OceanLines » marine electronics

Mac User Looking for Better WiFi on the Boat?

Editor — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:09:48 +0000

RogueWave WiFi Antenna and Network Bridge

My fellow Write on The Water blogger, Christine Kling, has another fabulous tech piece on the blog today about a WiFi solution for her boat. Christine is a successful published author (I LOVE her Seychelle Sullivan mystery series), and she did a great piece for us here on using your iPad onboard the boat.

Christine settled on the RogueWave WiFi unit, which met her needs for a simple, plug-n-play installation and setup. Her comment was, “The set up of my new antenna and router could not have been simpler. Plug and play really is an exact description of how it works.”

Have a look at the full piece over at WOTW and let us know if you have some other good wireless solutions for the boat.

Simrad Yachting Launches Broadband 3G Radar

Editor — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:57:16 +0000

Simrad Yachting's New Broadband 3G Radar

Simrad Yachting this week announced a significant upgrade to its “”broadband” radar capability with the “Broadband 3G Radar,” which increases the range of its not-so-old BR24 Broadband Radar. I wrote about the BR24 when it was demonstrated at the Miami show last year and decided it was the real deal for short-range, high-definition radar detection. At the time I thought it would make the perfect second radar unit for a typical trawler owner, who would probably have a high-power, open-array unit for long-range detection and surveillance.

Simrad's New 3G at Left, and BR24 at Right

As you can see in the photo above, at a 6 NM range, the new Broadband 3G has much better detection but appears to maintain the same level of high-definition target discrimination, compared side-by-side with the “old” BR24. Although the folks who develop and program this technology really could be rocket scientists, the latest improvements derive mostly from a doubled RF transmit power. You might recall that one of the really nice features of the BR24 was its incredibly low RF output, which meant that antenna placement wasn’t really critical anymore in terms of radiation safety. Well, upping the power by a factor of two for the Broadband 3G really doesn’t change that; it’s still less than 1/10th the energy of a mobile phone, and 1/20,000th the energy of a traditional pulse radar.

Another really cool feature of this FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) radar is it’s incredible near-field detection capability. Objects as close as 2 meters can be detected and displayed. Ben Ellison noted that a demonstration unit he saw at a Navico press event last month clearly displayed someone walking toward the bow of the boat he was on.

Simrad Yachting says the unit will have a suggested retail price of $1,699 when it is available in June from authorized dealers and distributors in the United States and Canada. And here is a copy of the press release issued this week.

Simrad Yachting Launches New Touch-Screen MF Displays

Editor — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:46:09 +0000

Simrad NSS Sport Family Displays

Simrad Yachting last week announced a new series of touch-screen multifunction displays — the NSS Sport Series. Available in 7-inch, 8-inch, and 12-inch models, the NSS Sport units feature LED backlighting and allow the user to control the display with the touchscreen, keypad and/or the “Simrad Yachting-signature” rotary control knob.

My friend Ben Ellison at Panbo was one of a special group of marine journalists invited to the product unveiling in Palma, Spain, last week and he’s got lots of details and thoughts on the overall Navico product strategy. I haven’t had a chance yet to test the new MFDs but when I do I’ll report here on them. In the meantime, here are some of the details from the Simrad Yachting press release:

The Simrad NSS Sport range features high-brightness (1200 NIT) bonded LED displays in 6.4-inch (VGA), 8-inch (SVGA) and 12-inch (XGA) diagonal screen sizes. All support NMEA 2000®, SimNet and composite video input. The NSS series uses little power and is designed for use in 12 and 24V DC power systems. The system has an operating temperature range of 5 degrees to 131 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees to 55 degrees Celsius); like the NSE and NSO multifunction displays, the NSS Sport is waterproof to the IPx7 standard, and protected by a two-year limited parts and labor warranty. The new Simrad NSS Sport is also covered by Simrad Yachting’s 24-hour exchange program. In the unlikely event that the device is identified as defective within the first year of warranty, Simrad Yachting will ensure shipment of a replacement device within 24 hours.

The Simrad NSS7, NSS8 and NSS12 have suggested retail prices of $1,895, $2,845 and $3,995 US, respectively, and can be purchased from authorized Simrad Yachting dealers and distributors throughout the United States and Canada. For more information on the Simrad NSS Sport touch-screen navigation system, or the entire line of Simrad Yachting professional-grade marine electronics, contact 800-628-4487 (toll-free) in the USA or visit www.simrad-yachting.com.

