Panbo

The Marine Electronics Hub

Yearly Archive: 2010

Antenna watch, Furuno gets the big guys 5

Uncategorized

Antenna watch, Furuno gets the big guys

Keewaydin_cPanbo.jpg

I’m always checking out antenna farms and when I just reviewed shots from the last couple of weeks, it was hard not to notice how Furuno dominated on the big boat end.  Like the 108′ Keewaydin above, sitting in Seal Harbor on Mount Desert Island (the polar opposite of Jonesport, incidentally).  There are good photos of the Keewaydin crossing the Atlantic at this blog.  If you click on the image above you’ll get enough detail that maybe someone can figure out what all those other mizzen and spreader gadgets are?

Never buy another guide book? No way! 42

Navigation

Never buy another guide book? No way!

Jonesport_AC_illustration.jpg

Jeffrey Siegel caused a minor ruckus when he titled an iphonesailing.net thread about ActiveCaptain “There’s no reason to buy another guide book…”  I’m a huge fan of AC, and I’ve watched Jeff’s bold predictions come true one after another, but in this case I’d like to think he was just trying to provoke a constructive argument.  I don’t think AC or any other source of cruising info will ever do a complete job, and my goal is have as many sources as possible on tap.  The little harbor I sit in right now is an excellent example…

SiMON2, for iPad & “smaller” yachts 12

Wireless & Apps / Handheld

SiMON2, for iPad & “smaller” yachts

SiMON2_engine_screen.jpg

The press release calls SiMON2 “the first alarm monitoring system for the new Apple iPad,” which seems odd given what we’ve already seen from InteliSea.  I think what Palladium Technologies was trying to say is that SiMON2 is the first such app designed exclusively for the iPad.  It is not just an extension of a full bore PC-based megayacht system, like iSiMON or InteliSea, but rather a new iPad-centered monitoring system designed for “smaller” yachts…

Wilson cell booster testing, on Sun Dancer 50

Wireless & Apps / Communications

Wilson cell booster testing, on Sun Dancer

Wilson amp install.jpg

Panbo reader Pat Harmon is cruising Alaska aboard M/V Sun Dancer and he kindly agreed to write about some gear, seen above, that’s helping him stay in touch:

I recently installed a cell phone booster on my 43′ North Pacific trawler, and although I am not an expert, my hands-on experience may be helpful to my fellow boaters. I am computer literate and had Navy electronics training back in the 60’s…

Gizmo bridge 2010, a shout out to Garmin ID 6

The Trade

Gizmo bridge 2010, a shout out to Garmin ID

Gizmo_flying_bridge_2010.JPG

While a Panbo logo is still a work in progress, check out the sharp name plate Gizmo is sporting thanks to Garmin’s industrial design department.  Gander too at how much electronic goodness I managed to squeeze onto the boat’s latest flying bridge dash, and note that a wider view would also show a Furuno MFD12 and a Raymarine E140 Wide with room for more!  It’s quite the testing platform and you’ll be seeing lots of pictures and screen shots taken here, but today let’s tour that amazing design shop in Kansas…

Genasun & Victron, power to spare? 26

Electrical & Engines

Genasun & Victron, power to spare?

GenaSUN_onboard_Huckins_cPanbo.jpg

That’s a pair of Genasun LFP Lithium batteries that weigh a small fraction of what similar sized regular marine batteries would and offer a lot more usable power than even their 760 amp hour rating would indicate, because they can endure truly deep discharges and accept massive recharges.  Combine these with no less than four Victron MultiPlus inverter/chargers, which can automatically kick in extra AC when shore power or the generator can’t carry the load, and you’ve got power to spare.  Yes, this is a high end project, but note the gray diagonal planking seen behind the lithium batteries…

DY AIS200N2K, even better than it looks! 3

AIS

DY AIS200N2K, even better than it looks!

Digital_Yacht_AIS200_n2k.jpg

The picture tells a lot: Digital Yacht’s new AIS200N2K is the first AIS receiver I know of with NMEA 0183, NMEA 2000, and USB outputs. But get this: it can also multiplex 0183 input and gateway it to N2K, “so that traditional data such as depth,
position, speed and wind, which is available in NMEA 0183 format, can be converted
to N2K within the unit.”  All for $519!  The press release doesn’t say what’s coming out of the USB port, but I suspect it’s 0183 with a mix of AIS target data and 0183 inputs.  Maybe someone from Digital Yacht or its US and EU retail arm Cactus Marine can elaborate in comments, because I may lose my Internet connection any moment now…

Good gear: Gemini Marine, the strapless bimini & more 6

Good Gear (non electronic)

Good gear: Gemini Marine, the strapless bimini & more

May_Bimini2_courtesy_Gemini_Marine.jpg

Did “strapless bimini” get your attention?  Well, it does involve some sexy hardware, and the finished strapless product, as seen on this local sloop, has a certain elegant attraction.  The trick is that those 1″ strut tubes seen under the port and starboard edges of the canvas each contains an internal hinge that lets the whole deal fold aft, but they also have a 10″ section of 1 1/8″ tube that slides and locks over the hinge, rendering them rock stiff.  (But maybe enough with the double entendres?)  I have not tried this hardware myself, yet, but have been watching the manufacturer, Gemini Marine Products, perfecting it for years…

Si-Tex SP36 autopilot, like ComNav’s but different 10

Navigation

Si-Tex SP36 autopilot, like ComNav’s but different

Si-Tex_SP36.JPG

My first reaction to a press release about the new Si-Tex SP36 autopilot — sure to be posted at the Si-Tex site soon — was that its nifty-looking color control head above looks exactly like one ComNav has offered for a while.   Not that rebranding the ComNav gear, which has a good reputation (I think), is a bad thing.  But what’s actually going on here is that Si-Tex has contracted ComNav to manufacture an autopilot to its own specifications, and at least one difference looks like a smart idea to me…