Panbo

The Marine Electronics Hub

Category: Navigation

Raymarine Axiom & LH3, a little fishing & then the install 15

Fishing & Sonar / Navigation

Raymarine Axiom & LH3, a little fishing & then the install

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There is understandable grumbling about how Raymarine’s new 7-, 9- and 12-inch Axiom multifunction displays shipped (somewhat late) without several significant features that Ray plans to deliver with a software update at a yet unspecified date. But I’m fairly confident that the longer term story is rosy. After two days of fishing with beta MFDs in Florida and installing a test Axiom 7 myself, I’m impressed with both the hardware and the new LightHouse 3 interface, and I’ll be surprised if the missing features and more don’t fill in nicely. Let’s take a glass-at-least-half-full look at this major product line change…

SkyMate Mazu/mSeries all-in-one Iridium sat comms & Si-Tex NavStar Android MFD 5

Wireless & Apps / Navigation / Communications / Weather

SkyMate Mazu/mSeries all-in-one Iridium sat comms & Si-Tex NavStar Android MFD

SkyMate_Mazu_and_mSeries_intro_MIBS2017_cPanbo.jpgIt was good to see SkyMate return to the Miami Boat Show after years focused on commercial fishing, and the company clearly has not lost its touch at squeezing lots of easy utility out of skinny-band satellite communications. Its new Mazu/mSeries marine system promises surprisingly full-featured weather and email using Iridium’s least expensive service, plus texting, SOS, navigation and (optional) off-boat monitoring. And, just around the corner in the Si-Tex booth, I saw a very interesting Android-based touchscreen NavStar MFD nicely interfacing with SkyMate’s existing communications system…

MIBS 2017: Furuno standalone 1815 radar, DFF-3D multimodal sonar & more 9

Fishing & Sonar / Navigation / Electrical & Engines / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

MIBS 2017: Furuno standalone 1815 radar, DFF-3D multimodal sonar & more

MIBS17_Furuno_1815_standalone_radar_cPanbo.jpgWhile Furuno USA had a lot to show off at the Miami Boat Show, let’s start with the new 815 standalone radar. Recent Panbo entries about Raymarine’s sleek new Axiom Series multifunction displays and Navico’s ambitious systems integration strategy drew some keep-it-simple skeptics. But it is still possible to find single function marine electronics if that’s your preference, and the 1815 may be an excellent small radar choice packing a whole lot of performance for the price…

BAM! Raymarine Axiom MFDs, LightHouse 3, RealVision 3D sonar & FLIR M100/200 ClearCruise 95

Fishing & Sonar / Navigation / The future / The Trade

BAM! Raymarine Axiom MFDs, LightHouse 3, RealVision 3D sonar & FLIR M100/200 ClearCruise

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Raymarine and FLIR are coming to the Miami Boat Show loaded for bear. Those three new 7-, 9- and 12-inch Axiom multifunction displays are showing new LightHouse 3 operating software and new RealVision 3D sonar. Moreover, you’ll learn below about how new M100 and M200 thermal cameras can give the Axioms some features normally seen on superyachts. BAM! The theme that seems evident throughout is modern interface and hardware design with value pricing and a potent dash of innovation spice…

Testing the Garmin Fantom 24 in a new world of solid-state radar 44

Navigation / The future

Testing the Garmin Fantom 24 in a new world of solid-state radar

Gizmo_testing_four_solid-state_radars_11-2016_cPanbo.jpgIt went unmentioned at our large family Thanksgiving feast last week, but I am thankful that solid-state radar became omnipresent in our marine electronics world this year. In fact Gizmo’s four test radomes now all share the solid-state virtues of near instant power up, low power draw, low emission levels, and long life (at least theoretical). They are all decent performing radars, too, and several offer very special features that only seem possible with solid-state technology. In this entry I’ll try to sort out the field, while also sharing first impressions of that spanking new Garmin Fantom 24 radome.

