I have posted about the workings of EPIRB and choosing the right EPIRB equipment before, but it seems that not every device functions as it should. With equipment that is so life-critical, be carefull not to save a few dollars at the expense of...
"Unfortunately, in the testing, the off-the-shelf McMurdo Ltd. 'Precision 406 MHz GPS EPIRB' (also known as G4 406 MHz GSP EPIRB) and the McMurdo Ltd. 'Fastfind Plus 406 MHz Personal Location Beacon' (also known as the Fastfind Plus 406 MHz PLB) both failed to reliably acquire a GPS location 'fix' under operational 'real-world conditions,'� Ritter said. �The tests revealed that purchasers of these GPS-equipped 406 MHz beacons � who paid a premium for the added GPS technology in the hopes of potentially shortening rescue response with faster location information and increased location precision � are apparently not getting what they paid for and are operating under false expectations.�
A quite funny quote from a Netstumbler forum thread shows very well that the combination of Wi-Fi and boating is still in the early adopter stage, and that 'wardriving' has its equivalent at sea....
"WARBOATING!!!! It was actually sort of tough to set this up (see photo below). The boat has a double door that snaps open, so I used the double doors to hold tight the NiteIze case flap. The case flap has a metal insert in the back and this is very strong. It held the Jornada, PC card adapter, Orinoco Gold card, yagi antenna, and wires in place for our entire four hour ocean voyage. I set the 8dbi yagi to point towards the shore. When we neared any boats I'd turn the yagi around if need be. (Or is this warshipping? Is that praying?) We received several pings from shore locations, but when we were passed by a police boat we also got a ping! Seems the sonar ping sound is perfect for being on a boat. I checked just now to see if we did indeed get a ping off the boat, it is WEP enabled for Seal Beach police. Good going guys! You're secure! (Warcopping?)"
I was reading an old article in Boating Magazine which had a quote that I could relate to... "It's the end of an idyllic day. Your engine is burbling through the no-wake zone, water's chuckling against the hull. The sunset is molten gold. It's perfection, and yet.... you can't place it, but something is missing. A something to make this moment last forever. You know, like a scene from a movie. I'll tell you what's missing, a soundtrack." At the same time I received a press release on a new pair of marine speakers from JBL, JBL MS920, so I thought I'd better post about it.
"The MS920 can handle up to 300 watts and has a frequency response of 50Hz to 21kHz, which allows loud, clear sound to be produced across a broad range of frequencies. The alignment of the 1-3/8" balanced-dome tweeter directly over the polypropylene woofer adds to the exceptional sound quality. The water- and UV-resistant speaker has a cutout diameter of 6" x 8- 13/16" with a mounting depth of 3-1/8". It is available in white, and the included stainless steel mounting hardware allows for personal or dealer installation."
Every now and then stories on collisions between commercial vessels and private yachts are making headlines. There are several ways to prevent these from happening, and one development in particular will help reduce colission risks. Automatic Identification Systems (AIS). Furuno won a contract to supply more than 300 of its FA100 Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) to Tidewater Marine, so let's have a look at their product.
"How does AIS work? AIS is a shipboard VHF broadcast system that transmits and receives information that is pertinent to the safe navigation of ships. This data may be shown on the display of the AIS equipment, or RADAR/ECDIS equipment. Each AIS system consists of one VHF transmitter, two VHF TDMA receivers, one VHF DSC receiver, and a communications link (IEC 61162/NMEA 0183) to shipboard display and sensor systems. Static and dynamic Navigational data is sent via VHF from ship to ship using SOTDMA. Position and timing information is normally received from an internal or external global navigation satellite system (e.g. GPS) receiver, including a DGPS receiver for precise position in coastal and inland waters. Other information broadcast by the AIS, if available, is electronically obtained from shipboard equipment through standard marine data connections."
With more and more marinas offering Wi-Fi internet access to boaters, it is very important to understand how you can get the most out of these possibilities. One issue that keeps coming back is the range within a user has access. Improving this range can be done in several (simple) ways. One of them is using 'high-powered' PCMCIA cards.
"So... given that a PCMCIA Wi-Fi card is a compromise, one way to overcome its limitations is to increase the transmitted power and receive sensitivity of the PCMCIA card. In the case of the SMC card, the transmit power is now 200 mW instead of 30 mw, and SMC claims "improved" receive sensitivity. My totally unscientific review testing tends to bear out SMC's claims."
I have posted many times on the differentapproaches and offerings for having satellite internet access anywhere at sea. Recently Boeing made a lot of headlines because of their plans to offer internet access via the same system as they are using to offer internet access in air planes. Many expected this to be a serious competitive threat to Inmarsat, a sort of incumbent in this area. Wi-Fi Networking News is comparing the different systems for offering in-flight internet access, but the analysis will probably teach us something about the future of satellite internet at sea as well.
"The 864 Kbps service from satellite giant Inmarsat delivered from its three fourth-generation I4 satellites scheduled for launch starting in late 2004 could dramatically change the future of aviation Internet access. This service is called B-GAN for Broadband Global Area Network. The service is in symmetrical 432 Kbps units with Tenzing recommending two bonded channels for 864 Kbps of bandwidth, although four channels and 1.7 Mbps are possible as well."
Engadget discusses Garmin's new plug-and-play systems (GPSMAP 3010C & 3006C) that put GPS, weather, sonar, radar, and other important data at boaters� fingertips. It also highlights Garmin's proprietary Marine Network, yet another alternative to NMEA 2000, the standard that somehow takes a long time to mature. One of the advantages of the Garmin approach is that it uses ethernet as a backbone. Since ethernet cables can be used for powering devices as well, this will make a supposedly plug and play boat network a lot less complicated in terms of wiring...
