The Marine Electronics Hub
My family and I have been back living and traveling aboard Have Another Day for about nine months now. Our boat is a huge consumer of bandwidth so I’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. Here’s an update and some tips on what we’re doing to maintain reliable connectivity.
If you need a small NMEA 2000 network, Actisense’s all-in-one 4 Way at upper left is an especially simple and rugged way to go… there’s lots more you can do with a short N2K backbone and drop cables than many people realize, and that’s a small portion of what I’ll detail below. I had fun mocking up various network designs, and they will hopefully illustrate what you can and can’t do within the NMEA 2000 standard, plus some techniques that are simply good practice…
Controlling the multitude of systems on modern boats can be complex and many modern boaters expect the same level of automation and convenience they find in their cars. It’s clear the industry has realized this and is working hard to develop systems that make controlling your boat simpler and more intuitive. I had the opportunity to try out two such systems at the Miami International Boat Show…
Lumishore, manufacturer of high-performance LED lighting systems, announced today the marine industry’s first plug-and-play module with a pre-installed, universal lighting Application Programming Interface (API) – the Lumi-Link Command Center. Offering boaters complete control of on-board Lumishore LED lighting systems…
With the introduction of the Axiom MFD line Raymarine moved away from their proprietary SeaTalk NG cable/connector system and joined most other manufacturers offering standard DeviceNet cabling for NMEA 2000 networking. Now they’ve introduced a helpful line of adapters to make that transition easier, and the little adapters above can solve a lot of installation headaches…
A few days ago Ben Ellison posted a link from the Mobile Internet Resource Center announcing Verizon updated their unlimited offerings adding a $65 / month truly unlimited option. Every change to plans from the...
While the functionality of multifunction marine displays has obviously been moving rapidly beyond navigation to include most any boat system that has (or can have) a digital interface, the pace is actually quickening. In fact, I’m pretty sure that next year we’ll finally see boats nearly as easy and pleasurable to use as a modern automobile, or least showing off significantly greater system integration. This entry covers a hodgepodge of integration developments I’m aware of, but be forewarned that I often have more questions than answers…
Garmin is bringing lots of good news to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) tomorrow. The powerful operating system behind their premium GPSMap 8600 Series 17-, 22-, and 24-inch MFDs is coming to more affordable 10-, 12-, and 16-inch displays; new BlueChart g3 cartography with Navionics data integration and Auto Guidance will be preloaded in the new plotters; the inReach Mini satellite messenger will get integration with many Garmin MFDs; and…
Navico — parent company to the Lowrance, Simrad, B&G and C-MAP brands — announced today the launch of a brand new category of marine technology — the information display (ID). Ushering in a new dawn of integration for boaters and marking the first significant evolution of the multifunctional display (MFD), IDs combine a sleek design with a configurable interface that simplifies monitoring and control of onboard systems — all with a look and feel that is as unique as the vessel itself.
While the Connect all-in-one WiFi and cellular get-online system — with the cell service included — is Winegard’s first entry into the marine internet market, they’ve been at it in the RV world for quite some time and the rock-solid RF performance is pretty impressive even if the interface seemed rather bare-bones to me.
Maretron and Raymarine announce strategic collaboration to integrate MConnect and Raymarine Axiom displays
New Sirius 12 gyrostabilized binoculars from Koden combine rock steady vision with great value for fishermen and boaters
Arco Zeus Bluetooth alternator regulator now available with Victron DVCC Integration
