IsatPhone Pro does data, XGate a must?
I briefly tested the IsatPhone Pro last summer, later we enjoyed the “independent study” war, and recently Inmarsat announced that the phone can now be used as a narrow bandwidth modem when attached via USB...
Yearly Archive: 2011
The Marine Installer’s Rant, what’s your favorite?
Admittedly, that vessel immediately makes me think of Reese Witherspoon’s moderately immortal line in the moderately famous 1996 black comedy Freeway
Simrad NSS, hand’s on #1
I’ve already written about the debut of Simrad NSS “touch sensible” MFDs, as well as some of what I learned about Navico in Spain, and today I’ll discuss some of what I saw during the on-water demos. I was especially curious as to how the NSS replaces the NSE’s super fast direct access keys. Actually, I don’t think it’s possible to swap screens faster, or easier, than those NSE dedicated Chart, Echo, Radar, etc. buttons, which get you last-layout-used with a quick press and a list of available layouts with long press. But the NSS comes fairly close…
Northwest Passage with Starpath, plus its nav rules app
Twenty-three days on a Russian ice breaker following Roald Amundsen’s 1903 route through the Northwest Passage? Hell, yes, especially with David Burch — navigator extraordinare, and founder of Starpath — riding along as tutor and guide to the vessel’s bridge. If I had the money and the time (heck, it took Amundsen three years), I’d seriously consider this opportunity. For one thing, the venerable Kapitan Khlebnikov is going back into government service, and this may be her last Passage passage. And for another, the high latitudes — where compasses, celestial navigation, and even many forms of modern communications all get dicey — are what nav-obsessed gents like Burch live for…
Ultimate open MFD, or Ethernet monstrosity?
The PopGuard MFD from ShenShau electronics — a Panbo exclusive, and not yet online — may be just the thing for those who desire an Ethernet
centric MFD, a seriously open architecture, and/or the ability to run
applications of your choice from any one of five different operating
systems including Android and iOS. It may also be just what your
looking for to extend your favorite iPhone or iPad application to a
sunlight viewable display, manage streaming audio to your cockpit
speakers, or play movies cached into 60GB of high speed solid
state storage…
Jeppesen C-Map app, Plan2Nav previewed
I only got a poor photograph in Miami when Jeppesen let us peek at the soon-to-come C-Map charting app for iPads, and so I’m tickled that they send over a selection of screen shots....
SevenSeasU, and my webinar debut
I’m really not looking for more work in my life, but I failed to resist an invitation from Seven Seas U to at least dip a toe into their online education program. I’m impressed with what SSU has created, as well as a few individual presentations I reviewed, and I’m also intrigued with “webinar” technology (even if the name grates). While it’s true that a few I’ve attended have been marred by connection, sound, and/or screen problems, it does seem like an efficient way to teach a subject and have some back-and-forth with the class, and SSU seems to have the tech part down. So tomorrow night at 8pm EDT I debut a webinar on modern marine radars, and you’re invited…
Edda Fjord, what a workboat
When we weren’t learning about Navico and NSS, Palma Harbor had sights aplenty. Like the 133m (437′) superyacht Al Mirqab, owned by an emir who purportedly rarely visits her. I’d love to hang around her bridge myself, but not nearly as much as that full-beam, glass-all-round beauty on the mighty Edda Fjord. I’d spotted her in Palma from my desk in Maine, thanks to Marine Traffic, and cajoled the Simrad demo boat to head over to the heavy duty end of the harbor for a look see. She’s called a Multipurpose Platform Supply Boat, or MSVP, and I have a strong affinity for the type because I got some of my first solid sea time on toddler-size supply boats (about 140-feet) in the early 70’s, way off New Orleans. And whereas a lot of Edda details are available, you too might fall for her…
Navico 2011, firing on all cylinders?
It was just coincidence that all the leather seating on this rather amazing Albatro 50 RIB was darn close to Simrad’s shade of red, but you had to wonder as Navico seemed to think of everything when it came to the launch of the Simrad NSS touch-screen MFD series in Palma, Spain. First there were detailed presentations on the state of Navico, where Simrad and NSS fit into the brand and product matrix, and just how the NSS was developed (which included lots of before and during usability testing). Then each of the nearly fifty magazine writers got four demo sessions aboard an appropriate selection of the ten highly varied yachts Simrad had rigged with NSS and selections of what has become a large family of NS display and system options. And throughout the two days we had all sorts of Navico/Simrad staff to ask questions of, and they all seemed to know the products well…
Simrad NSS series, touch sensible?
Say hello to Simrad’s new NSS Sport series of multifunction displays — the NSS7, NSS8, and NSS12 — which are making their global debut today. They seem to have all the capabilities of the NSE series (which they can network with) plus a built-in GPS and, in the case of 7- and 8-inch sizes, a built-in Broadband fishfinder as well, along with quite competitive price tags (suggested retail prices of $1,895, $2,845 and $3,995 respectively). But the key feature is an LED backlit touch screen that is nearly as bright (1200 nits) as the NSE’s (1500), and which Simrad has used to create a combination knob, button, and touch interface it’s calling “Touch Sensible”…
