Panbo

The Marine Technology Hub

Panbo News and Reviews

SolLight solar-powered LEDs, the long test 10

Cabin & deck gear / Green Boating

SolLight solar-powered LEDs, the long test

SolLights_the_long_test_cPanbo.jpg

Daylight today was at the minimum, at least in my hemisphere, and I was also fiddling with various holiday lights (which might be related phenomenon). So it seems like a good time to write about these SolLight solar-powered LED fixtures that have been lighting up my life for years. I started testing that LightShip model in early 2007 and when Gizmo came along in the spring of 2009 I stuck it to the hatch in the head, where it’s served well for three seasons. It’s left so that the dim red LED comes on at night and then we often switch to the brighter white when using the facilities…

Jeppesen C-Maps, Coastal Explorer 2011 & Plan2Nav 0

Wireless & Apps / Navigation / Charts

Jeppesen C-Maps, Coastal Explorer 2011 & Plan2Nav

Coastal_Explorer_2011_C-Map_beta_cPanbo.jpg

If you don’t cruise outside the U.S. it may not matter, but Coastal Explorer users who do seem quite excited that the PC charting program will soon support the worldwide portfolio of Jeppesen C-Map Max charts and maybe even NT+ cards. You can hear the enthusiasm, and learn a lot of detail about how support will work, by checking out this CE Beta testing forum entry. Better yet, if you already run CE 2011, you can download the Beta from the same page and then use its rich chart management features to download some of C-Map’s generous demo cartography…

Super light VHF handhelds: Icom M24 vs Standard Horizon HX300 15

Communications

Super light VHF handhelds: Icom M24 vs Standard Horizon HX300

Icom_M24_float_n_flash.jpg

I’ve been meaning to write about the Icom M24 handheld VHF for some time. While I haven’t actually tested this model myself, just holding one at a boat show was a revelation about how light and hand-friendly a full-featured portable marine radio can be these days. Apparently Standard Horizon was also impressed, because today they announced an HX300 model that seems very similar…

Open N2K to WiFi, Chetco SeaSmart & DMK Yacht Instruments 43

Wireless & Apps / NMEA 2000, 0183 & Signal K

Open N2K to WiFi, Chetco SeaSmart & DMK Yacht Instruments

Chetco_SeaSmart_data_on_Panbo_iPad_cPanbo.jpg

It took me less than an hour to cable a sample Chetco SeaSmart E-Net to Gizmo’s NMEA 2000 network and WiFi router and use the boat’s PC to scan for its IP address, which then yielded screens like the “Weather Info” browser page above on both my iPad and Android Incredible phone. Cool!  And if I was actually proficient at the sort of IT stuff represented in that SeaSmart “Network Setup” screen, it probably would have been quicker. Admittedly there are some issues with that data — Gizmo was not pitched 30 degrees, for instance! — and I’ve got a lot more testing to do, but I am excited about the growing number of devices designed to gateway NMEA 2000 (and other boat sensor data) out to Ethernet and WiFi in forms that can be easily displayed, or, better yet, easily used by any software developer…

Vesper Marine AIS-DSC calling, merry Christmas (again) 28

Communications / AIS

Vesper Marine AIS-DSC calling, merry Christmas (again)

Vesper_aisWatchMate_DSC_calling_cPanbo.jpg

I’ll venture a guess that Vesper Marine won’t commit to giving annual Christmas “prezzies” to their AIS WatchMate customers forever, but the company is following up on its terrific 2010 anchor watch software gift with a new free update feature that lets users place direct DSC calls to AIS targets if their WatchMate model 670, 750, or 850 is set up to output NMEA 0183 to a compatible VHF radio. But I fear “compatible” is the key word here, and I caution WatchMate owners not to set their expectations high, though I think that this is a very worthwhile experiment…

Lowrance HDS Gen2, with StructureMap! 14

Navigation

Lowrance HDS Gen2, with StructureMap!

The breaking news today is that Lowrance is out with the new HDS Gen2 multifunction display series, and it has enough processing power to support an interesting new feature called StructureMap. Of course you...

Simrad Broadband Radar 4G, hand’s-on #1 41

Navigation

Simrad Broadband Radar 4G, hand’s-on #1

Simrad_NSE12_w_4G_radar_Camden_Harbor_cPanbo.jpg

I’ve looked forward to testing Simrad’s new 4G Broadband Radar since I saw it demoed in Fort Lauderdale. And how timely that I got out with it and the rest of Gizmo’s test radars over the weekend. Tonight I’m reprising my Seven Sea’s University radar webinar, and now I’ve got fresh material!  (No hard sell meant, but Panbo readers can get the SSCA discount by using the code “Gizmo” and note that you can watch the webinar any time in the next few weeks even if you can’t make it tonight). Plus it’s been weirdly warm here for early December, so I had a pleasant cruise even if almost all those finely targeted Camden Inner Harbor floats are empty in anticipation of what is surely coming…

DeLorme inReach hand’s-on #2, text me! 16

Wireless & Apps / Communications / Safety & SAR

DeLorme inReach hand’s-on #2, text me!

DeLorme_inReach_web_portal_cPanbo.jpg

Following up on inReach hands-on #1 — which attempted to be both an overview and a close look at its associated Android app Earthmate — let’s check out the Internet side of the system. The screen above is the user’s web portal at explore.delorme.com, which DeLorme developed in partnership with GeoPro. Given that GeoPro builds its own pro-level Iridium handhelds, like its new $1,200 SHOUT Nano, it’s no surprise that the portal let’s you thoroughly view and manage inReach communications. It could even be used by, say, a fleet manager to keep an eye on multiple inReach units…