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If your boat is already equipped with Raymarine tools or you are thinking of buying them, this news will you make happy. There is a new version of Lightouse R17 operating system. Among its new functions, GRIBweather brings a global weather forecast map, up to seven days, to your display.
In particular, the map will display the most useful weather data for your navigation: wind speed and direction, high/direction/period of waves, air pressure, rain, air and water temperature, combined data of wind speed and wave direction/height and combined data related to wind, pressure and rain.
GRIBweather doesn’t require any specific skills or knowledge because it is user-friendly and easy-to-use.
At the top of the screen, specific icons give access to different data, while, at the bottom, the horizontal bar shows the current day and hour and the vertical one, on the left, shows the key to intepret the data.
You can even view a graphic animation of the weather forecast for the following 7 days or scroll the forecast day by day, hour by hour manually. By clicking on a point of the weather map, you access the graphics which represent the specific data trend for the next 7 days.
On the map, you can view all the GRIB files you prefer (GRIB1 format, “.grb” extension). Lots of free GRIB files are available on the web; you only need to download them on a MicroSD card and import them manually on the multi-function display.
As an alternative, you can benefit from the agreement between Raymarine and Theyr weather service and take out a subscription at 14.99 $/month or 99.99 $/year; in this case, once your display is connected to Wi-Fi, you only have to click on the icon you desire and the system shall download the required data immediately. You can trial the service for 30 days, free, by connecting your display to a Wi-Fi network and entering your e-mail address.
How to install the new Lightouse R17
Lightouse R17 is compatible with modern Raymarine devices – a-series(a6/a7/a9/a12), c-series (c9/c12), e-series (e7/e9/e12/e16), eS-series (eS7/eS9/eS12),gS-series (gS9/gS12/gS16/gs19).
Its installation is very simple. Download it free from Raymarine website, Assistance -> Software Updates section and select “aSeries, cSeries, eSeries, eS Series, gS Series Multifunction Display”. You will download a zip file containing 26 sub-files. Extract and copy them on a MicroSd card ( not in a subfolder but in the card root). Once the card is ready, put it in the display and wait until the update is finished. If you have already installed Lighthouse R15 or R16, you can do the update by connecting your display to a Wi-fi network. When the update is completed, add the new App to the home screen of your display: Custom -> Home -> Change or Replace Page -> Select GRIBweather App.
