Panbo

The Marine Technology Hub

Panbo News and Reviews

3

Navigation / Safety & SAR / Charts / AIS / The future

Flir thermal cameras get Raymarine ClearCruise Augmented Reality

Raymarine’s ClearCruise AR (augmented reality) is very cool technology and it’s getting even cooler with support for pan and tilt thermal cameras. Clear Cruise AR overlays information about chart objects, AIS targets, and waypoints over a camera image displayed on Raymarine MFDs. Though the first version — unveiled at IBEX in the fall of 2018 — only supported fixed visible light cameras, I’ve thought its greatest value would come when overlayed on thermal images.

31

Navigation / Handheld / History

My Garmin GPS 45 was amazing in 1994, and it still works (mostly)

Discovering that my old Garmin GPS 45 still works was especially nostalgic because Gizmo and I were returning from WoodenBoat School, one of the first places I used it 25 years ago. Many memories that far back are foggy, but it’s easy to recall how much this wonderful gadget helped me to stay safe and relaxed even when trying to teach beginners how to sail and navigate in big tides, cold water, and real fog…

9

Editors' Blog / How-to / What's on board... / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

Raymarine LightHouse 3 calibrates Oceanic Systems tank senders, on my float mate’s boat

Way down the long list of new features that came with April’s LightHouse v3.9. update for Raymarine Axiom MFDs is “Tank naming and Sender Calibration” and it turns out that means NMEA 2000 tank senders made by Oceanic Systems. Which is a semi-big deal because a significant disappointment of N2K is that while many standard data PGNs are truly plug-and-play across brands, sensor calibration is usually not…

15

Editors' Blog / Wireless & Apps / Network & control / Communications

Is Visible’s $40 cell plan better than Verizon’s defunct $65 unlimited hotspot deal?

Visible, a relatively new Verizon subsidiary, has been offering a $40 per month (taxes included) unlimited plan for about a year.  While the plan’s pricing is great, its usefulness has been potentially limited by a 5mbps speed cap. Today Visible announced that they’re removing this speed cap while keeping the rest of the plan the same.  Is this as good as it sounds?

4

Editors' Blog / Cabin & deck gear / How-to / Zany

Cruisair AC unit extraction, quality Wera tools helped

How different are boats, boaters, how we boat, and where we boat? On the very day that Ben Stein despaired about Have Another Day’s South Florida air conditioning addiction, I proudly humped this old Cruisair AC unit off Gizmo with no replacement plans. The sense of accomplishment actually came from a challenging extraction process, and that may have been much harder without some particular hand tools…

17

Editors' Blog / Wireless & Apps / Network & control / Communications / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

Geek Alert: ngrok remote tunnels make connecting to devices on the boat easy

Prior to being a boating geek… I was a professional geek. I have a lot of data on the NMEA 2000 network on Have Another Day but no way to access it all remotely. I’m getting ready to leave the boat for a few weeks so I really want to access all that data off the boat. After some digging for a way to make that off boat access possible, I found one with which I’m currently thrilled.

8

Electrical & Engines / The Trade / Monitoring & Tracking

MPower digital switching, the strengths of Maretron and Carling align

The Maretron MPower 12 Channel DC Load Module that’s slowly rolling out this year may look like just another darn black box, but it’s a watershed product in my estimation. If you’re a technical dealer, a custom builder, or a savvy DIY boat owner already familiar with Maretron’s vast monitoring ecosystem, you’ll get impressive yet inexpensive distributed power and digital switching capabilities that integrate well with a system you may already service or own…

12

Editors' Blog / Network & control / Green Boating

Eye popping electric bills, monitoring and reducing electrical consumption

Have Another Day is currently in Fort Myers on the Caloosahatchee River where the daily highs are in the low to mid-90s, and even the marina water is nearly 90 degrees. Last month the boat sucked down over $300 in electricity, more than she uses in an entire season in Chicago, and I figured my biggest culprit is likely the 48,000 BTU split gas Salon AC unit…

9

Cabin & deck gear / Entertainment / What's on board... / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

Fusion Apollo and Signature Series, a boatload of audio goodness

A day on the water is better with good tunes, and the rise of streaming has changed how we get music on board a lot.  For the last decade, Fusion has lead the way with stereos that use the latest technology to deliver audio on boats.  I’ve just finished a complete install of the company’s current gear aboard Have Another Day and as you will read, Fusion continues to leverage the latest tech and deliver great sound.