Category: The Trade

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Radian IoT Launches Innovative Software Platform For Manufacturers, Dealers And Boat Owners

Radian IoT, Inc., innovator in data collection and aggregation, announced today their latest reporting device and SaaS platform that turns boats, trailers, campers and powersports assets into data generators that deliver actionable intelligence. Both operational data (supply chain, inventory management and logistics) and experiential data (how and why things are happening at the consumer level) are delivered daily to drive improvements and accelerate decision-making across entire enterprises…

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2022 Miami Innovation Award Winners Honored during Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show

Awards, recognizing manufacturers and suppliers who bring new, innovative products for the boating industry to market. The Awards were presented during the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show’s Industry Breakfast, presented by the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, held at the Miami Beach Convention Center…

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FLIR C5 thermal inspection camera, finding issues before they’re big trouble

If you’re like me, at some point in your boating career you’ve probably found an electrical problem on your boat only after things got a little scary. Perhaps the problem was one of your making or maybe, like my example linked above, the boat came that way. Now that I’m doing more work on the DC systems aboard my own boats and others, I went looking for a way to ensure the quality of my work and the health of the systems aboard. For the last few jobs, I’ve been verifying my work with a FLIR C5 thermal inspection camera. I think it delivers real peace of mind.

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Garmin Buys Vesper, will the innovation continue?

t that Ben Ellison and I are big fans of Vesper Marine. As a small company out of New Zealand, Vesper has punched above its weight class by delivering numerous innovations. Well before getting involved in the marine electronics industry, I’ve been impressed by Vesper’s ability to deliver easy-to-use products that make boating safer and more relaxed. Vesper’s anchor alarm functionality (first covered on Panbo over a decade ago!) remains more capable than any MFD anchor alarm I’ve seen. So, it was a big surprise this morning to see that Garmin has bought Vesper. What will this mean for the scrappy little company and its track record of innovating?

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DIY LiFePO4 battery goes to work

ation for it. Once I finished the battery I knew I wanted to test it in a real-world scenario, but also one where troubles wouldn’t knock the house system of my boats or RV offline. Well, I think I’ve found the perfect place to get that real-world usage testing while also being able to tolerate trouble.

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Littelfuse acquires Carling Technologies, Maretron included: Business as usual?

Littelfuse — a large Chicago-based manufacturer of industrial technology — is acquiring Carling Technologies, and that makes me a bit nervous about the future of Carling’s marine brands. Will Octoplex, MPower, and especially all the (great) Maretron electronics on my boat continue to be developed and supported even though Littelfuse currently has only a minor marine market presence?

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FLIBS 2021 recap, a smaller show still packs a punch

The 2021 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show was the first major consumer show I’ve attended in nearly two years. Although the 2020 show took place in October of last year, I wasn’t there. I heard reports from colleagues of a dramatically smaller show with empty booths, smaller crowds, and very different energy. This year, the show was a little smaller than the last one I attended in 2019, but definitely felt like FLIBS. Although it was different, I think many of the differences result from the scarcity of available boats and components.