NKE NavXP chartplotter first look: NKE’s first chartplotter

Toby Hodges

Although French brand, NKE's electronics have seen widespread adoption in the racing world, the NKE NavXP is the brand's first chartplotter

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NKE NavXP chartplotter first look: NKE’s first chartplotter
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NKE’s electronics have never gained much traction in the English speaking world, even though they’re almost a default choice for offshore racing and performance cruising yachts in France. Part of this may be down to the ways in which the system is different to what the rest of us have become accustomed to using.

For instance, it doesn’t rely on the near ubiquitous NMEA 0183 and 2000 protocols with their long text sentences – though these are supported. Instead, it uses a compact compressed binary eight-character hexadecimal system, which makes for very fast data transfer while minimising congestion on the network.

And although NKE’s Multifunction and Multigraphic displays are very powerful and quickly become intuitive, until now the company has not offered a chartplotter.

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The future of chartplotters

Multifunction displays for navigation, instrument data, radar, AIS, and even watching Netflix, continue to evolve, especially at the high end…

That changed with the recent launch of the NKE NavXP. It’s intended as a simple, efficient and intuitive interface. Updates are carried out automatically upon network connection, with the idea this minimises the need for user input and system maintenance and the knowledge that charts should be bang up to date.

The NKE NavXP is available in 10, 12, 16 and 24in versions, with the latter offering 1920×1080 HD resolution. All are compatible with Navionics+ and Navionics Platinum charts, including detailed user-generated sonar data.

There’s also an optional interface for Raymarine radar, while NMEA2000 compatibility gives access to all instrument data. Connectivity includes an internal 4G modem, plus built-in WLAN that enables the 4G signal to be shared with other devices (useful when roaming if either a low-cost local SIM, or an international SIM is used) as well as allowing connection to a marina wifi network.

Price: €3,000-€12,000.
From: nke-marine-electronics.fr

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