Maybe You Don’t Need 3G on Your iPad 2?

Editor — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:14:25 +0000

iPad 2 3G Version -- Photo: Verizon Wireless

Brian Chen, at Wired, has a piece today that suggests a clever way to avoid having to pay the extra money for a 3G version of the iPad 2 just to get GPS and phone data network capability. The solution basically involves using your current Smartphone as a wireless hotspot.

Here’s an excerpt of his piece:

GPS transplant

The Wi-Fi iPad doesn’t have built-in GPS, but if you want to use that beautiful Maps app for navigation, you still don’t need a 3G iPad, so long as you have an iPhone. It turns out that if you hotspot with an iPhone, the connection transfers the GPS to the iPad.

Just connect the iPad to the iPhone’s hotspot, then launch the Maps app, and you’ll see the blue dot tracking your location.

(We’re not sure if this works when hotspotting with an Android phone — if you can confirm, let us know in the comments.)

For the complete article, visit the Wired article here.

There are some questions still. For example, if the GPS data is being imported by the tethered iPad, can it be used by other nav programs instead of the Maps app? I’m betting so, but I need to hear from somebody with the gear who is willing to experiment with it. My best sources for iPad info are Jeff Siegel at ActiveCaptain, Christine Kling at Write on the Water (an amazing writer/sailor/geek), and my friend Ben Ellison at Panbo.

Routes Function in ActiveCaptain Will Change the Game

Editor — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:06:54 +0000

Screen Capture of New ActiveCaptain Routes Editing Function

I know that’s a bold statement, but when I can have access to a library that will eventually likely hold many thousands of already planned (by me AND other boaters) routes, and then someday soon use those routes with more ActiveCaptain technology to tell me what’s up ahead, I will be in a different place than I am today with my capable but largely uncooperative navigation technology. I’ve been talking to Jeff Siegel, who, with his wife Karen Siegel, is the developer of ActiveCaptain, and it’s clear to me that the live database technology of this website has reached a major new milestone. The fact that many navigation software programs will update their ActiveCaptain integration with a live Internet link is valuable itself, but the new Routes function within ActiveCaptain is going take us much farther.

Let me back up a bit. On April 1, ActiveCaptain will roll out a new Routes capability to the ActiveCaptain experience that will allow you to upload, modify, save and share (sharing will start in May), GPX-formatted routes. Virtually all computer-based navigation software can export a route in this format, and although few chartplotters are also capable, you can use software such as GPSBabel and GPS Utility to translate your equipment’s native file format to GPX.

Screen Capture Showing GPX File Upload to New ActiveCaptain Routes Function

The routes will all be shared with the community — after all, what’s there to hide; your route to the floating Hooters? That means that, within a short time, given the 100,000 active users currently on ActiveCaptain, there will be routes for many, if not most, of your typical trips; or at least for some part of them — like entering and leaving ports and harbors.

There are a number of significant advantages to this. First, you will have yet another good way to back-up all your own meticulously planned routes. If a belt AND suspenders are considered redundant, then you can add the elastic waistband to the mix and have yet another way to keep your trousers up. (wow, the analogies just don’t flow some days…).

A second advantage derives from the fact that other key components of the ActiveCaptain database — that IS what ActiveCaptain is; a gigantic community database of navigational information (a Wiki-Nav?) — can tell you how good that route is for your situation. For example, you can factor in your refueling requirements with up-to-date pricing info. You can take into account the latest info on local hazards reported by other captains.

In fact, there is more technology coming from ActiveCaptain that will make the underway integration of all this planning capability even more impressive.

I Think I Want This on My Flybridge

Editor — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 19:47:23 +0000

Nauticomp Tank Test of New LED LCD Panels

Yeah, I know this photo is from a press release. But maybe it’s not just a cute demonstration. Maybe it’s actually an effective way to prove a marketing claim of dust- and waterproof capabilities. Nauticomp says it tests its marine LED-lit LCD displays to an IP67 ingress protection standard. The ’6′ in that designation indicates that the unit is completely protected from dust ingress, and the ’7′ means that the unit is submersible to a depth of a meter for one minute.

