The Marine Electronics Hub
There’s a lot to like about Glomex’s WebBoat 4G Lite Evo. It’s a small device with easy mounting, a 4G LTE cellular modem, an easy user interface, and app configuration. These features make the WebBoat 4G Lite Evo easy to install and easy to use. But, like so many other marine-specific internet access equipment I see, it lacks 5ghz WiFi, limiting its performance out of the box.
Vesper Marine, a leading manufacturer of innovative marine electronics, announced today the activation of Hailer and Fog-Horn capability on all existing Cortex M1 hubs when upgraded to software version 1.7. The free update also includes enhancements to VHF control and sensor flexibility…
Two new 4G/Wi-Fi integrated Internet antennas have reset the bar for near-shore web access. Available exclusively from GA Communications, the Glomex weBBoat 4G Plus EVO and 4G Pro EVO deliver secure and reliable residential-quality connectivity, plus all the benefits the innovative EVO series offers.Two new 4G/Wi-Fi integrated Internet antennas have reset the bar for near-shore web access. Available exclusively from GA Communications, the Glomex weBBoat 4G Plus EVO and 4G Pro EVO deliver secure and reliable residential-quality connectivity, plus all the benefits the innovative EVO series offers…
For years ACR has touted the merits of EPIRBs and PLBs as the preferred way to summon help when lives are on the line. So, when ACR announced they’d purchased Bivy, the maker of the Bivy Stick two-way satellite messenger, I was immediately anxious to get my hands on one. Let’s see what got ACR into the two-way satellite messaging business.
The headline feature of Icom’s new IC-M510 fixed marine VHF radio has to be its ability to use a smartphone as a wireless mic. It’s never been done before, and it could be quite useful; picture a free extra VHF mic that’s already in your pocket or charging next to your berth. There’s more to like about the new radio design — plus another Icom innovation, possibly controversial — but let’s look at more details about the smartphone support…
It’s certainly noteworthy that KVH now offers a smaller, simpler, and less expensive VSAT antenna, but the TracPhone V30 announcement also mentioned new service rates of potential interest to those cruising and working on slimmer budgets. Although the more affordable plans only include small amounts of high-speed data, they also offer unlimited low-speed data. Is it fast enough to make working by satellite a reality at a reasonable cost? Depending on how you use the KVH mini-VSAT broadband service, it just might work for you.
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.
Intellian is proud to announce the v45C, the smallest antenna the company has yet developed for the maritime satellite communications market. The C in the product name represents its compact form factor: this new 45cm unit will bring VSAT to new markets where there is limited space available for communications equipment, such as workboats, leisure craft, fishing boats, small commercial and government vessels…
Both Ben Ellison and I have recently installed Vesper’s Cortex VHF Radio, AIS, and boat monitoring system. Cortex uses a single VHF antenna for VHF voice and AIS, which calls out for a wideband antenna that covers both frequency ranges well. Ben E. selected a Shakespeare 6500-WB antenna, and I’ve been testing a Digital Antenna 992 wideband antenna. We don’t have the ability to perform in-depth performance comparisons, but here’s a look at what you should expect from the antennas, and also the installation differences.
Vesper Marine’s Cortex AIS, VHF, and monitoring system is the most innovative marine electronics product I’ve tested in a long time. But Cortex is also a serious challenge to review properly because it has so many useful capabilities — some of which look and feel strikingly different from their antecedents — and it’s also a system designed to evolve. That’s the justification for this update, even though…
