Xfer Waypoints & Routes from Coastal Explorer to C-80

P

Pat Anderson

New member
I love Coastal Explorer (a PC navigation program). I put Win 7 on my new Macbook Pro just so I could run CE. With the full set of NOAA and USACE electronic charts, it is awesome. Creating and editing waypoints and routes in CE is trivial.

I tolerate my C-80. The Navionics chart chips are the best cartography, but it is very difficult to do trip planning directly on the C-80, and the Raytech Planner program does not support the free electronic charts and is difficult to use.

Up to now, I have not found any way to get waypoint and routes created in CE into the C-80. I stumbled across this way on a cruising forum. It requires CE (or some other PC nav program that can export to the GPX file format), GPSBabel (a free download), Ratytech Planner (a free download) and a blank compact flash card. An overview of the steps: (1) create the waypoints / route in CE; (2) export from CE to a GPX format file; (3) convert the GPX file to a Raymarine Waypoints format file (file extension RWF) with GPSBabel; (4) import the RWF file into Raytech Planner; (5) export the waypoints / route to the file format required by the C-80 (file extension FHS); (6) copy the FHS file to the compact flash card; (7) import the FHS file from the compact flash card to the C-80. It is admittedly a workaround, but it is really easier to do than to describe, and really does not take a long time. The main limitation is in the RWF file, which has a limit of 50 waypoints. Here are the detailed directions (for any nav program, and using a C-70, but it all applies to CE and a C-80):


1. Save/Export from your nav program into one of the formats GPSBabel groks.
2. Fire up GPSBabelGUI
3. Select an appropriate input format
4. Select the file from step 1 as input file
5. Select an output format of Raymarine Waypoint File (.rwf)
6. The output file MUST be in the directory "C:\program files\Raymarine\Raymarine RayTech Navigator\Archive" but you can name it anything you want.
7. Check Waypoints and Routes boxes
8. Click "let's go"

OK, now we have to import this back into RayTech Navigator:

1. Start RayTech Navigator
2. Select File->Import/Export Routes And Waypoints
3. Select Import Routes and Waypoints
4. Select Import From File
5. Select Import From Raymarine Waypoint File
6. From the resulting list, select the file you saved in the previous section
7. Click OK

Don't forget to make it visible, as needed. OK, now we need to export this data back to the CF card:

1. Mount the card up on Windows
2. Select File->Import/Export Routes And Waypoints
3. Select Export Routes and Waypoints
4. Select Export To Removable Card
5. Select Export To C/E-Series or A65 CF Card
6. Select Export All Routes And Waypoints (or select the ones you want)
7. Select the appropriate device for your CF card reader
8. Click OK

Now for the final step of importing the data back onto the C-Series:

1. Insert the CF card into the C70
2. Hit DATA button
3. Push ARCHIVE AND TRANSFER softkey
4. Push RETRIEVE FROM CARD softkey
5. From SELECT LIST select WPT or RTE
6. Push RETRIEVE ALL softkey (or group if you want)
7. Repeat steps 5+6 for other SELECT types
8. You'll have to resolve any conflicts for data that already exists on the chartplotter (by overwriting, ignoring, or adding a dupe)
9. Have a cold drink
 
Golly Tybo, but think of all the environmental pollution we have reduced by giving up all those #2 Yellow Pencils for a:
1. Smart Phone
2 Ipad
3. Laptop
4. And a PC for back up...
5. Not too mention the MFD/sonar/radar/GPS

I just installed Coastal Explorer on a laptop 2 days ago... Supposedly it merges with Active Captain, but so far I have not found how to do that... I have active Captain running in a separate window...
 
I have CE 2009, you need CE 2011 to use with the ActiveCaptain database. I will need to upgrade soon. Usually you import the AC data into the nav program, should not be difficult.

Levitation":77rx0gpe said:
Golly Tybo, but think of all the environmental pollution we have reduced by giving up all those #2 Yellow Pencils for a:
1. Smart Phone
2 Ipad
3. Laptop
4. And a PC for back up...
5. Not too mention the MFD/sonar/radar/GPS

I just installed Coastal Explorer on a laptop 2 days ago... Supposedly it merges with Active Captain, but so far I have not found how to do that... I have active Captain running in a separate window...
Click to expand...
 
I tried getting routes from my iPad to the C80 and didn't have any success. The routes in .fsh format were on the CF card, but the C80 couldn't see them. I'll try again this summer.

The wifi route syncing between iOS devices and the new Raymarine gear looks really nice and convenient.
 
I think you need the lastest version, call up Rosepoint / Coastal Explorer's customer support they are awesome. They walked me through getting Active Captain intregated with Coastal Explorer. Their phone 425 605 0985 :thup
D.D.
 
