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Thrane & Thrane, Volvo & VSAT 4

Communications

Thrane & Thrane, Volvo & VSAT

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Tomorrow the Volvo Ocean Race begins its first offshore leg — Alicante, Spain to Capetown, South Africa — and Thrane & Thrane is justifiably proud of how it will help the racers keep in touch and also help us follow the action. That’s the company’s little Inmarsat mini-C dome in the foreground along with its FleetBroadband 150 (also sold as the KVH and Intellian FB150s, I think). The Volvo boats also get Sailor VHF radios– probably the 6215 model which has impressed me in testing you’ll hear about soon — and big FB500 systems especially useful for uploading video. That’s one job of “media crew members” (MCMs) like Groupama’s Yann Riou shown filming above. To see what this equipment and the crews are about to endure check out these video snippets from the last Volvo. And note that B&G is also proud of its serious Volvo involvement, but I have more Thrane & Thrane news…

Scanstrut waterproof iPad case, & adjustable mount 11

Wireless & Apps / Cabin & deck gear

Scanstrut waterproof iPad case, & adjustable mount

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It may be a bit early to discuss this Scanstrut iPad case because it’s not scheduled to ship until February, but I know a lot of boaters are wondering what’s possible in this realm, and besides it goes with yesterday’s iPads-on-yachts-of-the-future entry. Plus, as noted in this Scanstrut blog, the case is “short listed” for a DAME award in two weeks. And I got Scanstrut to share some information on the optional mount that can go with it…

Cheoy Lee Alpha 76, SmartGlass & SiMON2 iPads 2

Cabin & deck gear / Electrical & Engines

Cheoy Lee Alpha 76, SmartGlass & SiMON2 iPads

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The Cheoy Lee Shipyard hasn’t been building ships and yachts since 1870 by resting on its laurels, and that young man — who apparently represents generation five of the yard’s continuous Lo family ownership — is obviously pleasing some prospective clients with his demo of the first Alpha 76’s unique “SmartGlass” system. I was impressed too. A slider on his iPad (or a wall switch) made those huge side windows go from crystal clear to deeply tinted to somewhat translucent but completely private. Even if there was a way to fit curtains without messing up the Alpha’s clean interior design, the SPD-SmartGlass technology seems cooler. And let’s further note that the iPad app in Lo’s hands controls much, much more than the windows…

FLIBS 2011: Geonav autorouting, from C-Map & Navionics 2

Navigation / Charts

FLIBS 2011: Geonav autorouting, from C-Map & Navionics

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FLIBS was my first chance to see the autorouting capabilities of C-Map 4D in action, and I liked what I saw. And not only is Geonav the first to make the feature available but it’s also the first to enable a similar autorouting feature from Navionics (which I wasn’t even aware of). As with other “Dual Fuel” chart features, Geonav tried to make the interface on the G12 (and G10) the same so that users switching between C-Map and Navionics cards aren’t confused. That’s why the details of the menus above and below are the same no matter which type of chart you’re using…

Navico Broadband Radar 4G, the launch demo 29

Navigation

Navico Broadband Radar 4G, the launch demo

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Holy cow!  The just-announced-today Lowrance/Simrad 4G Broadband Radar may look just like the original BR24 and its 3G upgrade, but there’s some astonishing NEW technology under that dome. In fact, Navico engineers seem to have overcome what I thought was an immutable law of radar physics, that beam width is purely a function of radar antenna length. I understood how the original FMCW solid state transmit technology — which is like CHIRP sonar — could produce better range resolution, but the BR24 and 3G are still limited to a 5 degree horizontal resolution just like all the other radomes in that 20″ size range. Not 4G!…

IBEX 2011: Vetus, Volvo Penta, Tallon & Southco 1

Cabin & deck gear / Electrical & Engines

IBEX 2011: Vetus, Volvo Penta, Tallon & Southco

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Vetus already had wireless remotes for its thrusters and windlasses, so why not develop a Bluetooth hardware interface and an app that can do more than even a wired control head using the smart phone many skippers already have in their pocket? I can’t find anything about this Remote Monitoring and Command app online but Vetus was showing it off at IBEX and it will probably be officially launched next month at METS. I understand that they’ll also have a new rim drive thruster there, and at Newport they were demoing a 4- and 5-cylinder diesel design that can supposedly benefit from its turbo at any rpm…

Aquatic AV, doing what Fusion hasn’t? 6

Entertainment

Aquatic AV, doing what Fusion hasn’t?

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The Aquatic AV AQ-DM-4B Media Locker is purportedly so waterproof and rugged that you could install it on a Jet Ski, and though the company is relatively new to the marine world, it does have years of experience making stereos for the highly humid and harshly chemical environment around hot tubs. Plus there’s a nice simplicity to a black box iPod/MP3 amp run only by a wireless remote, especially when that’s a two-way RF remote capable of 50 foot range and even of showing iPod tune titles on its little screen… 

Fish Gate 100, the IBEX launch 6

Cabin & deck gear / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

Fish Gate 100, the IBEX launch

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I got such a kick out of these guys. Not only did they come to IBEX with an exceptionally innovative new product, but they seemed to confirm a couple of my pet theories. One is that even a tiny startup company still has a chance in the marine electronics industry. And the other — which is definitely related — is that NMEA 2000 can make it easier to develop new products which are usefully unique while still leveraging off and/or integrating with, existing systems…

Raymarine i70 vs Garmin GMI 10, mission accomplished? 16

Navigation / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

Raymarine i70 vs Garmin GMI 10, mission accomplished?

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A bigger and at least as bright a display? Check!  Able to show vaguely as many NMEA 2000 data fields in vaguely as many ways? Check!  Also manageable with a clean and intuitive interface? Check!  Don’t take me too seriously as I’ve only tested the new Raymarine i70 for maybe an hour now, but it’s no doubt an impressive parry at the venerable Garmin GMI 10…

From Tallon, smart iPad & electronics mounts 12

Wireless & Apps / Cabin & deck gear

From Tallon, smart iPad & electronics mounts

The Lowrance Elite press release is here and indicates that this product is a conscious colloboration between Tallon, RAM, and Lowrance. Smart!  Which is also what I thought when I learned about Tallon’s Ultimate iPad Mount a few months ago. Why design and manufacture your own iPad holder when RAM has it covered? But do develop a socket system that makes the RAM gear easier to use and nicer to look at on a boat.
   Incidentally, I asked Tallon about what’s on the other side of the Elite USB Socket. I was hoping for a single 12v lead that would power both the USB and lighter-style outlets, but in fact they’re separate male USB and 12v leads. So installing one of these requires a 5v USB supply, and a 2 amp one if you want to charge an iPad (mind you that most any RAM device holder will work with the socket). At any rate, I’m looking forward to seeing this gear in the flesh at IBEX next week (though I have a lot to do beforehand).

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