The Marine Electronics Hub
When walking through a marina, seeing distinctive SmartPlug orange cables indicates boat owners that are savvy about shore power safety. But some prefer that their electrical cords blend in with the boat deck or dock surfaces. For them, there’s the new 30A/125V White Cordset. It has all the impressive features of the standard SmartPlug system, but in a pleasing traditional marine color…
FLIR Systems, Inc. announced today its Raymarine Axiom multifunction display (MFD) line is compatible with CZone digital control and monitoring systems. The collaboration enables boat builders and system integrators to deliver custom CZone digital switching solutions with rich graphical interfaces controlled through Raymarine’s line Axiom MFDs…
Garmin’s latest release of MFD software has added support for digital switching. With this update they’ve leapfrogged from the rear of the pack to class leading digital switching support. I was surprised to find the ease of configuring control on Garmin’s MFDs, so I’ve prepared a video that shows how to configure digital switching control.
I think it’s neat that Brunswick showed off its latest marine technology at the huge Consumers Electronics Show (CES), though it’s a bit disconcerting to see the lowercase-“e”-for-electric model designation on a sport boat with three 450hp internal combustion engines hanging on its stern. But then again, the electric component of the Sea Ray SLX-R 400e really is a valuable concept that deserves more attention from all sorts of boaters…
Torqeedo will announce the cooperative development of new products and new partnerships at the company’s boot Düsseldorf press conference on Saturday, January 18, stand 9C22. The company will also celebrate its 15th year of technology innovations and delivering its 100,000th electric drive…
Until recently digital switching has only been seen on newly built, high-end boats. Now, Maretron and CZone both have digital switching products that can be retrofitted by a boat owner or pro installer and cost under $500. But, are these products easy to install and will the boat owner benefit from the installation? Read on to find out.
The existing Victron Venus GX and Color Control GX are both excellent AC/DC power monitoring products in my estimation, but with many boat systems it’s hard to decide which one to use. While the Venus blue box is less expensive with more networking capabilities, none of its display and control abilities are as fast and easy as the CCGX’s screen and button interface. I’m happy to report that this purchasing dilemma will end next year with the new Cerbo GX and GX Touch 50, and valuable new GX features are included…
Dometic’s Optimus Electric Steering Actuator has had quite a successful show season since its early 2019 introduction. It’s won major awards at IBEX, METS Trade and from Boating Industry Magazine. But what captured the attention of those award committees? It’s the promise of more precise handling, reduced weight, easier installations, and reduced maintenance. A few minutes spent with Dometic Marine representatives makes clear the engineering and innovation required to make this system possible.
Yacht Devices has introduced an NMEA 2000 Battery Monitor.
The device reports battery voltage, current, health and charge state to NMEA 2000 and can turn on the genset or warn when the battery state is critical.
Long Maretron experience has taught me that the key benefit of boat monitoring is not screens of sensor readings, though they can be useful; it’s warnings and alarms. Done right — which is not easy — they can help a boat operate longer without major issues, but with a more relaxed operator. So I’m pleased to report that the new Kobelt Vitals offers similarly sophisticated alerting in a freshly thought-out, reasonably priced, and very flexible design that may be just right for many mid-size vessels…
