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NMEA 2011 Expo, neat new stuff #2 17

Navigation / AIS / Weather

NMEA 2011 Expo, neat new stuff #2

Furuno NavPilot 700 safehelm n power steering module cPanbo.jpg

Yes that’s an Accu-Steer reversing hydraulic pump meant to push a rudder around, but that block on top is a patent-pending sensor co-developed with FurunoUSA, and the whole package leads to the very interesting “Safe Helm” and “Power Steer” features coming to the latter’s NavPilot 700 (which explains why the pilot came out elsewhere earlier).  Safe Helm sounds a lot like the “Shadow Drive” feature so far only seen on the Garmin GHP 10 pilot for hydraulic steering systems; instead of poking a StandBy button, you simply turn the wheel to disengage the pilot and steer around an issue, then let the boat settle on a course again to re-engage. It’s elegantly simple (I’ve tried the Garmin version), and it’s potentially great that it’s is no longer exclusive to one manufacturer. And apparently Furuno’s unique method also means that the pump can be used to power assist a steering system, with numerous controls for how that’s done — like variable assist at different speeds — built into the NavPilot 700…

NMEA 2011 Technology Award, the pace quickens 7

The Trade

NMEA 2011 Technology Award, the pace quickens

The Florida trip was a hell of lot more fun than the virus problems I came home to. For instance, just like last year’s NMEA Technology Award, I got to accessorize my noggin with an interesting gadget (though I’ve worn weirder). In this case it’s a David Clark Co. marine intercom system, which now has a wireless gateway that the company had nominated for the award. To test its claimed 300 foot range, my fellow judge Bill Bishop hiked down to the end of the Expo hall and eventually outside the huge building, all the while chatting with myself and third judge Tim Queeney, all of us in a beautifully noise-cancelled full duplex sonic cocoon. Though it’s quite expensive, Clark really has this technology down. There’s even a virtual lady in there somewhere who tells you when you’ve lost or regained contact with the base station…

NMEA 2011 Expo, neat new stuff #1 5

Wireless & Apps / Navigation

NMEA 2011 Expo, neat new stuff #1

NMEA2011_Green_Marine_STAR.jpg

I spent a fair amount of NMEA Conference & Expo time reviewing products that are already shipping — more on that Technology Award tomorrow — but I still got a fair chance to see the new, new stuff (like the Fusion Marine Stereo wow). Check out that Green Marine Bridge Command Display System demo above, for instance, and don’t miss the video. I don’t think there’s ever been a monitor like that STAR at upper right, and I wondered how an owner or installer would set up the unusual STretched Aspect Ratio on the PC driving it. No problem: The monitor itself splits off the top third of a standard screen resolution, so that Maretron N2KView gauge display was simply set up on a regular monitor with that in mind. Slick. And of course there was much more…

Fusion Marine Stereo 700 series, holy mackerel! 88

Wireless & Apps / Entertainment / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

Fusion Marine Stereo 700 series, holy mackerel!

Fusion_Marine_Stereo_700_series.jpg

Pardon the lousy show booth photography, but you’ve got to see what Fusion Audio debuted at NMEA, and it’s not fully online yet. The new MS-IP700 at upper right obviously has a color screen, but it also has both NMEA 2000 and Ethernet ports on its backside. Which means that it will be easy to install that new MS-NRX200 wired remote and it will even be able to display instrument info on its 2.7-inch monochrome screen (which is the same size as the 700 screen, because the collaged images are not to scale). And, yes, the Ethernet port is connected to a WiFi router which is being used by a Fusion app on that iPad at left to choose tunes, adjust volume levels on four possible zones, etc. But that is not all!…

The LightSquared vs GPS problem, what now? 89

Navigation

The LightSquared vs GPS problem, what now?

LightSquared_Geoff_Stearn_at_NMEA_2011_cPanbo.jpg

I learned a lot at the 2011 NMEA Conference & Expo, and got a first peek at some wonderful new marine electronics, but I’ll start my coverage with the scene above. Here on Panbo we started discussing GPS interference caused by LightSquared’s proposed new U.S. broadband cellular network back in March, and the entry now has 111 comments, many vigorously opposed to the LS plan.  Plus the Coalition to Save Our GPS has become a powerfully united and outspoken voice, and the whole darn mess has recently become a political football.  So it seemed fairly brave of Geoffrey Stearn — who is LS’s VP of Spectrum Development — to step into a room full of marine safety authorities (U.S. GMDSS Task Force) and NMEA members all of whose work depends on reliable GPS positioning…

“Monkey Business” — blast from the past #1 3

Charts

“Monkey Business” — blast from the past #1

SF_chart_section_1853_Panbo.JPG

Did you ever see the first-in-20-years Bob Dylan interview with Ed Bradley where Dylan expresses astonishment at lyrics he once wrote (like It’s Alright, Ma), and said he couldn’t do again? A memorable TV moment with a weird and reluctant diety, I thought. My work is absolutely not comparable to Dylan’s, but I do sometimes run across a piece written long ago that surprises me in a good way. That happened today with a 2004 PMY column called “Monkey Business” whose intriguing subtitle is “Charts separate men from apes, but the path from paper to digital passes through the jungle.” I thought I’d republish it with the images that are no longer online, plus links, corrections, and more images. Hope you enjoy…

HydroView & AquaLens, say hello to Aquabotix 4

Cabin & deck gear

HydroView & AquaLens, say hello to Aquabotix

AquaBotix_HydroView.jpg

How neat would it be to launch an HD-video-camera-equipped underwater ROV off your boat to check out running gear, your mooring, or just whatever the heck is down there? And wouldn’t it make sense to view the results on an iPad, and even control the ROV’s movements largely by tilting and turning the pad? Yes, it sounds like a megayacht toy — and it might make a good one — but a brand new Massachusetts company called Aquabotix is hoping for a wider market…

Bermuda Challenge, can a monohull win? 7

What's on board...

Bermuda Challenge, can a monohull win?

TDI_Clean_Diesel_diagram.jpg

Rats. I got excited that an accomplished-sounding guy named Chris Fertig had departed New York Harbor yesterday morning in an attempt at the Bermuda Challenge. He hoped to beat the current speed champ “while using less fuel and producing less engine emissions.” But the Spot tracking page for TDI Clean Diesel indicates that he hung a hard right for home at around eight last night. The boat is still moving right along, so there’s no sign of gear failure, but my calculations show an average speed of only 28 knots for the first 290 miles, and he’d been hoping for 35. Plus his track had started zig-zagging a bit suggesting a contentious sea state despite the Statement Marine’s “shock mitigating suspension system.” Giving up on a sure-to-lose attempt might have been my decision too! But let’s discuss the Challenge and some of Fertig’s gear anyway…