Panbo

The Marine Electronics Hub

Monthly Archive: March 2021

27

LiFePO4 / Electrical & Engines / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K / Monitoring & Tracking

Upgrading our house battery system, part 2; life is better with lithium

In part one of this series, I explained our motivations for upgrading to a lithium house battery bank, my choice of all Mastervolt components, and the pleasing results of early testing. Now let’s talk about what makes lithium different and what you need to consider if you too plan an upgrade. Active battery monitoring and control are critical to protecting other power components, for instance, and there are other important install details. Plus, I’ve got more real-world testing results to share.

1

Press Releases / Network & control / Communications

KVH Introduces High Performance, Easy-to-install TracPhone V30 Marine VSAT Antenna for Affordable Internet at Sea

KVH Industries, Inc., today introduces the TracPhone V30, an ultra-compact Ku-band VSAT antenna designed to deliver data speeds as fast as 6 Mbps down/2 Mbps up for leisure and commercial boats wanting to experience the benefits of Internet at sea. Measuring just 37 cm (14.5 inches) diameter and weighing 10.6 kg (23.4 lbs), the TracPhone V30 is designed to provide ease of installation and retrofit with a single power-data coax cable, versus multiple cables, and to utilize DC power, a plus for small boats with a limited power supply.

32

LiFePO4 / Editors' Blog / Electrical & Engines

Lithium battery math, better than you may think

There’s a lot of talk about installing lithium batteries in boats, but the enthusiasm often comes to a crashing halt when boat owner hears the cost. I’ve just installed a Mastervolt lithium system in Have Another Day and I’m over the price shock. But as I work to understand the results of my upgrade I’m amazed by the benefits I hadn’t anticipated. Follow along with my math and see if you reach the same conclusions I do about the benefits of upgrading to a lithium house bank.

2

Press Releases / Electrical & Engines / The future

Volvo Penta Launches Industry’s First Fully Integrated Assisted Docking System

Volvo Penta today announced the commercial availability of the industry’s first fully integrated Assisted Docking system. The system gives the captain better control when docking a boat by automating his or her intentions, compensating for some dynamic variables, such as wind and current, and helping the vessel stay on its intended course…

11

Editors' Blog / How-to / The Trade / Good Gear (non electronic)

Cordless tools make marine electronics installs easier and faster

I’ve just completed an entire electronics refit on a 60-foot boat without ever plugging in a power tool. Besides never having to find a working AC outlet, and never tripping over a power cord, I think that my families of drills, drivers, saws, grinders, vacuums, and heat gun with interchangeable lithium batteries made the job faster and neater. There are many decent cordless tool families to choose from these days, but some detail on my experience may help you make the right choice.

5

Press Releases / Navigation

Veratron debuts smallest N2K GNSS antenna

At a mere 2.4″ in diameter, the Veratron GO is the smallest NMEA 2000® certified GNSS antenna on the market. Truly plug-and-play, the high-performance integrated GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo receiver is available in two navigation models and a Bluetooth version for monitoring onboard networked systems.

0

Press Releases / Electrical & Engines / The Trade / Monitoring & Tracking

Yamaha strategic alliance with Siren Marine drives forward digital and connected technology

Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. today announced a strategic alliance with Siren Marine, manufacturer of marine-based IoT (Internet of Things) solutions. It is Yamaha’s most recent step to reinforce CommandBlue™, a philosophy that represents a commitment to move engineering and development into the realm of the customer, ultimately delivering products that are easier to use and creating greater satisfaction and confidence on the water.

2

Press Releases / Fishing & Sonar

Furuno Brings Unique, Game-Changing Features to TZtouch3 with FREE Software Upgrade

Furuno is excited to announce a major software update for their flagship Multi Function Display (MFD) line, NavNet TZtouch3. Version 2.01 software is now available for free for all NavNet TZtouch3 MFDs, adding new functionality and enhancing existing features. Among the host of new functionality version 2.01 software brings to the MFDs are some ground-breaking new features, including the amazing PBG (Personal Bathymetric Generator) functionality for creating your own shaded relief maps of the seafloor with the DFF3D Multi-Beam Sonar…

29

LiFePO4 / Network & control / Electrical & Engines / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

Upgrading to lithium batteries & testing an all Mastervolt DC power system

Like many boaters, I treasure the peace of a serene anchorage, but not the sound and smell of a generator. So the high energy density and fast charging abilities of lithium batteries got me interested, and eventually led to an all-Mastervolt system that should also improve my 12-volt DC house power system in many other ways. This is part one of a series detailing the reasons for that decision, the installation, and how well it performs.

2

Editors' Blog / Safety & SAR / The future

EPIRB and PLB Return Link Service, what’s the holdup?

Over 15 months ago, I got excited about the first PLB with Return Link Service (RLS), a Cospas-Sarsat system improvement that would let a boater know that their distress signal had been received ashore along with their location. And it was supposed to be operational in early 2020, at least for some regions, and RLS capable EPIRBs would soon follow. But you still can’t purchase Orolia’s FastFind ReturnLink or any other RLS beacon in the USA and some of the countries that do permit them only allow RLS PLBs while others only allow RLS EPIRBs. What happened?…