FLIBS, “expensive” is relative
This is turning out to be a big year in marine electronics, particularly at the high end, and FLIBS is always a reminder of how high that end can be. I won’t argue with commenters who find the new NavNet 3D and G-Series expensive, but I might point them at something like this custom helm seen in the Super Yacht Tent. Check it out bigger here, and note the several translucent alarm-coded trackballs like the Palladium model I found in the same tent last year. Palladium, by the way, designed theirs from scratch and says it not related to the “Chameleon” hardware found at a German manufacturer. Whatever, these trackballs are a great idea. The helm, incidentally, was put together by Radio Zeeland DMP, and I have no idea what it cost.
What’s interesting about a lot of new gear is that it is a software created interface on an LCD screen touch, mouse and or keyboard driven.
Gone are the days of gauges and purpose made displays. It’s a screen(s) and a black box w/ software with a bunch of inputs!
And this means that it should be more economical cos you don’t have to manufacture. It’s now mostly software engineering, ain’t it?
Us software engineers are getting to be a bit expensive.