The file name on the CF card must be archive.FHS, the C-80 won't recognize any other name. And it must actually be in the correct file format, just renaming a file in the wrong format to FHS would not work of course. I would think IF you got the routes out of the iPad (and this is the strange part, you can email the routes OUT but you cannot import them back IN to another iPad, as far as I can tell, if you can, I would love to know how), got the iPad files converted to RWF format (what GPS file format converter did you use?), imported the RWF files into Raytech Planner, and then exported to FHS from Raytech Planner, it should theoretically work fine.

I have just finished this morning getting my summer cruise routes into the C-80.
20dauntless":f9qf2wsg said:
I tried getting routes from my iPad to the C80 and didn't have any success. The routes in .fsh format were on the CF card, but the C80 couldn't see them. I'll try again this summer.

The wifi route syncing between iOS devices and the new Raymarine gear looks really nice and convenient.
Click to expand...
 
Pat, I followed these same directions using GPS Babel and Raytech Planner. What format is the CF card you are using? Are you using Windows 7?
 
Yes, Windows 7, but the CF card was probably formatted under XP, it dates back to 2005 or 2006.

20dauntless":1tjedvxt said:
Pat, I followed these same directions using GPS Babel and Raytech Planner. What format is the CF card you are using? Are you using Windows 7?
Click to expand...
 
I have enough problems with my quirky E-120 and non-intuitive menus so I am not going to mess with it's tiny brain.

Since I usually carry my laptop on long trips, I simply run CE with a cheap GPS puck as a back-up to the Garmin back-up and the paper charts, chart books, admiral's opinion and my eyeballs.

If I want to discover America I get on the ferry :-)

M
 
Hmmm...I'll mess around with this more when I'm back at the boat and hopefully I'll be able to get it working. Dealing with transferring routes on this Raymarine plotter has proven to be one of the most frustrating things on the boat. I don't know why they couldn't simply have used a standard format for routes and waypoints.

I primarily use iNavX on my iPad and I can import routes. Just email a .gpx file, click on the attachment in Mail, and then click open with iNavX. Not sure if other nav apps can do this.

Also, Raymarine has updated its entire line of chart plotters to have E7 like features, including WiFi route syncing.
http://www.panbo.com/archives/2012/01/w ... l_new.html
 
Yes, I should have specified that was talking about Navionics on the iPad. File formats and the ability to import/export is program-specific. I ought to see what Navionics can do. Have not tried iNavX.


20dauntless":zvx1f2az said:
I primarily use iNavX on my iPad and I can import routes. Just email a .gpx file, click on the attachment in Mail, and then click open with iNavX. Not sure if other nav apps can do this.

Also, Raymarine has updated its entire line of chart plotters to have E7 like features, including WiFi route syncing.
http://www.panbo.com/archives/2012/01/w ... l_new.html
Click to expand...
 
Pat,

I have relegated the C-80 to sonar duties as the primary, radar next, and backup chart plotter last. CE is running on a Dell tablet on a RAM mount at the helm with its 12V power supply hard wired to a switch. The same switch also controls the C-80 sonar module since it is separately powered from the C-80. No waypoint transfer required.
 
The Windows XP / Vista / 7 software Navonics NavPlanner 2 would make your life easier.

See : http://www.fugawi.com/web/products/navionics_navplanner2.htm

NavPlanner 2 understands the native .FSH file format of a Raymarine C80. So with that software, you would configure it just once to know you are using a Raymarine unit... then you would just go into the Waypoint or Route libraries of NavPlanner 2; click "Upload to GPS" to send data to a CF card later plugged into the C80. Or "Download from GPS" to grab data off such a CF card an import it into the NavPlanner 2's data libraries. Done, that's it. No converting to GPX necessary, even though the software happens to know GPX, Google Earth KML, and the data file formats for Lowrance, Garmin, Magellan, Northstar, Furuno, Geonav, others.

And the other huge thing is that the same Navionics card you use in your Raymarine C80 is perfectly readable / viewable in NavPlanner 2. So you'd be able to see the exact same chart and the data all on your PC screen.

Pat Anderson":135gewq5 said:
I love Coastal Explorer (a PC navigation program). I put Win 7 on my new Macbook Pro just so I could run CE. With the full set of NOAA and USACE electronic charts, it is awesome. Creating and editing waypoints and routes in CE is trivial.

I tolerate my C-80. The Navionics chart chips are the best cartography, but it is very difficult to do trip planning directly on the C-80, and the Raytech Planner program does not support the free electronic charts and is difficult to use.

Up to now, I have not found any way to get waypoint and routes created in CE into the C-80. I stumbled across this way on a cruising forum. ... (snip)
Click to expand...
 
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