I do not expect my flybridge to be submerged to a depth of one meter for ANY AMOUNT OF TIME. But it is entirely possible, even highly likely that it will be in a downpour every now and then, so this isn’t just frivolous gilding of the lilly. (I wonder what the IP rating for a U.S. Navy sub is?? A thousand meters for an infinite period? Or maybe until they run out of hamburgers in the galley? Probably classified, right?)

According to Nauticomp President Ryan Moore,

“Internally-sealed welds on the all-aluminum housings ensure that the display casings are watertight. All cables and external connections to Nauticomp marine displays are manufactured to an IP68 rating and the second number – 8 – signifies that they are submersible to three meters for an infinite period of time.

During the display assembly process, a silicon sealant is applied at display and back case opening to ensure water tightness on the completed unit. Nauticomp displays also feature Bonded glass, which does not “fog” up when there is a significant change in temperatures. In addition, power supplies to Nauticomp displays are external – to keep the units cool and provide added safety in the event of a power surge.”

We recently wrote about the company’s new Genesis line of monitors. Nauticomp has some videos available for those who suspect a still image. If you’re going to the Miami Boat Show, you can see both the waterproof demonstration and the new monitors in-person at Booth 1676 in the Electronics Room (Miami Beach Convention Center).

What Would YOU Do With this Nordhavn 63 Helm?

Editor — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:52:38 +0000

The folks at Pacific Asian Enterprises just recently unloaded N63-01 from its freighter in Miami and brought it up to the Stuart completion center. It’s a beautiful boat; an evolution of the N55/60 hull with the aft pilothouse and overall look of the venerable N62 (but not quite the beam of that boat). In looking at the pictures P.A.E. posted on the Nordhavn brand website, I was drooling over the huge blank canvas of a dash in front of the helm and, naturally, I began to fantasize about what I would do if it was mine to outfit.

Helm of New Nordhavn 63-01 Before Electronics Installation. Photo courtesy of P.A.E.

Take a look at the photo above and imagine your favorite marine electronics installed in that non-glare acreage. It occurred to me that you could put a 32″ HDTV in that slot and use the latest Picture-in-Picture (PIP) controls to split the screen with whatever secondary input you want. On the other hand, one large screen like that means a single-point failure is going to be more of a pain in the rear. So, typical design philosophy says we should split that area into two large displays.

Wide View of the Pilothouse Aboard the New Nordhavn 63

I know I would prefer a black-box solution, with the displays fully customizable and redundant. If you really want to go the full belt and suspenders route, you could probably put a multifunction chartplotter/display on the far left side of the dash. In fact, since most owners of yachts this size will have two radars aboard, you could run the secondary radar as part of the chartplotter setup and use the primary radar on the main displays via black-box processor.

Salon Looking Forward Aboard New Nordhavn 63-01

I’d love to hear your own thoughts and ideas in the comments.

Galley Aboard the New Nordhavn 63-01

In the other photos in this piece, all courtesy of PAE, you can see there is quite a bit of room to spread out and relax in this pilothouse, as well as a beautiful salon and galley below. Delivery of N63-01 is set for a couple of months from now. We did a piece a while back on an interesting design feature of the hull of this Nordhavn here on OceanLines.

Ranger Tugs, Cutwater Buyers Can Get Garmin Factory-Installed

Editor — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:07:18 +0000

Ranger Tugs 25SC Helm Featuring Garmin Electronics

Fluid Motion, the company that builds Ranger Tugs and the new Cutwater fast pilothouse boats said this week it has a deal with Garmin to provide that company’s marine electronics as factory-installed packages on both lines of boats. Of course, if you don’t want Garmin gear, you can certainly order your boat without but I think there are some good reasons to consider going with the factory deal.

Garmin has been the up-and-comer in marine electronics over the past several years. Interestingly, they’ve owned the general aviation market for navigation and flight displays for many years and when they decided to get into marine electronics they brought some innovative stuff to the market, including the touchscreen. In fact, here at OceanLines, we did a series on the hypothetical outfitting of a new Kadey-Krogen 55′ Expedition with a full suite of electronics and the package Garmin submitted was, arguable, the most compelling of all the manufacturers.

The packages that Ranger Tugs and Cutwater will be offering may or may not be as cheap as you can buy and install on your own (okay, they probably won’t be…), but you’ll be getting a package fully tested in your boat and, hopefully, well integrated into the specific systems on your boat.

