Yearly Archive: 2021

52

DIY LiFePO4, the build begins

In the last couple of months I’ve installed two of the three main types of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries. In March I installed Mastervolt’s system integrated MLi batteries on Have Another Day and just last week I finished up the installation of Battle Born’s 8D drop-in batteries on another boat. With two out of three types covered I figured it was time to get my hands dirty with the third type, a do-it-yourself build of a 12-volt battery from four cells and a battery management system (BMS).

3

Fusion XS series speakers: Quality sound & cost-effective

Fusion offers two lines of speakers: The XS series are the value models and Signature is the mark for their high performance, more expensive line. I’ve recently outfitted my 22-foot center console with a full XS suite, subwoofer included. Open, relatively high speed boats like mine create a challenging environment for speakers. The noise from an open boat on plane often reveals a speaker’s weaknesses. Although they’re probably helped by a powerful amplifier, I’m pleased by the performance of these value-oriented speakers.

0

Garmin announces MSC 10 marine satellite compass

Garmin International, Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN), the world’s largest and most innovative marine electronics manufacturer, today announced the MSC 10 marine satellite compass with multi-band GNSS and a fully integrated attitude and heading reference system for a smooth and accurate GPS-derived heading and position on the water.

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Lost Bens? Nope, we’re in the lithium mines, finding gold!

The caption is serious, because right in front of your eyes is the most basic — and possibly dangerous — mistake anyone could make while setting up and bench testing a fully integrated lithium-powered marine electric power system. And it’s a mistake I made even though it was truly right in front of my eyes during the many hours I spent trying to figure out why Victron’s brand new and quite amazing Lynx Smart BMS would not power up. So if…

63

Garmin GPS 24xd: inexpensive Heading data to stabilize charts, radar, and AIS

The Garmin GPS 24xd combines a high-performance GNSS receiver with a heading sensor though it only costs $50 more than their GPS 19x GNSS receiver. Thus it can inexpensively stabilize chart and radar views on your MFD while also ensuring that your boat’s AIS target is headed in the right direction even when it’s tied up. I’ve been testing one, successfully, and also investigating why the GPS 24xd is not a good replacement for a more accurate, faster-updating, and likely better located Heading sensor that’s appropriate for autopilots and radar ARPA/MARPA calculations.

0

Veratron real-time battery monitor now an easy-to-install kit

Whether on the water, in an RV, riding the trail, or operating a piece of industrial equipment, a dead battery will ruin anyone’s day. Veratron’s new VL Flex Intelligent Battery Monitor Kit contains everything needed to deliver real-time battery health and status to the smallest dashboard. It combines two pioneering products, Veratron’s award-winning Intelligent Battery Sensor and its revolutionary VL Flex Instrument. All additional components needed for a fast and easy installation are included.

1

Mercury SmartCraft Connect expands VesselView functionality to Garmin and Raymarine displays

Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), today launched SmartCraft Connect, which allows boaters to use Garmin and Raymarine multi‑function displays (MFDs) to access detailed information about the status and operation of their SmartCraft‑compatible marine engines.

9

Helm ergonomics #2: Gizmo’s pilothouse

“Your boat should fit like a glove!” yacht designer Dave Gerr wrote in the 1990’s, and the 2020 refit of Gizmo’s lower helm is the closest I’ve gotten to that excellent advice yet. The ergonomically arranged array of displays and controls above are also a somewhat experimental mix of PC and tablet navigation tools with dedicated marine electronics and oodles of monitoring in the background. I could talk for hours about the gear choices and install details, but the focus of this entry is how well this helm layout works