LED lights are making an entrance everywhere, replacing 'traditional' lighting technologies. They have many advantages, that can be even more relevant with boating requirements in mind.
"LEDs create powerful illumination using very small amounts of energy, and last much longer than standard bulbs. Innovative Lighting harnesses this power in its new line of Two-Mile LED Navigation Sidelights, rated for powerboats up to 65.6'. Innovative Lighting's LED Combination Deck Mount, Sidelight Deck Mount and Vertical Mount Sidelights operate using a 9-16 volt DC system and provide 50,000 hours of service life. The combination unit uses just 1 watt of energy, while the single sidelights use only 1/2-watt."
Earlier this week I posted about two high-end marinized PCs that recently got on the market. Stealth's LPC-401X and Capax's IPC-2402-MARINE-P4. Since I had no experience with either one of them, I let the experts do the talking. Gizmodo tipped Stealth as the winner, and Glenn Ashmore provided a compelling case for this machine as well on Google Groups.
"The Stealth is an extremely ruggedly built industrial computer and with audio, USP and Firewire on the front panel and the back it is a lot more
convenient to use. While it is not IEC-945 certified it is desighed for mounting on machines in a factory environment and would meet the vibration and shock load test better than the CAPAX. The only question I would have is the requirement for 10 minutes of 2KV 2.5Khz pulses into the supply line. That spec looks like it is to test normal mains 120/240V filtered power supplies and would probably not be appropriate for 18VDC supplies."
"If you are on a 75' or larger mega yacht that otherwise qualifies for SOLAS, the CAPAX it may be worth it but for a typical 40-50' yacht constrained for space and power the Stealth would definitely be a better choice."
With more and more marinas offering Wi-Fi internet access, and with many other floating hotspots all over the world, it starts to make sense to use Wi-Fi as a telephone backbone. So instead of having to deal with different types of networks (GSM, CDMA, UMTS, etc), and roaming between different operators or having to purchase pre-paid calling cards, why not use the WiSIP WiFi SIP Phone to call home. Make sure folks back home have a SIP number as well (and in the near future that won't even be necessary) and you've got one thing less to worry about.
"Basically, the idea is that anywhere there is a WiFi, you should be able to call anyone you can access via SIP. Just like a cell phone. Except... for free."
"It's a bit "prototypey" but it seems to work... Although I don't have anyone to test actual calls with. It comes with a Free World Dialup number, but I don't have any friend who use SIP. I heard that they are currently working on a deal with Vonage, which will let you receive your normal phone calls on it, but I'd rather have everyone using SIP. I got a few other friends to order them so I'll let you know how it works when I have someone to call. ;-)"
Boatsandplaces.com did a review of NDI's Pocket PC solution for handling electronic charts. They're pretty happy with it, a bit to their own surprise. Now combine this with Mitac's Pocket PC we saw yesterday which features integrated GPS and there you have a perfect solution.
"Chart plotters and computer software for e-charts are old news. What could possibly be new and startling in this field? How about a hand-held Personal Data Assistant �PDA �showing full raster charts with software that gives you all the features of a laptop?"
In response to the post about Reefmaster's Digital Dive Camera and my suggestion to 'Wi-Fi-enable' it, Joel Johnson made a comment:
"I don't know how well WiFi would transmit through the water -- there might be a better frequency than 2.4Ghz -- but, man, that's a great idea! Or maybe even a wireless videocamera that could broadcast back to the boat and display on a monitor."
So I tried to find out if 'something' like that actually exists, and it appears that it does. Altough not really perfect, it's a start. The Fishing-CAM. It even allows you to view underwater images on your mobile phone...
"The Fishing-CAM is highly water resistant and pressure resistant as Fishing-CAM camera (a product equipped with LED or infrared ray device to regular CCD/CMOS camera) goes through molding process during manufacture. The encased Fishing-CAM camera is attached to the sinker part of fishing rod. With Fishing-CAM camera, you do not need to dive underwater to see the scenes below! Has a frequency range of around 2.4Hz and transmits up to 500 meters."
How often did you have a bad night of sleep because you were worried about your whether or not your anchor would stay in position? After finding that ideal spot, a boater just wants to drop the anchor and forget about it. Deep Blue Marine's Anchor Alert, engineered by Ascend Marine, offers boaters peace of mind through a new wireless anchor monitoring system.
"Unlike GPS units that can sound annoying false alarms from boat swing, Anchor Alert only signals a warning if the anchor moves. A GPS system sounds an anchor alarm if a boat travels farther than a specified distance. To avoid recurring false alarms, boaters often have to adjust this setting every few hours due to wind or tide changes. The only way to accurately gauge anchor movement is by attaching a movement detection device, such as Anchor Alert's transponder, to the anchor point."
Not as inspirational as the Lake Dal project in India, but nevertheless this is a very welcome gift for commercial ships and private yachts travelling through the Van Starkenborghkanaal in The Netherlands. They will now have the possibility (in Dutch) to enter a wi-fi zone and as long as they're in it, free internet access is available so that email and the latest weather reports can be downloaded.
Although sponsored by Inmarsat, this is a nice guide to help you get the most out of your internet connection while at sea. I like the fact that they are specifically mentioning the use of instant messaging software as a very efficient means of communication.
"One particular application, familiar to most land-based Internet users, that becomes economically viable through MPDS is instant messaging software, available for free from companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo and Netscape, and for business functionality from eg. Mediachase (www.mediachase.com)."
We've discussed least-cost routing and connectivity managers before, and here is another new (software) product from Fiberlink that will help you manage different types of internet connections. Besides these types of solutions, it is also very wise to understand how you can better compress data, or even prevent unnecessary data from being transmitted at all.
"With patent-pending technology called Active Transport Notification�, Extend360 scans a user�s current environment, dynamically detects the access modes available and supported by the enterprise � such as 3G, Wi-Fi, broadband and dial-up � and presents these options to the user in one, easy-to-navigate interface. Users can easily see their options and connect with all available access methods."
LED lights are making an entrance everywhere, replacing 'traditional' lighting technologies. They have many advantages, that can be even more relevant with boating requirements in mind.
"The Stealth is an extremely ruggedly built industrial computer and with audio, USP and Firewire on the front panel and the back it is a lot more 
With more and more marinas 
Boatsandplaces.com did a 
In response to the 
"The Fishing-CAM is highly water resistant and pressure resistant as Fishing-CAM camera (a product equipped with LED or infrared ray device to regular CCD/CMOS camera) goes through molding process during manufacture. The encased Fishing-CAM camera is attached to the sinker part of fishing rod. With Fishing-CAM camera, you do not need to dive underwater to see the scenes below! Has a frequency range of around 2.4Hz and transmits up to 500 meters."
How often did you have a bad night of sleep because you were worried about your whether or not your anchor would stay in position? After finding that ideal spot, a boater just wants to drop the anchor and forget about it. Deep Blue Marine's Anchor Alert, engineered by Ascend Marine, offers boaters peace of mind through a new wireless anchor 
Not as inspirational as the 
I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but if you were subscribed to the following RSS/XML feed: 
Although sponsored by Inmarsat, this is a nice 
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