MOB systems, AMEC is in
When I first met Alltek Marine Electronics Corp. in late 2007, the team was working on a LifeTag-like MOB system (speaking of Raymarine). Well, now the AMEC MOB Dolphin is apparently ready to go, including FCC approval. The idea of plotting MOBs on an AMEC Camino 201 Class B AIS transponder seems to have gone by the wayside, but a single-hander can set up the system so that his/her connected AMEC AIS will send out an SRM message if the worst happens. I'm not sure how well that will work as Safety Related Messages seem to be a little used part of the AIS system. But the MOB Dolphin does come with an interesting-looking PC program for monitoring and managing the up-to-99 pendants it can handle...
You can learn more from the brochure and manual available on AMEC's download page, where you'll also find an "MOB Product Brief" that I'm not sure AMEC meant for public consumption, but which may be valuable to anyone considering an MOB system. The page below, for instance, summarizes the feature sets of the many competitors, at least from AMEC's point of view, and also suggests that its Dolphin system will soon get an engine shut off feature, much like the Autotether I've tested. (And Autotether, I note, now has a "Screamer" model of sailboats and/or tender monitoring.) At any rate, AMEC plans a $399 MSRP for a basic MOB Dolphin kit -- a controller box and two pendants, which include "high beam LEDs" by the way -- and I'd guess they are looking for interested distributors or partner companies.
PS Sorry, the product comparison table has been removed at AMEC's request, but here's a screenshot of the management software:
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Interesting to read about the use of AIS Safety Related Messages, especially as the IMO are moving to discourage use of these:
www.imo.org/includes/blastData.asp/doc_id=11185/46.pdf