Panbo

The Marine Electronics Hub

Category: Wireless & Apps

Whale Alert, an app with a mission 12

Wireless & Apps / AIS

Whale Alert, an app with a mission

Whale Alert main screen.jpg

It’s an unusual app that gets a press conference and main stream media attention, and Whale Alert certainly deserves it. It’s not just that this app might actually save the lives of some rare right whales — which would be wonderful — but it also demonstrates how mobile devices can be a critical integration tool between mariners and various governmental and nonprofit organizations, and between even a ship’s conservative electronics and the dynamic world of app development…

GMN’s wXa-102 satellite router, but Inmarsat rate increases too? 22

Wireless & Apps / Communications

GMN’s wXa-102 satellite router, but Inmarsat rate increases too?

GMN_wXa_102_satellite_router_firewall.jpg

I hear that trying to use the Inmarsat iSatphone Pro’s low-speed but high-latency data connection can be extremely frustrating, as we partially anticipated when it became possible last winter. Meanwhile, the folks who’ve invested in broadband satellite connections tend worry a lot about extraneous programs that eat expensive megabytes. And regardless of their satcom speeds most everyone these days wants the freedom to use it with any of their computing devices. Well, it looks like Global Marine Network’s new RedPort wXa-102 WiFi router/firewall may be an elegant solution to all these issues… 

Garmin triple wow: thermal cameras, iPad app, and Interphase FLS! 22

Fishing & Sonar / Wireless & Apps / Cabin & deck gear / The Trade

Garmin triple wow: thermal cameras, iPad app, and Interphase FLS!

Garmin_thermal_and_lowlight_marine_cameras.jpg

I’d already gotten some details on the several interesting new products Garmin is announcing today — and was excited about sharing them — but it wasn’t until late last night that I had any inkling about Garmin’s acquisition of Interphase Technologies, a pioneer in phase array forward looking sonar (FLS). Wow!  The deal means that Garmin will soon have a new and unique arrow in its quiver of MFD network sensors and that FLS for fishing and navigation will get some of the attention I think it’s always deserved. It’s not just that Garmin will market the Interphase technology better, but that the technology will no doubt be easier to use and to afford when integrated with Garmin displays. It will probably work better too…

Raymarine e7, hand’s on #2 10

Wireless & Apps / Navigation / Charts

Raymarine e7, hand’s on #2

Raymarine_e7_iPad_screen_cPanbo.jpg

The Raymarine e7 that’s been in the Panbo lab for a few weeks is proving itself quite able and well designed, but I’ve come across enough little glitches and omissions that I think it’s also a good test of the new Ray’s ability to push out software fixes and improvements. That chart window above, for instance, should be showing
spot soundings. Now it could be that I don’t have the chart presentation set up right, but even if that’s true, I suspect the menus involved can be improved to help a user like me. On the other hand, that screen shot is from an iPad streaming the e7 over WiFi, and that feature not only works well but continues to intrigue…

Android marine apps: Memory-Map is in, who else? 22

Wireless & Apps

Android marine apps: Memory-Map is in, who else?

MemoryMap_Android_on_Galaxy_Tab.jpg

It’s still in public Beta, but Memory-Map has an Android version of its charting app. I’ve tested it with both my Verizon Incredible phone and also with the 7-inch Galaxy Tab seen above, thanks to a loan from Memory-Map developer Richard Stephen, who I profiled way back in 2005. Even then Stephens was writing good PC and PDA charting software, and the experience shows…

BriarTek Cerberus, the DeLorme inReach alternative? 12

Wireless & Apps / Communications

BriarTek Cerberus, the DeLorme inReach alternative?

CerberLink_and_inReach_compared_cPanbo.jpg

The photo above is meant to compliment the one I took when first testing the DeLorme inReach satellite communicator. It shows how Briartek’s CerberLink is thinner in the depth dimension and also how it uses a USB-chargeable 2000mAh Lithium Polymer battery instead of a two AA Lithiums. And that’s important. In fact it’s pretty amazing how different the CerberLink and inReach are even though they’re both based on the same Iridium 9602 SBD (small-burst data) modem and both aim to revolutionize two-way messaging, tracking, and safety beyond cellular coverage…

DMK box hand’s-on #1, developers needed! 21

Wireless & Apps / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

DMK box hand’s-on #1, developers needed!

DMK_instrument_app_w_N2K_data_cPanbo.jpg

Even if it only happened in my basement lab, it really is wonderful to see a boat’s sensor data arrive wirelessly into an iPad app, where it could be used and displayed in so many ways. The instrument screen shown above was developed by the same DMK Yacht Instruments folks who build the WiFi box that got the data there (first discussed here in December). The wind, depth, and speed numbers went into the DMK bridge in NMEA 2000 format, but they could been in NMEA 0183 or SeaTalk, or a mix of all three. In fact, I’ve tried all three source formats with some success so far, but I’m frustrated because the DMK app — meant mainly for configuring the box, I think — can only interpret the values shown, and no other app I know of yet takes full advantage of what the box can do. Lets hope some developers start paying attention to what’s possible here!

Most popular Panbo 2011 entries, themes for 2012? 12

Wireless & Apps

Most popular Panbo 2011 entries, themes for 2012?

Panbo_2011_most_popular_entries.jpg

Looking back at Panbo statistics for 2011, the iPad was undeniably a major topic. The February entry “iPad cases for the boat, & some interesting apps” was the most read of the year, by far, and the next up was the “The damn iPad: iNavX, X-Traverse, Navimatics & AC” entry written back in May, 2010 (when I was lusting for one). In addition, March’s “Accessory GPS for iPads…” came in at #5, and May’s “iPad GRIB viewers…” at 12. So should Panbo become iPanbo? Well, certainly a major goal here is to report on and discuss important trends in marine electronics, but understanding statistics like these involves a lot of nuance…