Panbo

The Marine Technology Hub

Panbo News and Reviews

2

Network & control / Navigation / Electrical & Engines

Dometic all electric steering, four years later and now with autopilot

It’s now been four years since I installed Dometic’s all electric steering system (AES) on Panbo(at). When I wrote my initial review of the system, I bragged that after sixty hours on the boat the system worked perfectly and without incident. Allow me to add a zero to my brag. After six hundred trouble free hours I’m back with an update on the system, a new auto pilot, and information on additional all electric systems for more boat types.

2

Network & control / The future

Starlink Mini is available, but with limited data options

We’ve been hearing about Starlink’s Mini terminal for a long time now. Recently, hints from regulatory filings, new documents on their website, preparation for the new terminal in the app, and even a Tweet from Elon Musk made it seem the introduction was imminent. This week, Starlink made links on the website live and started sending emails to some long time subscribers offering an opportunity to purchase the new terminal. Now we have the opportunity to see if the Mini answers some of boater’s gripes with the current hardware.

10

Sailing & Racing / Navigation / Weather / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

Calypso Instruments Ultrasonic NMEA 2000 wind meter, plug and play wind

Wind sensors serve multiple purposes on a boat. For a sailor, they provide critical information to best harness the wind. For a power boater, they provide insight into conditions and a potential preview of close quarters manuevering. Regardless of the application, a simple, reliable, accurate, and easy to use wind instrument is something many boaters value. Does the Calypos Ultrasonic NMEA 2000 Wind Sensor deliver? Let’s take a look.

72

LiFePO4 / Editors' Blog / Electrical & Engines

Charging LiFePO4, what’s the impact of lower voltages?

What voltage should I charge my LiFePO4 batteries? That seems like a simple question likely to have a single, direct answer. But, the actual answers are often unclear. Many LiFePO4 battery manufacturers recommend 14.6 volt absorption. But, that singular recommendation doesn’t account for numerous factors like managing a larger system, battery longevity, and more. Increasingly, we are seeing good reasons to lower charge voltages to 14 volts or below. But, what impact does that lower charge voltage have on capacity and charge time? Let’s take a look.

8

Getting Technical / Editors' Blog / Network & control / The future / The Trade

Getting Technical: Standard upgrade

NMEA OneNet is the National Marine Electronics Association’s most recent standard, one of only three major electronics standards the organization has released in the past 40-plus years. First came NMEA 0183 in 1983, then NMEA 2000 in 2001, and now OneNet. The previous standards stood the test of time. In fact, despite being 41 years old, NMEA 0183 continues to be built into many electronics and remains the preferred standard for many light commercial vessels.

7

Network & control / Communications / The future

Starlink spring 2024, making sense of continued changes

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted a Starlink update. Frankly, that’s because things have (mostly) been humming along pretty well with a relative minimum of changes. While there have been developments, including new hardware, none of them called to me for an update. Until last week. That’s when subscribers to Starlink’s Mobility – Global package received an email notifying them their monthly charges would double. So, now seems like a good time to dive back in and take a look at the state of affairs at SpaceX and Starlink.

76

LiFePO4 / Editors' Blog / Electrical & Engines

Update: Epoch’s 460ah battery, what we’ve learned

In January of this year, I published my review of the Epoch 460 amp-hour, 12 volt battery. My review was quite positive and reflected how the battery performed in my testing. But, once the battery was in the wild, reports began trickling in of troubles with some installations of the 460s. That lead to weeks of investigating the issues. At this point, I believe I have a solid command of what’s happening with these batteries and some of their limitations. While this better understanding of the batteries does serve to take a little shine off them, I still believe these are very solid batteries and capable of delivering excellent service. But, for best service, some tuning is required.

19

Panbo & misc. / The Trade

Max Marine Electronics, used gear with confidence

I first learned about Max Marine Electronics when Max himself served with me on an awards judging panel at the National Marine Electronics Association’s annual meeting a few years ago. Since hearing about his operations, I’ve been planning to visit the facility and see how they refurbish and sell used marine electronics. It took a while, but I recently made my way to Pompano Beach and spent the day with Max at his eponymous company.