"From Garmin, a couple of new waterproof GPS handhelds designed specifically for seafarers. The GPSMAP 3010C (pictured above) has a 10.4-inch color LCD screen, while the GPSMAP 3006C has a smaller 6.4-inch screen. Both of them work with the Garmin Marine Network, Garmin's new line of peripherals that you can attach to the handhelds. The first two to be available will be the GDL 30, which connects to XM's satellite weather service and can download real-time graphical weather data (there's another version, the GDL 30A, if you want to tune into satellite radio, too), and the the GSD 20, for adding sonar. A marine radar attachment should be ready sometime next year."
I've covered the gadgets and electronics on board of the WallyPower before. Since many visitors to this weblog come through Google searches on the 118 WallyPower, I thought I'd post this link to a New York Times article that discusses the WallyPower and the fact that it is relatively cheap at $25 millon... And, they found a gadget on board this yacht that I missed. The pizza oven.
"Over the course of many decades and countless deprived tycoons, it has been one of humankind's most vexing challenges: how to get, quickly and comfortably, from Portofino for breakfast to Sardinia for lunch and then, should the whim strike, St.-Tropez for dinner...."
"...It splits the difference between a lightning-quick motorboat with no room for a pizza oven (which the WallyPower has) and an individually tailored Titanic that can do a party of 500 people but just 20 miles per hour...."
"...He then explained how aerodynamic design, water-jet propulsion and a special polycarbonate material worked to make the WallyPower so fleet. He apparently did not think it worth mentioning that the boat's three 5,600 horsepower engines chug down about 1,000 gallons of fuel an hour at maximum cruising speed (75 miles an hour). He talked instead about applications of military technology and sophisticated wind-tunnel tests."
Nobeltec's April newsletter discusses why it makes sense to use a heading sensor, even if you already have a GPS device connected to your chart or radar instruments.
"Many users attempt to use the Course Over Ground (COG) sentence provided by their GPS unit to either stabilize the chart or radar image. However, COG is only reliable when the vessel velocity is in excess of 10 knots, and there is not a strong current or wind. Using a heading sensor allows the Nobeltec software to properly align the chart or radar overlay images as well as ARPA targets on the chart."
Through Naval Technology I found some interesting rugged hardware. Some of the highlights:
This one looks like it could have been a good case modding project from a navy adept. But the specs will show that, if you require a PC on board, this one is built for it. It can be shock mounted and is sort of mobile as well...
Israeli BES System's"RCS-PC, and Mini RCS-PCs are rugged PC compatible computers specially designed and qualified for use in harsh Naval, Airborne and Ground mobile military environment. RCS-PC is built for full size ISA and/or PCI cards."
Miltope's Centrino laptop doesn't require a laptop bag, for that reason alone I've listed it here. Although not submersible like Itronix GoBook MAX, it's easy to carry around and definitely looks tough.
"The Miltope TSC-750M, featuring the new Intel� CentrinoTM Mobile Technology is the most versatile and compact rugged-militarized laptop computer available today. Designed and manufactured in the USA, the TSC-750M has been successfully qualified to MIL-STD-810/461/464. The TSC-750M also delivers the fastest-yet 3D video thanks to its ATI MOBILITYTM RADEONTM 9000 graphics accelerator � dramatically enhancing all aspects of the visual experience in every application."
My personal favorite is the GDC4S Mission Data Tool (MDT). It is a ruggedized PDA with a 400MHz Xscale Processor, BlueTooth, GPS and embedded radio interface. But the MDT's looks and form factor somehow really caught me.
"Mission Data Tool (MDT) - The Mission Data Tool (MDT), the latest product in the CHS-2 arsenal of rugged computing devices. The MDT is a ruggedized PDA that hosts Pocket PC 2002 as an operating system. Additionally, it can support a customer-ported LINUX environment. The MDT has been engineered to survive the rigors of the tactical battlefield, and has incorporated extensive soldier feedback into its design. The resulting product is a computing device that will be readily accepted by the deployed warfighter and homeland defenders."
"Unfortunately, in the testing, the off-the-shelf McMurdo Ltd. 'Precision 406 MHz GPS EPIRB' (also known as G4 406 MHz GSP EPIRB) and the McMurdo Ltd. 'Fastfind Plus 406 MHz Personal Location Beacon' (also known as the Fastfind Plus 406 MHz PLB) both failed to reliably acquire a GPS location 'fix' under operational 'real-world conditions,'� Ritter said. �The tests revealed that purchasers of these GPS-equipped 406 MHz beacons � who paid a premium for the added GPS technology in the hopes of potentially shortening rescue response with faster location information and increased location precision � are apparently not getting what they paid for and are operating under false expectations.�
A quite funny 
I was reading an old 
"How does AIS 
With more and more marinas 
I have posted many times on the 
I've covered the gadgets and electronics on board of the WallyPower 
"...It splits the difference between a lightning-quick motorboat with no room for a pizza oven (which the WallyPower has) and an individually tailored Titanic that can do a party of 500 people but just 20 miles per hour...."
This one looks like it could have been a good case modding project from a navy adept. But the specs will show that, if you require a PC on board, this one is built for it. It can be shock mounted and is sort of mobile as well...
Miltope's Centrino 
My personal