The Marine Electronics Hub
Seeking the cutting edge of marine electronics—any technology really—can be bitter sweet. On the one hand, for instance,it’s wicked hard right now to actually get your hands onFuruno NavNet 3D equipment here in the States, so hard that Furuno USA just posted a long apology about it. Meanwhile a U.K. Panbo reader and electronics pro has just installed a full suite of NN3D gear, and is exceedingly…
If the Furuno FI-50 family featured yesterday are segmented LED old school—and the color all-in-ones can display data any which way (if the page designers get their butts in gear)—then Simrad’s IS20s are the middle school of N2K instruments.
The press release for the new Garmin instruments doesn’t mention it — and I didn’t notice it at first myself — but can you see what’s quite unusual about these monochrome displays? The GNX 20 at left and its inverted GNX 21 sibling have LCD screens that are partly segmented and partly dot matrix. I didn’t even know that was possible, but I think it makes sense in terms of maximum power efficiency without completely surrendering to the readability limitations of large segments…
Consider this test a work in progress! (Bigger photo here.) Those are two FlowNet N2K interface boxes that FlowScan loaned me with built-in simulation of something like a big sportfishing boat blasting along on a plane. I can…
This is the collection of NMEA 2000 instruments I’ve been testing for several months, but here they’re shown in direct sun light (at about 45N latitude, but this afternoon, darn near solstice). Pop up the bigger image to see how different they look than when in…
My obsession with NMEA 2000 instruments continues. To better test and photograph them in real light conditions, I installed the array in a single, more serious panel. The weapon of choice was…
Today I’ve got a smorgasbord of new gear to share, starting with a trio of serious multi-sensors from Lars Thrane A/S in Denmark. The company first came to my attention when they inquired about advertising — thanks, LT — but a little research revealed why their products may well appeal to Panbo readers. The LT-500 AHRS in the foreground is an 11-sensor Heading, Roll, Pitch, Air Pressure and Temperature device; the LT-300 GNSS not shown is a 72-channel GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou receiver; and the LT-1000 Navigation Reference Unit (NRU) shown installed essentially combines the two. Common to all of the current Lars Thrane products is promised high precision, reasonable pricing, simultaneous NMEA 0183 and 2000 output, and an impressive attention to the real boat details involved in installation, calibration, and future proofing…
There’s lot to report from the Fort Lauderdale Show, but the calendar dictates that I first write about this Seapilot satellite compass. That’s because a startling 50% show discount is still available this week, so you can buy the Vector Compact-N NMEA 2000 model seen above for $500 simply by applying the code “FLIBS2015” in the shopping cart. The Compact seemed like a relatively good value at twice the price when I first discussed its features last November, and since then I’ve seen it perform pretty well on Gizmo…
It’s great that boaters on research missions are constantly (though quietly) digging through Panbo’s archives. But when one is inspired to write a detailed, articulate rebutal to a stand I took years ago on a subject that’s still relevant, it deserves special attention. Bo Collins is working hard to figure out a new electronics system for his 53-foot 1978 Hatteras LRC trawler and he takes exception to my notion that NMEA 2000 certification is not an absolute must when choosing devices that use the data standard. What follows is his argument with my retorts interspersed and plenty of room at the end for you to add your opinion…
I’m starting out with a backside shot of the B&G Triton T41 color instrument display — first announced here last September — because I’d like to highlight the novel installation scheme. After fastening that flanged collar at left into the appropriate size hole, the Triton simply inserts and twist locks — or vice versa — without the need of a tool, and also without any “snap on/off” fastening covers to get broken or lost. It worked fine for me in the lab, and I suspect it will work fine on Gizmo’s bridge, but the very day I took this picture I stumbled on an early Triton user who doesn’t like this system at all…