At next week’s Seattle Boat Show, for example, you will be able to see the brand new Cutwater 26 and 28 outfitted with Garmin’s GPSMAP 5212, along with the GMR 18HD radar, GSD 22 digital sonar, GXM 51 XM satellite weather/audio antenna and VHF 200 radio. That’s a nice 12-inch touchscreen display, with a great radar, sounder and live weather overlay capability. And that radio can be augmented with up to 3 wireless, full-function handsets, so you could put an extra one in the cockpit.

And on the subject of system integration, all boats in both lines, except for the Ranger Tugs 21EC, can accept the Garmin GHP 10 autopilot, which features what the company calls “Shadow Drive” technology that automatically disengages the autopilot if the helm is turned, a nice feature I wish I’d had on my Robertson AP.

On the Ranger Tugs line, there are also options for the GPSMAP5215, a 15-inch touchscreen, the GPSMAP 740 and the AIS 600. If you do any extensive cruising in your Ranger Tug, an AIS unit is an important piece of safety gear. Yes, I know, commercial craft are often filtering Class B AIS transponder traffic, but you can still see them and if you’re doing what you should be as far as watchstanding, that’s better than neither of you seeing each other. Read the final word on this at Ben Ellison’s PANBO.

Looking for New Helm Displays? Nauticomp’s Genesis Might be Right

Editor — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 21:12:26 +0000

Genesis Series of LED-LCD Displays from Nauticomp

Nauticomp, the Ontario, Canada-based electronics manufacturer, is showing its new Genesis line of 15″ and 19″ sunlight-readable displays at the boat show circuit and if you’re in the market for new displays, they just might be the right solution. Marine display technology is gradually catching up to land-based consumer displays and these two Genesis units are LED-backlit, which means much better contrast and significantly lower power requirements — both good features on a boat.

Nauticomp first revealed these publicly at the 2010 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show and from what I’ve seen, they’re technically among the best displays available. There’s even one feature on the 15″ model that I can particularly appreciate, and that’s the ability to handle higher-than-normal temperatures and maintain the display integrity. I had an older Northstar display that would frequently overheat on my flybridge because of sunlight and high ambient temperatures. The key symptom is a screen that quickly fades to black and the only cure was to wait for it to cool down. I’m not disparaging the Northstar unit, because for all I know the installation may not have been ideal for that unit; but the problem was real. The 15″ Genesis model from Nauticomp can handle ambient temps up to 158°F (70°C), which is almost 20°F higher than most displays (and even the 19″ Genesis).

The Genesis models are also waterproof to the NEMA 6/IP67 standard, which means (I looked it up) that there will be NO dust ingress to the unit and that it can withstand 30 minutes of water pressure equivalent to a 1 meter depth. My flybridge rarely got that wet.

You can download the Tech Data Sheet for the 15″ Genesis here, and the 19″ Genesis here.

The one area marine electronics — and displays in particular — have not caught up to consumer standards in is price. You’re still going to have to ante-up for these capable units. MSRP for the 15″ Genesis is $4,120 and the 19″ Genesis lists for $5,470. Of course, since you will be buying these from a qualified marine electronics dealer, I’m guessing that there is a bit of negotiating/listing room in that price. You’re also going to get the well-regarded Nauticomp service and support, though, so you’re not gonna have to worry about getting a consumer-reject lemon.

You can see the Genesis displays at the upcoming Seattle and Miami boat shows.

Navimatics Charts & Tides App Now Lets iPad, iPhone Update ActiveCaptain Data

Editor — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 17:08:27 +0000

Image of the Navimatics Charts & Tides App Via Navimatics Website

Apple has just approved the latest update of the Navimatics Charts & Tides app so that iPhone and iPad users can update ActiveCaptain data from their devices. The update allows markets to be edited and reviews and comments to be added. The single license works on both an iPHone and IPad at the same time, so there’s no need to buy it twice. ActiveCaptain said this week that if you currently own Charts & Tides, it’s a free update with all new and current charts. The big plus here is that you can update that relocated market you just discovered immediately, as long as you’re within 3G range. Could even be a safety enhancement if you get that marker updated quickly enough that nobody else misses it.

ActiveCaptain said that Navimatics is the first developer to release an updated product with support for ActiveCaptain’s update APIs, but that other companies will be doing so with their software as well.

Our recent guest author, Christine Kling, wrote about using Navimatics Charts & Tides on her iPad in this piece.