The Marine Technology Hub
Victron recently answered two of the most common complaints about two of its most popular products. The Cerbo GX gets its third hardware generation, with a much faster processor for owners who have pushed the MK2 to its limits. The Orion XS hardware is unchanged, but a firmware update finally lets it charge in reverse, for now only to rescue a flat starter battery.
Despite a few mentions of Argo Nav’s capabilities, I have yet to write a full, hands-on review of Argo Nav’s mobile device navigation app. For the first several years Argo was around, founder Jeff Foulk didn’t feel the product was “ready” for a review. Now, as Argo has matured and Jeff is more confident in what it has to offer, my pokiness in getting a review out means I still haven’t completed a full Panbo review. Allow me to rectify that while also highlighting a new feature that is near and dear to my heart. In large part because of my time cruising the Intracoastal Waterway and its many shoaling hazards, I’m most excited about Argo’s addition of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey data overlays right on the chart.
Bringing cutting edge technology to boats is not always easy. In this case, I want to give Safiery the credit they deserve for helping pioneer new technology in our boat’s DC systems while also being honest about that new technology, what it delivers, and in some cases what room remains for improvement. Safiery is among the first companies offering solid state batteries to the recreational marine market. This new development in lithium ion batteries promises improved safety, performance, temperature tolerance, and longer life. Let’s take a look at how many of those promises are realized in these batteries.
Earlier this summer, Starlink changed rate plans and made tweaks to the rules around using their various roaming plans. For boaters who travel across international borders, the most substantive of the rule changes was the move from a limit of 60 days in another country or region down to 30 days. That change generated a lot of frustration for global cruisers who have been using Starlink’s services and came to depend on them. But, it looks like there is relief coming with a new rate plan for private boats.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to write about artificial intelligence’s role in home-built marine electronics for the better part of a year, and I still don’t have a clean answer. I’m going to write it anyway. Here’s what I’ve learned about what AI can actually do for you, where it falls down, and what happens when it doesn’t. The opportunity is real; you can finally build your instrumentation and navigation electronics exactly the way you want it. But so are the potential pitfalls. AI will happily put someone with limited knowledge deep in the bowels of their own navigation electronics. On a boat, that can get dangerous.
I sat down to write my initial review and findings of Safiery’s 48-volt, solid state lithium ion battery. But, before I get into the meat of the battery’s performance, I feel I need to dive into solid state lithium batteries in general as well as the differences among the products available in the marketplace today. So, what follows will be a primer on the technology in general and why we likely all care about the development of solid-state batteries. Following this entry, I’ll share my experience with Safiery’s battery.
It’s been more than a year since I last wrote about Starlink. You might assume that silence means nothing has changed. You’d be wrong. Maybe I’ve just run out of clichés for how the pace of change never slows with Starlink — but regardless, the changes keep coming, and they’re often frustrating for the nomadic subscribers who’ve come to rely on it for connectivity. Changes include new equipment, price hikes, international roaming tweaks, and new ID requirements.
Victron makes an impressive line of electrical products for boats, RVs and off-grid systems. They offer a similarly broad — and maybe even dizzying — array of connectivity options. But, despite those options, there is a big gap between a simple Victron setup with just a few devices connected to your cell phone via Bluetooth and a full-blown GX system with a Cerbo, Ekrano, or other control hardware. Digital Yacht aims to fill that void with the veLink, a Victron Bluetooth to NMEA 2000 converter.
Victron just announced the Nucleo GX, another option in the GX family of devices joining the Cerbo GX, Ekrano GX, and Venus GX. The Nucleo is positioned as a higher performing, lower cost option than the Cerbo GX. I’ll be honest, I sat down to write this entry thinking I was going to write about a great new option for marine use. My conversations with Victron representatives helped me better understand Nucleo GX and the market it serves. Spoiler alert: Nucleo will be best leveraged managing off-grid and battery backup systems, not systems on boats. The better news for boaters came from my conversations with Victron: a much more powerful Cerbo is coming this year.
Arco Marine introduced the Zeus Omega, a product family they are calling an Alternator Control System. Zeus Omega builds on the original Arco Zeus regulator while promising easier installations, greater scale, and operational improvements. In a call with Arco’s CEO Ben Stoddard and their head of engineering, Nick Ernst, Arco walked me through the benefits of Omega and how it incorporates many improvements Arco discovered through the original Zeus.
Radian IOT Delivers The Marine Industry’s First Conversational Intelligence Platform with the Debut of Radian 2.0 Enhanced with AI 
Metro Marine Lighting Introduces New Full-Spectrum Thru Hull Light Fixture to Bring Brilliant Color and Reliability Below the Waterline
Icom announces IC-M430 availability
See all essential data on a sleek, high-resolution color display with the intuitive GMI 40 from Garmin
Recent Panbo Comments