CZone answers call for entry-level digital switching solution with the new Contact 6 PLUS system
Auckland, New Zealand – BEP / Power Products: BEP Marine, manufacturer of CZone Digital Switching, announces the Contact 6 PLUS System delivering a new era in affordable digital control for wide market applications. The CZone Contact 6 PLUS system delivers a cost-effective solution that simplifies installation with the addition of the new Contact 6 PLUS, the CZone Waterproof Keypad and the innovative new Smart Harness. The Contact 6 PLUS system reduces installation time, network component cost and delivers a robust electrical system with fewer connection points than a conventional installation.
CZone’s new Waterproof Keypad range delivers an IPX7 submersible rating and was designed to be easy to install and operate. The CZone Waterproof Keypads offer RGB controlled circuit backlighting with dimming control for low light operation, systems in operation LEDs for each circuit and blown fuse fault indication.
The CZone Contact 6 PLUS system provides an ultra-low current draw state to reduce demand on small electrical systems yet still delivers features such as timer functions and Load Shedding to preserve critical battery life by turning off non-essential loads as voltage drops. The Contact 6 PLUS also integrates with all major marine chart plotter and Multi-Function display manufacturers for direct control of electrical systems from your display, including fault warning notifications and circuit status indication.
CZone has also released a new innovative Smart Harness. CZone utilizes the industry standard NMEA2000 network for its communication protocol. The new Smart Harness replaces the need for a complete network backbone in a small system, meaning a robust, simpler and more cost-effective installation. The Smart Harness can also be fitted independent to any CZone installation where a small network comprising of 2 or 3 devices is required.
“We believe the complete Contact 6 PLUS and Waterproof Keypad offering is a turning point for digital control and monitoring in our markets. With emphasis on decreasing the cost per channel through innovation, we’ve successfully delivered an accessible, reliable and cost-effective solution with reduced installation complexity. With this system we continue to offer leading benefits to the end user as well as delivering added value to our installers and OEM customers.” – Jarrod Sagar, Business Leader, BEP Marine.
With reduced installation complexity, out-of-the-box configuration and access to all the core benefits of digital control, the CZone Contact 6 PLUS system offers the best of CZone functionality to smaller applications at a price comparable to any traditionally wired system.
What is CZone
CZone simplifies installation of electrical systems through the replacement of complicated and often cumbersome traditional wiring. CZone is perfect for marine and mobile automotive applications and replaces switch and fuse panels with networked digital switch interfaces providing ultimate control of your electrical systems.
With one touch, CZone’s intelligent management simplifies operation by combining multiple circuits through Mode selection, offers effortless Monitoring oversight of key systems and components while retaining advanced Control of specific circuits and functions.
CZone can take care of all the little things, leaving more time for the user to focus on what they value. Whether you are preparing the boat for the evening’s entertaining, hitting the open road away from stable power, or focusing on getting the job done on the incident scene, let CZone do the thinking.
For more information see www.czone.net
Related Posts:
Panbo publishes select press releases as a service to readers and the marine electronics industry. The release contents do not reflect the opinion of the editors and are not fact checked by the editors
Happy to report that these new CZone components will eventually be sold retail and we hope to have list prices soon. That said, setting them up will likely be an advanced DIY project as I just described with the new and somewhat similar Maretron MPower digital switching:
https://panbo.com/mpower-digital-switching-the-strengths-of-maretron-and-carling-align/
More information from CZone:
“We are quite excited about the retail potential for this product, there has already been great interest from large retailers throughout the world.
We have made the product as easy as possible to install for OEM’s and DIY customers by introducing:
* “Factory Configurations” for plug and play installation
* Drill only installation (2 1/16” small engine gauge hole saw) so users do not require cutting or using jig saw’s or similar on their dashboards. This reduces the chance of scratching gel coat, and makes it possible to install in tight locations, besides steering helms etc
* New Smart Harness to connect the Waterproof Keypad to the Contact 6 PLUS module. This is an all in one, NMEA2000 backbone for a standalone system. It includes power feed wires and termination.
* Degson connector for output wires from the Module, so the customer does not need to purchase expensive crimping tools and Deustch style connectors for a one off install.
* Removing wiring complexity by including the fuse panel in the product, there is now no need for a bus bar behing the dash, with a fuse panel and bundle of wires going to a traditional switch panel. This makes for a cleaner installation, removes connection points that can corrode or fail, and removes the risk of an inexperienced installer miss-crimping wires due to inexperience or cheap crimps and crimping tools.
Factory Configurations:
* We have included a factory configuration on the modules, with a ONE to ONE default circuit mapping. This means, out of the box the buttons 1 to 6 control channels 1 to 6 without the need for any tools or equipment.
* Toggle between Momentary and Latching – With a long keypress combination you can toggle the default latching functionality of a circuit to a momentary circuit. This is for circuits like Horns or Anchor winches when you only want the circuit on when your pressing it.
* Default NMEA2000 output of voltage monitoring (network stud has volt monitoring)
* Default Display Integration for Compatible MFD’s (Garmin, Lowrance, Simrad etc.) IF connected, they will receive the config and be able to control the Contact 6 PLUS. In fact you could purchase just a Contact 6 PLUS and it will work with no keypad and a compatible MFD with no configuration tools required.
* Later in the year( September/August) we will release a 12 way keypad. Their will be a factory configuration for a 12 way Keypad and 2x Contact 6 PLUS modules with 1 through 12 circuit mapping.
Selectable Configurations:
* Later in the year, we will expand on the factory configurations. We will add to the configurations stored in the units, and the user will be able to select a desired set up from a table in the install manual, and simply setting the DIPSWITCH on the modules to achieve this.
* We will include some basic MODE functionality like:
* Sequential NAV/ANCHOR Light buttons.
* Basic night modes for dimming back light
* Timer function for circuits like Live Bait Tanks, cycling the pump on and off to save battery voltage
* Load shedding at a set volt point to turn off some or all circuits to protect battery voltage
There are much more features in this small little system, as they are both essentially fully functional CZone modules, they can be added to existing CZone systems. SO the Keypad could be used to control a COI, or Control 1, and the Contact 6 PLUS could be controlled by any other CZone controller, Circuit or Mode.