FAQs

 

PPUs and Me

Won’t a PPU make my job more complicated?   

Our PPUs are extremely easy to use, and are designed to make your job easier. You get very accurate heading and positioning data right up until you dock. And you can predict the ship’s future position around the swept path of a turn - at intervals you choose and for as long as you need.  This gives you ample time to adjust your course to achieve the smoothest turns.

Isn’t this technology just going to replace me?

No.  PPUs are fantastically useful technology, but they are useless without an experienced operator.  In fact it is not recommended that PPUs be considered as anything more than a very useful navigation aid.  A pilot will always be needed.

They will, however, make your job less stressful and less risky, and make your service more efficient.

It will make me more expensive, won’t it?

Possibly, in the short term, if you are independent and have to purchase your own set.  However a good PPU lasts for up to six years, so you have plenty of time to recover the cost.  If you are in this situation, chances are you work in a competitive environment.  So think of it this way…  the increased safety and operating limits you can now offer will make you more attractive to customers.  It will give you a strong advantage in the marketplace.

And being found liable for an incident because you were not using available safety aids could be very costly indeed.

PPUs are not very reliable, are they?

Yes they are - or should be.  We have PPUs which have been in the field for three years without even being returned for service.  PPU technology is still less than 10 years old and very complex.  In the earlier years, they proved quite unreliable, but today they are built with better components, more robust technology and their designers have more experience.  Reliability and durability may vary between manufacturers, but the right PPU is a safe investment. 

Why shouldn’t I go with a local product?

We think our products are better!  We manufacture nothing but PPUs - and we spend all our time keeping ahead of the competition.  Our products will deliver what they promise and we take customer service very seriously.  Quite simply, we believe we can serve you best. 

Where possible, we employ local engineers and agents to support you and your equipment, thus returning some of the income to your community.

I'm not against PPUs, but I'm waiting until they're the size of a cellphone before I buy one.

If all you want is a rough position, you can buy one like that now.  But if you want full navigation and/or docking capability, with really good accuracy, you are going to be waiting awhile.  For a start, you cannot reduce the size of the antenna plate and get highly accurate data.  And if you want your PPU to last the distance,  the battery will always have to go somewhere. Thirdly, your PPU is only effective if your laptop screen is large enough for you to get a clear picture.

Having said that, you are safe to expect a reduction in size and weight in the future.  Just don't expect to be putting the whole thing in your pocket. 

 

Navicom PPUs

How can I know Qastor is the best software to use?

We have been closely involved in the evolution of Qastor and believe it is more capable and easier to use than any other software in most instances.  In many cases it is clearly better.  There are times when it may not be the best software for you, and if we feel that is the case, we will say so.

We can supply other software and are happy to integrate your current or favoured software with our products.

Your PPUs don’t offer the best accuracy on the market.  Why not?

The 20cm accuracy we offer is as much as you can use.  Centimetre accuracy comes at a great cost – in weight, complexity and price.  It is not a capability most customers need, or are prepared to pay for.  We cannot justify making PPUs which cost more than our customers need to pay.

Why don't you offer RTK?

Historically, we did not offer RTK because it was extremely expensive, not very robust, and heavier than DGPS positioning systems.  However we now offer a technology that is based on RTK, but offers several advantages.  It is just 18cm less accurate than RTK (30cm more accurate than DGPS), more robust and a lot less expensive.  It has DGPS as a backup, whereas RTK has just raw GPS as a backup.  Therefore even if the base station is lost, the pilot will be able to continue the berthing operation.  We believe this positioning concept, called Nav-Dif, is the best of both worlds. For more information, click here.

How do I know your customers are satisfied?

We have many references on our website and two double-sided A4 brochures listing our customers worldwide.  Click here to download.  We are also happy to put you in touch with customers whose situation is similar to yours.  We will ask them to answer your questions openly and honestly.

What if I want a PPU but can’t afford the purchase price?

Talk to us anyway.  We offer several options which may work for you, such as leasing, lease-to-own and second-hand units.

 

Myth Busting

I have been told your units do not offer real-time heading.  Is this true?

No!  We have heard this too. All our units offer real-time heading through the use of a high-quality integrated gyro - and always have done.

I hear that satellite systems are not being maintained and GPS reliability will degrade in the future.  Will that affect my DGPS PPU?

There is no truth to this rumour either.  Highly accurate GPS networks are an essential infrastructure in today's world and will always be maintained.  In fact they will get even better with the introduction of the new Galileo system.

Even if it were true, your RTK PPU would be affected as much as a DGPS unit.  RTK is still based on satellites, and if the quality of raw GPS data is reduced, so is the quality of your RTK solution.

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