech RNS utilizes a hybrid interface, part chartplotter and part PC Windows.This choice is partly demographic-driven (they note older, less PC-savvy users as customers). But it also follows the networked design of a Raymarine system, where the PC is intended as another multidimensional display node amid a collection of marine instruments that center on a chartplotter display.
In Raymarine's way of thinking, the PC is not the center of your world, but simply a (portable) component allowing you to plan at home and then conveniently transfer information to your boat's network via card or by plugging the laptop into the network while aboard. For example, icons are shaped and shaded to look like the physical buttons on other Raymarine displays. Data is keyed in and entered as if your screen is a touch-sensitive chartplotter (see photo).
For boaters who are more comfortable with chartplotters than computers, RayTech RNS will be a welcome interface. However, boaters who grew up on PCs may find this interface a bit clumsy and outdated. Personally, we started out not liking the chartplotter look, but grew to like it and understand its purpose within the Raymarine gestalt. However, given an independent choice between the two formats, we still prefer a more flexible, contemporary, streamlined computer user interface.
One downside of a chartplotter interface is the loss of chart display area. The large Soft keys across the bottom, the Databoxes on the left side, and the Pathfinder panel on the right side all create wide margins that compromise available chart real estate. Although you can choose which buttons, tools or data to include, wide gray margins remain. You'll wish for a more streamlined interface and/or a larger display screen.
RayTech's interface is also not as customizable as a typical Windows interface. Although you can choose which options to display, it is inconvenient or impossible to customize elements such as icons, fonts or screen placement. In fact, we couldn't even customize weather data to display Fahrenheit rather than Celsius. (Raymarine, a British company, acknowledges this limitation and has it slated for improvement.)
Conveniently, Databoxes can be quickly moved and re-sized, which is useful for many chart layouts. For example, to efficiently display long, narrow strip charts of the coast or ICW, you can arrange data horizontally across the top, leaving a large landscape area for the chart.
WORKING WITH CHARTS
Raymarine, with Humminbird and Northstar, was one of the early adopters of Navionics Platinum cartography, designing its hardware devices to handle the higher demands of multidimensional data. These types of files--including 3D displays, aerial and satellite navigation photos, and bathymetrics--require new hardware designs with more memory and faster processors. Raymarine's hardware (such as its C-, E-, and G-Series multifunction displays), and its RayTech RNS software, support these advanced Navionics features.
However, in terms of traditional chart files, RayTech RNS is largely a raster chart or proprietary vector chart program. It does not support standard format S-57 vector charts – which includes NOAA ENCs (vector coastal charts), U.S. Army Corps IENCs (vector inland charts), and standard international vector charts. Raymarine hopes to include support for S-57 vector charts in a future software release. In the meantime, vector charts must be purchased from proprietary vendors, such as Navionics or C-Map.
To summarize, RayTech RNS 6.0 is compatible with the following cartography: Navionics HotMaps, Silver, Gold, and Platinum charts; BSB raster charts, which include NOAA RNCs and equivalent products from Maptech, NDI, and SoftChart; Maptech topographic charts; Maptech aerial photos (which RayTech RNS converts to their own format); and the older C-Map NT and NT+ cartography.
In addition to S-57 vector charts, RayTech RNS is not currently compatible with Nobeltec Passport Charts nor the new C-Map Max or MaxPro cartography.
We tested RayTech RNS using both Navionics and Maptech cartography and a GlobalSat Technology BU-353 USB GPS. Charts displayed promptly and the program was very responsive. A nice touch for chart viewing customization is the ability to turn quilting off when displaying raster charts. This displays the raster chart in its entirety, letting you read any chart notes or visually check chart editions and correction dates.
