Conference vicki::boats

    Hi Paul!
    
    What is it you would like to know?  I purchased a 6600 last year
    and used it between Marblehead and Buzzards Bay.  I stored 30 waypoints
    between these two locations.  The graphics help a great deal.  For
    example, with the plot, I can now pass between Mrblhd Neck and
    Mrblhd Rock in a fog.  You must purchase the chip for the area you
    cruise in, however.  I have one that covers Cape Ann to Marshfield,
    and another that covers from Marshfield (with overlap) through the
    Cape Cod Canal.  You cannot rely on the graphics alone, though.
    Anywhere close to land, there is an error that you must understand.
    However, this is true whether you have the plot function or only
    TD's.

Re: .1

You mentioned that you have two chips. Are they both installed all the
time, and you select the one you want from the keyboard? I've never been
able to figure out from the ads (or from salesman who last week were
selling vacuum cleaners) if you can do that. If you can have multiple
chips installed, that would be terrific for someone like me who trailers
their boat to spots from Maine to RI.

But if I have to open it up to swap chips, it cools me off.

Art

    Re: .2
    
    Each chip is installed separately.  There are chips for almost every
    major boating area. For example, if you trailored to Boston, plug
    in the "Mass Bay".  If you then trailer to R.I., replace the chip
    with the R.I. Area chip before you launch.  The switch is easy.
    There is a rubber waterproofing cap (about 1 inch by 2 inches) on
    the back of the unit.  Pull it off, remove the chip, insert the
    other, replace the rubber cap and you are in business.  For example,
    I am going to bring my son's boat up from Baltimore in June.  I
    will simply bring the unit and pick up the appropriate chips ahead
    of time, and plug them in as appropriate.  They aren't cheap, however!!
    If you do not have a chip for a given area, you can use the 6600
    just like the other Apelcos or Raytheon units.  The 6600 has 100
    waypoints and more capability than I have been able to use, so far. 

    Thanks for the reply.

    I was  curious about overall comments though two come to mind
    in  particular.   First  that  rubber  cap didn't look overly
    weatherproof  and  since the electronic components were right
    there  it  was a concern.  Also the route sequencing can only
    be  done  from  sequential way points.  Do you copy waypoints
    around  to  get them sequential or do you set up the trips in
    sequential  waypoints.  This would seem to use alot of points
    redundantly.   For  example, I boat in the Vineyard sound and
    coming in to Waquoit, we go to the same buoys.  We would need
    to   enter  these  points  for  each  trip  or  reserve  some
    waypoints,  say  0  - 15 for trips and then copy the infor to
    these points from points 16-99 for each trip.

    Also the  manual  suggested  that  you  could store up to 500
    markers  on  the graphics display, though lat and lon weren't
    stored  and  you couldn't enter them as waypoints - they were
    for  display  purposes  only (such as wrecks, buoys, etc.) Do
    you use this feature?

    re. 270.4
    Since I work my loran from the aft end of a (often very wet)
    sailboat,I  use  a relatively heavy clear plastic "baggie" over the
    loran unit to keep off salt spray, etc.  The Apelco isn't waterproof
    and I don't want to see how much water it might take!
    Re. waypoints: I have set up the first 10 or so waypoints for leaving
    home base.  Then, whether going North or South (from Marblehead),
    I can set in whatever batch of waypoints I plan to use. I normally
    do not go from loran waypoint to waypoint except when entering a
    harbor or critical land area.  However, if something should change
    (like a fog drop in) they are already set in. So, I call up a few
    points, say, off Scituate, a few off Plymouth, etc.  Otherwise,
    I feel that I would spend the whole trip playing with electronics!
    Regarding the markers, I only used a couple, so far, to designate
    locations that have some critical impact on the trip. So, I must
    say that I haven't really used them, as yet.