Faria WatchDog 750, multi mode comms
I just finished a June PMY column about how the gauge manufacturer Faria is busting out into marine electronics. I visited their Connecticut factory in January and then saw more of their Maestro do-it-all touch screen system in Miami. I’m hot to tell you more about Maestro but am going to wait until Faria puts it up on its Web site (hint, hint). In the meantime, take a gander at the WatchDog 750. Right now it’s aimed at the commercial fishing boats mandated to report positions and catches—i.e. the Vessel Monitoring System, or VMS—but dealers are telling Faria that it’s suitable for the bluewater cruising market. No kidding!
The 750 combines Iridium and GSM transceivers for “least cost” global tracking/monitoring/email. Who’d want that? Be sure to check out the demo of WatchDog’s server side abilities (though the link seems a bit flaky and may need a few tries). Then imagine a cruising version of this dual-mode comms integrated with a dedicated touch screen navigation, engine monitoring, digital switching, etc. boat PC. By the way, I think we’re going to see a number of multi mode marine comms devices like this and Syrens WiFi/cell.
I saw this device demonstrated at MIBS. It supports email on both SATCOM and GSM, it generates GPS position reports and records them, and it has a built in alert button that will email and call 5 accounts with ones coordinates if there is trouble. Even though it is aimed at commercial fishing, I could see putting this on my boat for rec purposes. Nice job Faria. When does it support the web?