While this may be slightly off topic to a discussion of NMEA 0183 and 2000, it is relevant to a common piece of hardware used in conjunction with these standards; the computer screen.
I am hoping that either Ben or someone on this forum can make a good recommendation for a computer screen suitable as a marine navigation PC display unit. I have a 42' steel sailboat with a protected pilothouse design and use a computer for chartplotting and other boat navigation functions. My problem is I have been unable to find a display that truly is well suited to use on a boat; specifically use on a boat at night! While watchkeeping at night I find that the glare from an LCD, either desktop or laptop, is simply WAY too bright. If you have to use the navigation system because you are in tricky waters or are close to a bunch of traffic, it completely washes out your night vision. I find this to be a dangerous game to play! I have played with the Dusk and Night settings in my nav software (Nobeltec Admiral, as well as the brightness settings on my laptop. I can get it some better, but not really to a level that both lets you read the screen and preserve night vision. Has anyone succeeded in this realm? Are any of the marine specific displays any better than the screens that are available on desktops and laptops?
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Not cheap but some of the Hattland (spelling?) displays and some older Simrad displays had a full dimmer that allowed you to darken the screen and not rely on "night" settings. They really worked also fully sunlight viewable, thus the cost.
An immediate solution, that won't hit the pocket-book very hard is a sheet of tinted acetate or other plastic. Like sunglasses for you screen, it can reduce the light level, and if tinted it could shift the color range into the redder or greener hues, preserving your night vision. Some experimentation is required to make sure you are not hiding important detail, as happens when viewing NOAA charts under a red light.
Contrary to the mindset of 1940's military cockpit technology, red is not the only choice for reading at night.
Check out http://www.nauticomp.com/outdoor-marine-displays_signature-ii-displays for the marine solution to your problem.
Paul,
One of the problems with CCFL backlights is that they can't just be driven at any current and duty cycle -- or at least the common driver circuits can't. LED technology is a lot easier this way, so you may find that a LED driven display can be dimmed deeper.
Otherwise, look for a "dim to black" feature. This does usually imply a higher cost display, usually.
Kees (whose posting problem is still not solved) has this reply for Paul:
Paul,
One of the problems with CCFL backlights is that they can't just be driven at any current and duty cycle -- or at least the common driver circuits can't. LED technology is a lot easier this way, so you may find that a LED driven display can be dimmed deeper.
Otherwise, look for a "dim to black" feature. This does usually imply a higher cost display, usually.