METS 2016: Navico, Fusion, Airmar and Signal K 24

Navigation / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

METS 2016: Navico, Fusion, Airmar and Signal K

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This year’s annual Marine Equipment Trade Show (METS) in Amsterdam seemed busier than ever. It’s good to see that the marine industry has largely recovered, although the sailboat business still seems to lag behind behind motorboats. The super yacht halls were very busy too. I saw some exciting new developments from Navico, who were showing the brand new NSS evo3 and B&G Zeus3 as well as their recently announced instrument displays. Fusion had a new high-end speaker, and Airmar showed me their brand new electromagnetic DX900+ multifunction speed sensor.

New Garmin: Fantom radomes & Panoptix thru-hull FLS, plus radios & “budget” MFDs 29

Fishing & Sonar / Navigation / Communications

New Garmin: Fantom radomes & Panoptix thru-hull FLS, plus radios & “budget” MFDs

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Were you hoping that Garmin would bring its Fantom solid-state radar technology down to radome size, including the Doppler-assisted target motion highlighting they call MotionScope? How about two sizes, 18 and 24 inch? Or maybe you’re a Garmin owning cruiser jealous of Simrad or B&G users with ForwardScan forward looking sonar? That’s also taken care of, sort of. And these are just two highlights of all the new products Garmin announced today, many of which will ship soon…

Testing Raymarine Quantum Q24 radar, solid on many levels 16

Wireless & Apps / Navigation / The future

Testing Raymarine Quantum Q24 radar, solid on many levels

Raymarine_Quantum_Q24_displayed_on_eS128_cPanbo.jpgThat’s very good radar imagery in my experience, especially given that it’s the fully automated output of a relatively small and affordable radome which can be super easy to install. Note, for instance, how well it’s separating the moored boats in Camden’s recently discussed Outer Harbor and thus usefully revealing the channel into the Inner Harbor (that many visiting boats have trouble finding even in clear daylight). I also got to see how well Raymarine navigation networks can handle dual radar scanners and how sophisticated their WiFi has become. And finally I hope to spank Ray about its annoyingly overprotective MARPA alarms (though that situation could be easily fixed in software ;-)…

New: Lars Thrane sensors, B&G Triton2, and Maine Cat 38 18

Navigation / Green Boating / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

New: Lars Thrane sensors, B&G Triton2, and Maine Cat 38

Lars_Thrane_LT-1000_NRU_and_LT-500_AHRS_aPanbo.jpgToday I’ve got a smorgasbord of new gear to share, starting with a trio of serious multi-sensors from Lars Thrane A/S in Denmark. The company first came to my attention when they inquired about advertising — thanks, LT — but a little research revealed why their products may well appeal to Panbo readers. The LT-500 AHRS in the foreground is an 11-sensor Heading, Roll, Pitch, Air Pressure and Temperature device; the LT-300 GNSS not shown is a 72-channel GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou receiver; and the LT-1000 Navigation Reference Unit (NRU) shown installed essentially combines the two. Common to all of the current Lars Thrane products is promised high precision, reasonable pricing, simultaneous NMEA 0183 and 2000 output, and an impressive attention to the real boat details involved in installation, calibration, and future proofing…

Articulating display pods tested: SeaView, ScanStrut & NavPod 4

Cabin & deck gear / Navigation

Articulating display pods tested: SeaView, ScanStrut & NavPod

Gizmo_Glass_Bridge_II_August_2016_cPanbo.jpgThe latest multifunction displays (MFDs) look smashing on Gizmo’s flybridge, I like to think. And it’s not just that Raymarine, Simrad, Furuno, and Garmin — that’s the lineup, left to right — have almost all further evolved the black glass style that promises to be with us for a long time. Those two articulating pods also contribute to the clean look, plus they make it easier for me to use the podded MFDs from different spots on the bridge. It’s time to discuss the SeaView, ScanStrut and NavPod articulating pods I’ve tried in the last few years…