The Marine Electronics Hub
As part of a well-engineered system, lithium batteries can replace generators and make life on a boat seamless with or without shore power. But they aren’t perfect. The battery industry continues to research improvements and alternative chemistries.
AIRMAR Technology Corporation, a world leader in ultrasonic transducers and Chirp technology is excited to announce their SmartBoat® Solution has achieved OneNet certification, the third generation NMEA Standard for marine data interfacing and networking. SmartBoat is the only marine electronics solution that integrates devices using current, future, and legacy standards including NMEA 0183, NMEA 2000, and OneNet.
We’ve been hearing about Starlink’s Mini terminal for a long time now. Recently, hints from regulatory filings, new documents on their website, preparation for the new terminal in the app, and even a Tweet from Elon Musk made it seem the introduction was imminent. This week, Starlink made links on the website live and started sending emails to some long time subscribers offering an opportunity to purchase the new terminal. Now we have the opportunity to see if the Mini answers some of boater’s gripes with the current hardware.
NMEA OneNet is the National Marine Electronics Association’s most recent standard, one of only three major electronics standards the organization has released in the past 40-plus years. First came NMEA 0183 in 1983, then NMEA 2000 in 2001, and now OneNet. The previous standards stood the test of time. In fact, despite being 41 years old, NMEA 0183 continues to be built into many electronics and remains the preferred standard for many light commercial vessels.
It’s been a little while since I’ve posted a Starlink update. Frankly, that’s because things have (mostly) been humming along pretty well with a relative minimum of changes. While there have been developments, including new hardware, none of them called to me for an update. Until last week. That’s when subscribers to Starlink’s Mobility – Global package received an email notifying them their monthly charges would double. So, now seems like a good time to dive back in and take a look at the state of affairs at SpaceX and Starlink.
Wescom Group’s new sMRT V300 Class M Man Overboard emergency distress beacon is now available worldwide. A commercial-grade man-overboard device, the sMRT V300 offers an extended signaling range to enhance localised man-overboard alerting, locating and recovery. With automatic water activation technology, audible and visual indicators, and…
Inmarsat Maritime, a Viasat company, has launched NexusWave, a fully managed connectivity service underpinned by a ‘bonded’ multi-dimensional network, offering high-speed connectivity, unlimited data, global coverage, and ‘secure by design’ infrastructure. Delivered by a single provider, NexusWave is a fully managed service that seamlessly integrates multiple high-speed networks in real time – Global Xpress (GX) Ka-band, low-Earth orbit (LEO) services, and as-available coastal LTE service – with an additional layer of L-band for resiliency – for fast, always-on connectivity…
This entry is mainly about the new Em-Trak Nexus VHF/AIS/MOB system intriguingly diagramed above. Nexus was previewed at METS and will hopefully come to market later this year, but I’d like to preface the...
Shortly before the 2024 Miami International Boat Show, Simrad announced the NSX ULTRAWIDE multi-function device. My first reaction when I saw it was that Simrad was joining other ultrawide displays already in the market. But, when I stopped to think about it, I realized they are the first to introduce an ultrawide MFD to the marine marketplace. It seemed like such a logical next step that I thought someone must have done it already. So, I believe Simrad deserves credit for being the first and keeping pace with broader trends.
I’m hard put to name anyone more knowledgeable and passionate about marine navigation than David Burch, long-time director of the Starpath School of Navigation in Seattle. These days, David is especially concerned about the Electronic Navigation Charts rapidly replacing the official paper and RNC charts in the USA and elsewhere. So he recently followed up his comprehensive Introduction to Electronic Chart Navigation with a booklet titled ENC Essentials, whose preface and first chapter are excerpted below…
