METS, so much more
I may seem hung up on Garmin and NMEA 2000, but actually METS was worth months of future Panbo entries. For instance, the world introduction to the B&G H3000 system and also to Navico, the new “papa” brand over arching Simrad, Lowrance, etc., was wonderfully prefaced by extreme racing sailor Knut Forstad. Besides showing some stunning video of Volvo 70’s (100% B&G equipped), he had this slide illustrating an automatic sheet release system on a trimaran. T
hose Harkin cam cleats can be pneumatically opened by a Hercules processor based on any parameters in the system, like heel, pitch, wind speed, etc. Nice for a single hander trying to rest at 30 knots plus!
After the press conference I asked Knut if offshore racers are using AIS. He told me that the Volvo Brazil picked up a receiver in Baltimore, loved it, and that many of the open 60 tris are now carrying full transponders. He was adamant about how valuable a technology it is, and how every offshore race boat should be carrying one. I learned a lot about AIS Class B at METS, but it will have to wait.
It looks like the new B&G system incorporates some older Simrad equipment (the analog displays) and still doesn’t use NMEA 2000. What’s with that? How much is new, how much is product line rationalization?
I had the opportunity to see the new B&G H3000 system at METS.
The H3000 CPU is a straight drop-in replacement of the older ones. I guess you could use your old sensors with it.
The analog displays actually use _ONLY_ simnet/N2K to connect. These can be used with any NMEA 2000 data source. You cannot therefore connect these to a H2000 CPU. The new displays use glass instead of plastic, so they don’t crack in harsh sunlight environments (carribean etc) according to the representative I spoke to.
The digital displays use both fastnet (B&G) and/or simnet/N2K. They use bonded displays, so no more fogging up and better sunlight viewing.
Look-and-feel is a mix between B&G and Simrad. Just look at the keys on the digital displays and compare to Simrad.
The new Simrad WR20 Remote Commander is not compatible, unfortunately.