GadgetMadness reports on Oceanic's waterproof MP3 players. I wrote about them a while ago.
"Oceanic Worldwide has a new line of MP3 players that are waterproof to 200 feet (66m). The H20Audio series looks like an iRiver iFP-300 series unit in a water- and pressure-proof housing, packaged with funky little earbuds that clip on the strap of your mask."
(Waterproof at Amazon.com)
Good article on the history (and future) of time and navigation. I especialy like the quote that says: "For every minute lost by a clock, it meant that there would be a navigational error of 15 miles. In 1761, John Harrison invented a pocket watch accurate enough to use for navigation at sea, which lost only 5 seconds in 6 and � weeks."
And, for some sense of history let's not forget how easy it is for us to navigate the seas these days....
"In about 1100 AD, the magnetic compass began to appear in navigation. By the end of 13th century, the first true nautical charts for marine navigation appeared in Italy. In the 20th century electronic instruments supplanted many centuries-old navigation technologies. In 1904 German inventor Christian Hulsmeyer introduced the first navigation device using radar technology."
The perfect Father�s Day gift, so they say...
"The X135 has 4000 watts peak-to-peak power for depths to 1,000 feet. It comes with �Fish I.D.� This feature automatically interprets sonar echoes and displays them as fish symbols. The �FasTrack� feature lets you speed your boat over the water and watch the bottom contours and depths while you hunt out the perfect spot."
I do not have any experience with it myself, but Coastal Explorer from Rose Point Navigation Systems comes highly recommended by Todd Huss. It's not yet commercially availale, but that should not take long according to their website.
"A cool product I've been using lately is by Rose Point Nav, if you haven't heard of them yet. They're based out of Seattle and make a really nice navigation suite called Coastal Explorer. It's still in beta and I came across it because a couple boats that are beta testing our wireless hardware were running it. I personally think the UI is a major improvement over Raytech navigator, the Capn, or Nobeltech."
You're not allowed to communicate on 14.300 MHz frequency using your SSB radio unless you are an amateur licensee. But make sure you know how it works in case of an emergency...
"Under normal conditions, transmissions by non-amateur stations on this frequency are prohibited by international law," said Assistant Net Manager Tom Job, VE3II, who lives near Toronto and took the initial call for help. "But when an emergency occurs at sea, anyone can use the frequency for assistance." At the time, the 80-foot, steel-hulled Brandon Travis was reported two days east of Roatan, Honduras."
If you can't afford Altobridge's solution for being able to send an SMS from anywhere at sea, than may be Xantic's prepaid messaging service is right for you.
"No special software or hardware is needed to implement Xantic Prepaid Messaging and users receive a delivery notification (positive or negative) indicating the status and cost of each email or SMS sent."
I have a boat that I use to spend time on the beautiful Amsterdam canals, but the only problem is that thieves are trying everything to get something useful from my boat. And, unfortunately, they succeed every now and then. May be this is a solution. It's nothing new, but increasingly popular...
"These Internet protocol, or IP, cameras, made by companies including Cisco Systems' Linksys unit and Sweden's Axis Communications, function as stand-alone servers that stream video over the web."
No GPS interference for turtles, according to recent a report in the journal Nature. So if you are lost at sea, and GPS has let you down, go find your self a turtle that connects to your chartplotter...
"The turtles' navigation aid is the equivalent of the GPS, but instead of relying on satellites in space, it depends on magnetism."
It's big, but then again it's the Pro version...
"The Weather Watch Pro uses a Swiss-made impeller for current, average, and maximum windspeed. One of the impeller fins is magnetized, highlighted in green and always points North. This allows you to mechanically determine wind direction. The display is Backlit and the unit is water resistant. Weather Watch Pro can be detached from the wrist strap and worn on a lanyard."
Interesting discussion over at the BoaterEd Forums. Scotty, working for Standard Horizon says "...we currently are not planning to implement the NMEA 2000 into our systems simple because most marine electronics companies are not using that system." Now if everybody in the industry keeps using this argument, we won't get anywhere.
Les Hall: "Raymarine's C80 is about $1,500 with a 8.4" screen. To it's credit, it does have a NMEA 2000 port. However, for the same amount of money, I can get a 15" laptop with a 15" screen, a USB GPS antenna, charting software, street mapping software and a 2.6 GIGAhertz processor. The point is that the good folks who make this stuff need to start thinking a little more about the consumer by standardizing on some common features. Even the NMEA 0183 connections require hand wiring."
