Category: Wireless & Apps
KVH Industries, Inc., a leading global satellite communications provider, is introducing the TracPhone LTE-1 marine communications system designed to provide Internet access in U.S. waters more than 20 miles offshore, with data download speeds up to 100 Mbps. The system, which utilizes LTE Advanced (LTE-A) cellular network technology, is compact and affordable enough for a vast array of small and mid-size recreational boats…
On May 23rd Garmin shut down the old way of distributing ActiveCaptain (AC) data and turned on the new ActiveCaptain Community (ACC) servers. All the mobile apps, charting programs and MFDs programmed to work with AC stopped updating unless they had been newly modified. In the table below you’ll see that the number of products currently able to display and edit ACC POIs is pretty small. Hopefully, more blue checks will soon be added, and that’s why this entry is definitely “subject to change.”
I am a long time fan of ActiveCaptain boating info. In fact, I’m pretty sure that my January 2007 Camden Public Landing review above was one the very first, as I was simultaneously writing about AC’s inception here. Now the AC database and user community are both huge, but many of us “captains” are struggling with Garmin’s very recent and complete rebuild of the service…
When I first read Uniden’s MHS335B handheld VHF press release, the feature that really intrigued me was “Maritime Industry-First Private Text Messaging.” The release was a little short on details and I was left with more questions than answers. But I was glad when Uniden kindly loaned me two radios to see all their VHF, GPS, DSC, and texting features hand’s on…
Actually, as you can see above, SEAiq lets you overlay both ActiveCaptain and Waterway Guide info onto its chart display (and easily turn either or both overlays on and off). But as noted on the SEAiq website, the AC data will not be updated after May 23, though “We are considering updating SEAiq support for ActiveCaptain but do not have definite plans yet.”
San Francisco, Calif.- iNavX, the benchmark mobile marine navigation application, announced today the launch of iNavX AIS Live. Available on both iOS and Android versions of iNavX, iNavX AIS Live connects a user’s mobile device to the AIS Live global network of antennas. Real-time ship movements are broadcast to the iNavX app and overlaid directly on the chart…without the need for a radar or AIS transponder…
The relatively low-cost Iridium satellite two-way communications service known as SBD (Short Burst Data) has proven itself remarkably reliable and useful on boats, as seen with the Garmin InReach Explorer+ I’ve been long testing (and...
In my feature about marine internet, I referenced a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter as the “heart of our boat network.” It manages multiple WiFi and cellular internet connections to multiple computers, tablets, etc. around the boat, and is remarkably capable for its cost, but configuration is not for the faint of the heart. So this is the step-by-step guide…
Despite our phone conversation with Garmin cartography manager Ken Cirillo, the company had still not officially declared their plans for ActiveCaptain in writing. That changed today with a Garmin email to AC captains beginning:...
The debut of the Uniden MHS335BT VHF marine radio is creating a new wave in safety communication options at sea with the availability of private text messaging capability, a first for the maritime industry....
