Nauticast B mod, a “silent” mode switch
Most Class B AIS units have an SRM/Silent Mode switch on their casing, but the ACR Nauticast B instead provides a wire to a user-supplied switch. The plus is…
Category: How-to
Love thy coax, love thy connectors!
Let me say right off that the delightful title above—antenna cables and connectors really are important to performance—is stolen whole from a first class essay on antenna cabling written by Jason Reilly. And the illustration is cut from another useful coax connector page by Edward Kuester. I don’t want to be an expert on such matters, but anyone…
N2K instruments, install details
My obsession with NMEA 2000 instruments continues. To better test and photograph them in real light conditions, I installed the array in a single, more serious panel. The weapon of choice was…
NMEA 2000, real world issues
Chris Witzgall from Apex, NC, recently wrote {slightly edited}: “Your site has been invaluable as I get back into boating after a long hiatus, and work out the electronics for our new-to-us Westerly Fulmar sailboat. I have settled on NMEA 2000. Our needs are relatively simple; here is what I have**, or will have*…
NMEA 2000, hail the first hobbyist!
All the well-informed feedback I’m getting to my marine electronics maintenance query reminded that a fellow named Joseph Howard wrote me last week about the NMEA 2000 hobby project he’s pursuing, and also documenting over at MarinetteBoat.com…
Marine electronics maintenance, how to?
So I’ve begun work on a magazine piece about how to include electronics in your Spring maintenance and commissioning routine. The following are some topics I’ve come up so far. I’d really appreciate your professional or do-it-yourself comments on these or any topics I missed:
Winter waypoint maintenance, tips from C-Map
Sort of like repairing or upgrading old instruments, you could also spend some winter off water time getting your waypoints and routes in order. C-Map has put together a nice tip sheet on how you might do that using…
Garmin 545s, just a taste
Geez, I’m so behind on testing (Cobra radios and Lowrance iWay are the ones half done, and there’s some I haven’t even started, sorry all!), I hesitate to get started on this Garmin 545s....
Reader Systems, BoatGuy checks in
This beauty of a system diagram, bigger here, came in from Al Corkins, aka BoatGuy (his email and Web site handle). The color coding indicates what exists on his boat (green), what’s in a closet ready...
Merry Christmas, and a heavy weather how-to
I think of this painting—one of an ancient series hanging in the Venice, Italy, Maritime Museum (and bigger here)—as a how-to for sailors caught out in a storm: Put out all your anchors, jettison heavy objects (like cannons),...
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