Panbo

The Marine Electronics Hub

Category: PC & peripheral

SailorPC, a true PC/MFD hybrid? 5

PC & peripheral

SailorPC, a true PC/MFD hybrid?

SailorPC_IEI.JPG

Bless the Google (and the whole ever-improving info Web)!  Minutes after I stumbled on this intriguing SailorPC tucked away on Avia Sail’s purchase page, I’d found the manufacturer’s product site with the high res promo photo above and downloadable brochure and manual, as well as pr about the “Engineers’ Choice Award” it recently won and even what appears to a U.S. semi-wholesale distributor.  This thing is very interesting, about as close to a modern multi-function navigation display as I’ve seen a PC get…

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 …

Navionics NavPlanner2, from Fugawi 25

PC & peripheral / Charts

Navionics NavPlanner2, from Fugawi

Fugawi_Navionics_NavPlanner2_Google_Earth.JPG

I’ve always liked the idea of route planning software, but Navionics NavPlanner was somewhat troubled from the start.  Hence it seems like great news that Navionics dumped it entirely in favor of a partnership with Fugawi, leading to this recent joint announcement of NavPlanner2.  Fugawi figured out how to present Navionics data well years ago, and then went on to produce the excellent Navionics HotMaps Explorer.  Judging from the NavPlanner2 screen shot above — which shows off Google Earth synchronization — it shares a lot of code with the HotMaps lake planner.  But NavPlanner2 has many added features…

Green Marine, a new monitor manufacturer 23

PC & peripheral

Green Marine, a new monitor manufacturer

greenmarine AWM 15 monitor.jpg

Green Marine is a new company, but the principals already knew a lot about high bright LCD panels like the ones you see outside some fast food restaurants, and have even supplied screens to some familiar marine brands.  And I like their approach to the retail marine market — offering only LED backlit displays that are extra bright but at relatively reasonable prices.  They’ve also at least started to do something I wish every manufacturer did, which is to detail their specifications against the competition…

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…

Digital Yacht aQua PC, show deals! 25

PC & peripheral

Digital Yacht aQua PC, show deals!

Digital_Yacht_Aqua_PC.JPG

If I was walking the London Boat Show this week, I’d sure visit Digital Yacht, which seems to be on a new product streak.  Besides the tiny, self contained ANT200 AIS receiver I mentioned here, they have a new line of 5-inch C-Map plotters — one with an AIS receiver built in (which I’ll cover soon) — and an interesting new series of marine PC systems called “aQua”.  The boat show deal, which will purportedly be duplicated at the Miami Show, just might get your attention…

Fugawi & iNavX & Navionics & ??, the pieces come together 15

PC & peripheral / Handheld / Charts

Fugawi & iNavX & Navionics & ??, the pieces come together

iNavX new chart n map choices2.jpg

Wow, isn’t an interesting crowd of chart, map, and data suppliers gathering rapidly around the iPhone/multi-other-platform X-Traverse service?  I recently discussed the velocity of this and other iPhone-related developements, but was still surprised to learn today that Navionics is officially on board (Americas charts and U.S. Hotmaps available now, the rest of the world portfolio coming “in the next couple weeks”), Hilton’s Realtime-Navigator fishing overlays will go up on X-Traverse in May, and that “agreements are in place with several other chart manufacturers to bring expanded coverage and choice (raster or vector).”