Panbo

The Marine Electronics Hub

Category: The future

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 ;-)…

Testing Furuno DRS4D-NXT solid-state Doppler radome, “Radar Redefined” most definitely 39

Navigation / Safety & SAR / The future

Testing Furuno DRS4D-NXT solid-state Doppler radome, “Radar Redefined” most definitely

Furuno_DRS4D-NXT_Doppler_Target_Analyzer_Camden1_cPanbo_.jpg

After many hours testing a NXT radome on Gizmo in often busy Maine waters, I believe that Furuno’s bold “Radar Redefined” claim is completely justified. This radar is so smart that it makes sense to run it in broad daylight. Brightly highlighting the one vessel (above) moving toward me in Camden Harbor’s forest of moored and moving boats is just one example of its highly automated and intelligent features. I fear that many readers will suffer radar jealousy as I detail what I’ve seen so far, but let’s look at the bright side and honor Furuno for setting a significantly new performance bar that other major manufacturers will hopefully try hard to attain…

NOAA introduces Zones of Confidence; mind your ZOC 6

Charts / The future

NOAA introduces Zones of Confidence; mind your ZOC

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Yikes! Did you know that some areas of the U.S. coastal chart you’re using may only show land and bottom features accurate in position to +/- 1,600 feet, and you shouldn’t be confident about the depth soundings either? NOAA has a new way to show boaters how old and inaccurate much of its survey data is, and it will surely give pause to those who pay attention. The concept is called Zones of Confidence and it’s slowly rolling out as diagrams on paper-style raster charts like the one above, but the ZOC accuracy info is coming much faster to NOAA’s ENC vector charts, and apparently it could be made easily accessible on the commercial vector charts you’re probably using.

Evinrude E-Link, one leg of a generous open architecture attitude 6

Electrical & Engines / The future / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

Evinrude E-Link, one leg of a generous open architecture attitude

Evinrude_E-Link_WiFi_gateway_n_app_aPanbo.jpgI suspect that a lot of now and future Evinrude E-Tec G2 outboard owners are going to appreciate the new E-Link hardware and app system almost as much as the Fourth of July. The easy-to-install NMEA 2000 WiFi gateway will cost about $360 and will neatly put all G2 gauges, calibrations, and fault codes into otherwise free E-Link Android and iOS (Apple) apps. One E-Link gateway will handle multiple outboards and the system doesn’t require or preclude any other monitoring and control options. In fact, you may soon see a full G2 interface on your favorite multifunction display…

Land Rover BAR, can this AC35 tech partnership “bring the Cup home”? 6

The future / History

Land Rover BAR, can this AC35 tech partnership “bring the Cup home”?

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At this press conference in New York City on Saturday, May 7th, the UK’s largest automobile manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover, made the case that their support of Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) in America’s Cup 35 is not just about marketing. It’s also a technology partnership that may be critical to finally bringing the Cup back to England, which both parties would really, really like to do. I completely bought the story and I was especially feeling my inner Brit after taking in the rest of the weekend’s AC World Series pageantry off lower Manhattan…

West Marine Expo, ACR LED Searchlight, Scanstrut USB, Navico Compass & Triton Gills 9

Cabin & deck gear / Navigation / How-to / Safety & SAR / The future / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

West Marine Expo, ACR LED Searchlight, Scanstrut USB, Navico Compass & Triton Gills

West Marine Expo Cover 2016West Marine’s first ever Marine Electronics Expo will kick off in four states (NY, FL, CA, CT) on April 8th (thru 9th) and also online. Besides some deals on electronics gear, there will be live educational seminars from Icom, Shakespeare, Lowrance, Fusion, Uniden, Lowrance, Simrad, B&G, Spot, Delorme, and maybe more at the select stores…

TBF: Modeling NY40 Marilee, Weems & Plath magnifier & young Mr. Harding 5

Charts / The future / The Trade / Zany

TBF: Modeling NY40 Marilee, Weems & Plath magnifier & young Mr. Harding

Stephens_Waring_proposed_Marilee_design_aPanbo.jpg(Bits are back, if you know what I mean.) I skim a lot of email newsletters but this recent Stephens Waring Yacht Design creation brought the process to a quiet halt. I clicked up this image as big as possible and became mesmerized, and it later turned out that even the newsletter text is only a sketch of the bigger story. Before we get into that, I suggest you get mesmerized, and I snagged even higher resolution images. Clicking them big may be slow, but you should be getting yourself stilled and ready to simpy wonder…

Solid state radar #2: the Doppler effect 16

Navigation / Safety & SAR / The future

Solid state radar #2: the Doppler effect

Furuno_NXT_demo_w_Eric_Kunz_cPanbo.jpgWhy is this guy grinning? At the end of the solid state radar #1 entry, I suggested that the Doppler target speed discrimination feature just introduced by Furuno and Garmin is truly game changing. Now I’ll try to break that down. While Doppler effect is a seasoned and fairly well known concept, I suspect that its sudden and intriguing arrival to marine electronics is going to effect change…

Solid state radar #1: long ranges and deep thoughts 7

Navigation / Safety & SAR / The future

Solid state radar #1: long ranges and deep thoughts

MIBS_2016_mostly_DeLorme_radar_demo_tracks_cPanbo.jpgWhile we’ve barely begun 2016, the state of recreational marine radar is entirely different than it was in 2015. The simultaneous introductions of Furuno and Garmin solid state Doppler radars in Miami was a stunning coincidence, but the bigger picture is that all four major brands have now embraced solid state technology and a major transition is underway. During the show I spoke with a lot of product managers as we checked out their particular new radar underway, and my (partial) track map above (in two scales) may help readers to better understand the screenshots I brought home...

Furuno NXT & Garmin Fantom, Doppler marine radar is here! 20

Navigation / The future

Furuno NXT & Garmin Fantom, Doppler marine radar is here!

Furuno_NXT_and_Garmin_Fantom_solid_state_Dobbler_radars_aPanbo.JPGExclamation marks, curse words…honestly I’m trying to hold myself back. Furuno and Garmin are both announcing new solid state radars here at the Miami Boat Show. So after many years of Navico trailblazing what is arguably a better way of doing radar, and with Raymarine Quantum just recently announced, suddenly all four major brands offer some form of solid state. That would be big news by itself, but the Furuno NXT radome and the Garmin Fantom open array also both justifiably proclaim a first in bringing valuable Dobbler radar enhancement to our boating world because neither apparently knew what the other was about to do. Can I get a HOLY MACKEREL!?!…