Panbo

The Marine Technology Hub

Category: Gadgets

Minn Kota’s i-Pilot robot, & Geonav for real 2

Gadgets / Electrical & Engines / The Trade

Minn Kota’s i-Pilot robot, & Geonav for real

Minn_Kota_I-Pilot_demo_Miami_cPanbo.JPG

The Miami demo of Minn Kota’s new i-Pilot technology got somewhat humorous.  After some time with that trolling motor head turning this way and that as it automatically retraced a GPS track or pulled us along to a waypoint — where it could even maintain station — I started thinking of it as a faithful, friendly robot.  If I owned one, I might paint eyes and a smile on it to heighten the sensation.  And in retrospect it might have been whispering, “Hey, bub, I represent Johnson Outdoors technology prowess; wait until you see Geonav!”

SpeedWatch, wireless wireless STW 3

Gadgets

SpeedWatch, wireless wireless STW

SpeedWatch_rowing_cPanbo.JPG

That’s my goose-bumped knee and I’m rowing at 2.2 knots through the water, which is my true speed in terms of performance, as opposed to speed over ground (SOG), which would be my true speed in terms of getting somewhere.  The distinction relates to endless discussions about what true True Wind is, which depends, but more relevantly to that JDC SpeedWatch strapped to my thigh.  It would be fairly unremarkable gadget if it was a GPS (showing SOG) but in fact it’s talking wirelessly to a tough little transmitter under the boat’s bow seat, which in turn is wirelessly collecting STW data from a tiny magnetized propeller mounted on the hull a few inches away…

Underwater lights, stupid & offensive? 30

Gadgets

Underwater lights, stupid & offensive?

DeepseaPowerLight_18LED.jpg

I was surprised when Tim Flanagan went all Glen Beck on underwater lights last week. It hadn’t occurred to me that “no boat owner with an ounce of sense” would drill a hole below his or her waterline just to “make the water glow pretty colors”.  In fact, senseless me has long considered going for the dramatic effect above (compliments DeepSea Power & Light) on Li’l Gizmo, which has become fairly reasonable and easy thanks to gear like OceanLED’s Amphibians…

JDC Seawatch, gift for a fair-haired fool? 1

Gadgets

JDC Seawatch, gift for a fair-haired fool?

Seawatch_UV_crop_cPanbo

Maybe, like me, you’ve been even lamer than usual about Christmas shopping? And maybe someone on your list is a fair-haired fool who’s lame about proper skin protection, also like me? Well, consider the Seawatch, the first ever with a built-in UV sensor…

Gear puzzle, and Gitana Eighty’s nav station 15

Gadgets

Gear puzzle, and Gitana Eighty’s nav station

Gitana_80_stalk_cPeter_Nielsen

So Sail Editor Peter Nielsen sends me this shot wondering who makes that articulated stalky thing holding up the B&G autopilot, and where he can get some for his boat. I have no idea, and I’m interested too. Can anyone fill us in?  Of course I asked Peter where he’d seen it, and damned if he hasn’t …

AnyTrack redux, flaky in NYC 4

Gadgets

AnyTrack redux, flaky in NYC

AnyTrack_in_NYC_cPanbo 

I felt bad about my harsh review of the AnyTrack monitoring device (and the inflated Sprint cell coverage that gives it Assisted GPS abilities). So I held on to the unit, and tried it again on a trip to Cape Cod, where it did pretty well. I also brought it to New York City, where I figured its claimed ability to determine location inside buildings would really shine. Well, not so much…