Newbie user with a few questions. I apologize in advance for the long post. There is a lot here, so thanks in advance for reading and any help is appreciated.
Setup - ASUS 13.3" laptop with touchscreen, i5 processor, 8GB ram, 256GB SSD; Windows 10; Expedition for C-Maps 4D v. 10.9.18; Maps are C-Maps NA-D024. I am planning on doing Transpac, along with some local (SoCal) races before then, so I want to get up to speed as soon as possible.
1. Should I download the latest version that works with the C-Maps 4D which appears to be 10.10.3?
2. I have Will Oxley's "Gentle Introduction" and have gone through the book. I know the basics of how to create marks and courses, get weather GRIBS and create optimal routes. Does his other book have much more than this one to make the purchase worthwhile? Subjective, I realize, but what else would I learn that isn't in the newer one?
I have tried to find answers to the questions below, but haven't seen them in the book or online here. I've watched a few of the North U videos on YouTube, but can't take the whole course for now.
3. Troubleshooting - 
    a. After loading a GRIB, the shading and barbs disappear when I zoom in. Is this normal or a glitch?
    b. After setting a route, the course and marks disappear when I zoom out or move the map around on the screen, depending on the magnification. 
    c, Depending on the magnification, the course disappears, as described above, but the route seems to stay on the screen. The weather shading disappears as well, but the wind barbs are still there. What is going on?
4. Instruments and Windows - On the boat, the computer is hooked into a Garmin NMEA 2000 network. However, I don't see AIS in the Instruments drop-down window on the left as Will shows in his book at Section 4.1.3. AIS seems to be working (I see the icons on the screen), but I don't see the drop-down AIS, SART and DSC window under Window (upper right), even though I checked the box. I presume this doesn't work at home since I'm not hooked into the AIS, but I thought at least a blank window would show up.
5.  Finally (for now), should I consider getting a different computer? As noted above, have a 13.3 " screen, but am thinking of getting a 15.6" screen. It's fast enough but a bigger screen might help. I have room on the boat, so that's not an issue. Here at home, After using it for a bit, 13" seems too small to really see what I am doing. I'm thinking of getting a Samsung that folds into a tablet, if anyone has seen one of those.
Thanks all.

 

Last edited by TomD (3/05/2019 12:51 am)