It has been reported at www.panbo.com that NOAA will soon release all raster charts to the public on their web site including weekly NTM updates. This is partly as a result of the now expired CRADA agreement that kept these charts out of the public domain. Although nothing official has been released by NOAA, I did receive the response attached below from the OCS, the office that controls the raster data. This is an exciting development for all users of chart data. It certainly should bring down the price of this type of data while increasing the safety of the data by providing continual graphic notice-to-mariners updates. Can you imagine having an electronic navigation system where your oldest chart is a week old? [Yes, I know that some of the map data is from surveys done many years ago.] In addition to the email response provided below, I talked to a director of OCS this morning who told me that they anticipated having the chart server operational by October 1, 2005. It is their goal to have it working "certainly by the end of the year." I would expect to see many more systems being developed for these raster charts. It would be very nice if other governments followed this example and made their existing data available in the same way. ...Jeff ================ Jeffrey Siegel M/V aCappella DeFever 53PH W1ACA/WDB4350 Castine, Maine > Mr. Siegel, > > The Office of Coast Survey does intends to distribute raster > charts and updates for free over the Internet in the same > manner that they distribute Electronic Navigational Charts > (see http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/MCD/enc/index.htm). In > addition, Coast Survey does anticipates establishing a > program by which commercial, value-added providers may > download the raster charts for free, reformat, encrypt, > and/or packaged them with additional data or services; and > sell that product for whatever price the market will bear. > By adhering to a simple set of NOAA specified practices, > these RNCs will retain their official status. > > However, no date has been set by which this distribution of > free raster charts will begin, and by which the value-added > re-distributor program will be in place. > > > Thank you for your interest in NOAA's Nautical Chart Products. > We appreciate you taking the time to bring this matter to our > attention.