Panbo

The Marine Technology Hub

Panbo News and Reviews

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Wireless & Apps / Electrical & Engines / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K / Monitoring & Tracking

LXNav SmartShunt, WiFi and NMEA 2000 battery monitoring

As a regular reader of Panbo, long before I became involved, my favorite articles were the ones that introduced me to a new product or company. As the editor of Panbo, little excites me more than hearing from a new company and getting to introduce a product to my readers. Perhaps, for many readers, this review will serve as an introduction to LXNav and their SmartShunt WiFi and NMEA 2000-connected battery monitoring shunt. Join me for a review of the SmartShunt and a look at the rest of LXNav’s marine-focused offerings.

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Editors' Blog / Navigation / Green Boating

Gizmo’s new (though previously owned) compass, thanks to Max Marine Electronics

Perhaps you too remember seeing decent-looking marine electronics peeking out of boatyard dumpsters? While I fear that such waste is probably still happening, thankfully websites like eBay and Craigslist have made it much easier for buyers and sellers of niche gear to find each other. But did you know that a company in South Florida has brought high levels of expertise and professionalism to the used boat electronics market? In fact, the main goal of this entry is a hearty endorsement of Max Marine Electronics…

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LiFePO4 / Electrical & Engines

Victron Phoenix Smart IP43 Charger, charging perfection?

I’ve written a lot about Victron’s products. In fact, I’ve written enough that I sometimes fear my readers will see another Victron article and roll their eyes. But, yet again, I find myself with a compelling Victron product that I feel you should hear about. This time, it’s a battery charger. I realize you may not think of battery chargers as the most exciting piece of technology on your boat, but bear with me and read on to hear why I think you should be excited by this one.

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Mobile Apps / Wireless & Apps / Navigation / Handheld / Charts

Mobile navigation app roundup

Apps running on tablets and phones have come a long way from the first, relatively primitive charting apps that debuted shortly after the turn of the millennia. Not only have the existing apps gained big functionality, but we’ve also seen many new entries into the category. This entry will attempt to review the currently available apps and their capabilities.

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Editors' Blog / Navigation / Charts / The future

“Practical Navigators” — when olde Salem MA met the paper(chart)less future

The Navigator of the United States Navy does not mess around. Addressing a bow-tie-speckled crowd of New England yachtsmen and nautical history buffs, Rear Admiral Richard West passionately described the “technological explosion” that is blowing apart the grand traditions of marine navigation, and his commitment to an all-digital future. When asked the inevitable question about paper charts, he grinned mischievously and said, “We’re going to throw them all overboard!” 

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Sailing & Racing / Wireless & Apps / Navigation / Charts / AIS / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

Orca offers smart navigation with your tablet or theirs

Orca makes some pretty heady claims about their CoPilot navigation app and hardware. Their home page is dominated by the tagline, “The ultimate navigation experience” and promises “Better boating with Orca.” Those are bold statements, but Orca’s goals are indeed ambitious. Orca aims to deliver a smarter, more automated navigation experience by leveraging both their own and off-the-shelf hardware. So, how far along the path to delivering the ultimate navigation experience has Orca progressed so far? Let’s take a look.

Extensive NMEA 2000 Alert messages have long been available, but Garmin is still one of the few manufacturers to support them 17

Editors' Blog / The Trade / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K / Monitoring & Tracking

NMEA 2000 network Alert PGNs seem great, so why are they hardly used?

Most of us get to see the NMEA 2000 data sharing standard doing good on our boats, like how the N2K output of a GPS receiver — or heading sensor, or AIS transponder, etc. — can be seen and used by almost any network display regardless of brand. But I’m sorry to report that most of us have also been missing out on a valuable NMEA 2000 feature that’s been available for over a decade. I’m talking about the set of Alert PGNs — i.e. bundles of subject-specific data and command fields known by their Parameter Group Numbers — that theoretically permit any N2K device to send standard or custom alerts to any display, which…

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Wireless & Apps / Network & control / How-to / Electrical & Engines

Maximizing solar production with Victron GX

After the loss of Have Another Day, my primary DC test platform is Harvey, my family’s RV. Over the winter we upgraded from our previous 35-foot coach to a 43-foot Newmar Dutch Star. With that upgrade, I’ve added 1,350 watts of solar to the new RV. With all that solar, I wanted to ensure I was taking full advantage of the potential production. That sent me diving through the settings in my Victron system to figure out the best way to manage my system. Currently, I’m using a Virtual Switch in the inverter to manage DC power sources and it’s working quite well.

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Editors' Blog / Wireless & Apps / Navigation / What's on board...

Are tablets ready to replace chart plotters?

Apple’s Steve Jobs introduced the iPad in April 2010. At the time, I was working in financial services technology. The day it was introduced, I ordered a half dozen of them so we could try them out and see what this new-fangled computer without a keyboard might do well. That original iPad, with 256 megabytes of RAM, 16 gigabytes of storage, and a tiny app store was pretty limited. But, we’ve come a long way in the last 13 years and tablets can do an awful lot. But, are they a replacement for dedicated navigation electronics? Let’s take a look at the capabilities they offer and some of the remaining limitations.

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Navigation / Safety & SAR

Solid state radomes compared, part 3 – Furuno checks in

This article is supposed to be a thorough comparison of how Furuno’s DRS2DNXT compared to the other radars I’ve tested. Unfortunately, testing multiple radars on a 22-foot boat is challenging. The most recent challenge included snapping a freshly made mount before I was able to get offshore with the setup. The bad news is, I wasn’t able to complete all my testing scenarios. The good news is, I still have the radar unit and I’m working on more permanent and robust mounting options. But for now, here’s what I’ve learned.