The Marine Electronics Hub
The photo is from a BoatUS press release discussing how it, NOAA, and several other organizations are concerned that many boaters are using outdated charts. They’ve even got a survey going (quick and easy), and I bet the results will confirm their worry. But while the new Alliance for Safe Navigation they’ve formed leads to a neat Notice to Mariners tool I hadn’t seen before, I worry about more than keeping up with NOAA’s chart changes…
It’s good to get some solid hand’s on time with the Vesper WatchMate AIS plotter, which I admired when it first appeared, then as it got a built-in receiver option, and finally as seen live in Miami. And, yes, that is the 750 foot deep water drill ship Stena Forth now anchored in Penobscot Bay for an amazing warranty repair, mentioned in comments this week and to be explored further. But for a really vivid example of why Vesper’s sophisticated AIS alarming is valuable, consider the Bermuda Race fleet crossing the shipping lanes last night…
The Simrad NSE10 prototype is back in the lab, and will soon be back on Gizmo at the heart of an extensive SimNet/Ethernet test system. Only now it’s running recently released 2.0 firmware and it’s loaded with the HD version of Navico’s Insight charts that was missing in prototype mode. I was particularly interested in checking out the latter as I’m working on a charting piece for Cruising World, and I like what I’ve seen so far…
One good sign: Recently, a friend who’d eaten at a waterfront restaurant called to ask if I knew “that there was a bright white light shining on Gizmo’s flying bridge?” Now, in truth, Gizmo’s float is just a few hundred feet from the deck of that restaurant and the SolLight RailLight Mini isn’t all that bright, but it sure is easy to install and use…
I’ve been trying to search out a low-power 12v PC for Gizmo, though I might give up for this season — I’m so behind project-wise — and it may not be such an issue once I install a decent solar panel or two. But it’s certainly a dynamic subject, and one way to keep up is to watch the folks who are truly obsessed with power efficiency (and low weight)…offshore racing sailors. The photos of that unusual PC in the spartan interior of an Open 40 above were sent along by system designer Eric Steinberg, founder of Farallon Electronics, along with a few details…
That big fella scrunched alongside Gizmo’s Volvo Penta diesel is the new love of my life 😉 It’s hard to imagine a better engine guy experience than what I got this week from Pat Ricci, proprietor of Thomaston Boat and Engine Works. When I called him on Tuesday, after Monday’s somewhat traumatic break down, I knew there was a major fresh water coolant leak somewhere around the exhaust manifold, and an engineer/sailor friend who had a look predicted a two phase repair — dissemble and diagnosis, then parts ordering and repair — that would total several days labor and several large boat bucks. But Pat did the diagnosis right on phone and said he’d order parts and do the whole repair in a half day, soon. Which is exactly what he did, and more…
Bless the Google (and the whole ever-improving info Web)! Minutes after I stumbled on this intriguing SailorPC tucked away on Avia Sail’s purchase page, I’d found the manufacturer’s product site with the high res promo photo above and downloadable brochure and manual, as well as pr about the “Engineers’ Choice Award” it recently won and even what appears to a U.S. semi-wholesale distributor. This thing is very interesting, about as close to a modern multi-function navigation display as I’ve seen a PC get…
The name “See Cannon” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but the concept is interesting. Encase a new generation ultra low lux camera in a small aluminum housing sealed to IP66 standards, offer a variety of 12v/video cable and marine mounting options, and market it as night vision for the many boaters who yearn for true thermal vision but can’t quite afford it. That seems to be the strategy of newcomer Night to Day Camera Systems, and I suspect its success turns largely on just what “ultra low” means…
Yeah, yeah, yeah; the new iPhone 4 was announced and it looks pretty cool. And if its GPS and background apps processing are good enough, maybe it can track as well as my Droid Incredible ;-). That track above especially exemplifies the value of easy tracking as it documents my five-month-old granddaughter’s first boat ride, a row around Camden Harbor in search of my bird buddies. Though I simply fired up Google My Tracks and stuck the phone back in my pocket, the accuracy is excellent, even in my truck as I drove home, as you can see here in a Google My Map (which I was able to create from the phone with a couple of clicks). That’s why My Tracks is a favorite at the moment, though I have so many tracking options my head spins, and sometimes the memories captured are a lot less pleasant…
Navigation on iPad is a hot subject, as discussed here recently (and, mind you, Navionics has now joined the iPad possibilities). So I’m pleased to publish the following excerpt from a review by Tom MacNeil, a long time beta tester for the GPSNavX/ MacENC/iNavX family of charting programs. To say that he’s enthusiastic about how developer Rich Ray’s software runs on an iPad is an understatement! Tom has been sailing and messing with boat technology for thirty years, and currently runs an marine electronics and electrical shop somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Warning: If you read the following, you may soon find yourself at the Apple Store typing in your credit card number…
