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Category: Navigation

eLoran deader, GPS wounded 14

Navigation

eLoran deader, GPS wounded

Port_Clarence_LORAN_tower_dies.JPG

How horribly ironic!  The screen above is grabbed from a USCG video showing the demolition of Alaska’s tallest structure, a Loran tower that might have hosted an eLoran backup to GPS, maybe already was.  Just three weeks earlier, Intelsat let it be known that it had
“lost control” of one of the two WAAS satellites, and that it would “drift out
of orbit over the next two to four weeks.”  And Alaska will be the place that suffers the most loss of WAAS, though all North American navigators should take note that WAAS redundancy just went away.

Coastal Explorer & ActiveCaptain, YES! 59

Navigation / PC & peripheral / AIS

Coastal Explorer & ActiveCaptain, YES!

Garmin just announced several new products which will be shown when the doors open at METS tomorrow morning. The 6000 and 7000 series are very much like the successful 4- and 5000 series except that apparently they’ve got enough processor speed to warrant a new expression for how fast and smoothly they pan and zoom charts — Garmin G Motion. They’ve also got …

A World Magnetic Model reminder, courtesy Maretron 22

Navigation

A World Magnetic Model reminder, courtesy Maretron

World_Magnetic_Model_2010.JPG

Is your boat’s World Magnetic Model up to date?  Does it matter?  It may be a sign of Miami new product overload (here and here) that I got intrigued with this subject yesterday, but it was actually a Maretron press release (pdf here) that led the way.  The company is proud that their latest GPS200 now outputs magnetic compass variation based on the latest WMM2010, and that a firmware update will bring the same precision to their existing GPS receivers.  Heck, I thought GPS units just got variation from the satellites, and was reminded how much we take compass technology for granted…

New from FLIR, more choices 1

Navigation / Safety & SAR

New from FLIR, more choices

FLIR_M636_thermal_in_rain_cPanbo.JPG

Among the new products to be shown at the Miami Boat Show next week, FLIR just announced both a lower cost fixed M-Series and two new higher-end hand held First Mate models.  The new M (no model # yet) packages a single 320×240 thermal cam with the same excellent bullet casing and Ethernet controller(s) that I tested as the M-626L last fall, with dual payload 640×480 thermal and low light cams. The purported retail of the new cam will be $12,000, which will likely mean an under 10g street price judging from some outlets for the existing models.  It’s great to get the price down on this valuable safety tool, but it reminds me of the occasional value I saw in also having the low light camera.  The shot above was taken in daylight, but the thermal camera would have seen out the harbor as well as it does at night if it weren’t for the downpour.  After the break, you’ll see what it missed…

ActiveCaptain 2010, huge things? 7

Navigation / PC & peripheral

ActiveCaptain 2010, huge things?

ActiveCaptain_X_Vero_Beach_cPanbo.JPG

My longtime admiration for Jeff and Karen Siegel, and their creation ActiveCaptain, has started to lean dangerously toward jealousy!  They’ve spend many months cruising from Maine to Florida and judging from their blog and the latest AC newsletter, they’ve not only been having fun but also writing code and making deals the whole the way.  Version “X” of the interactive cruising guide is really taking shape, and other developments coming soon do indeed sound “huge”…

Garmin Homeport, excellent but revealing 11

Navigation / PC & peripheral

Garmin Homeport, excellent but revealing

Garmin_Homeport_Hallowell1_cPanbo.JPG

I can’t imagine why anyone with a Garmin plotter, a Windows PC, and a bit of ability to use both wouldn’t find Garmin Homeport more than worth the $30 charge.  I was able to easily copy the 5212’s embedded charts — plus the mess of tracks, routes, and waypoints I put on it last season — and then review/manage all on my home computer.  In fact, I stowed away some memorable tracks, quickly cleaned up some extraneous waypoints (careful with that track-to-route feature), improved some routes, and then overwrote the user data on the 5212 with a much more useful set.  But today’s look at some deeper Homeport features gets the benefit of a friend’s embarrassing navigation error.  Click to enlarge the screen above and I’ll explain after the break…

New Garmin GPSMap 700 series, sweet spot! 25

Navigation

New Garmin GPSMap 700 series, sweet spot!

Garmin_GPSMAP740s.jpg

Let’s see…a 7-inch, bright, WVGA resolution touchscreen with built-in GPS and support for Garmin Ethernet radars and NMEA 2000…all at a base price of $1,400?  Man, that sounds like a sweet spot to me.  I can think of many boaters who will be interested, and few, if any, comparable choices…

Anchor alarms, apps style 25

Navigation

Anchor alarms, apps style

My_Anchor_Watch_ReadyStartedAngleLimit.JPG

I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a sophisticated anchor alarm, and it’s an app called My Anchor Watch running on a Blackberry!  (Thanks to Panbo reader Per for the head’s up.)  The developer’s site explains the software well, but the features that really stand out for me is that “angle of exclusion” shown above and the SMS alarm capability…

eLoran, dead on arrival? 47

Navigation

eLoran, dead on arrival?

CrossRate_eLoran.JPG

Well, this may be the saddest product introduction ever.  Last week CrossRate Technology finally launched its flagship eLGPS 1110 multi mode receiver.  If I had one powered up outside the lab right now, I’m confident that it could use both regular Loran-C, plus the eLoran enhancements already added to the system, and WAAS GPS to determine my position in two ways — and thus redundantly — and could also use Loran to provide heading even when stationary.  But here’s the giant rub:  A single signature, which may come at any moment, could end Loran-C, and eLoran, in the U.S.A. for good, starting next month…