I just recently realized that Garmin has developed five analog-to-NMEA2000 adapters -- the GRA 10 Rudder Angle Adapter, the GST 10 Water Speed and Temperature Adapter, the GFL 10 Fluid Level Adapter, the GET 10 Engine Tilt Adapter, and the GBT 10 Bennett Trim Tab Adapter. They each cost $199, which seems a little stiff, but then again they seem quite able at getting sensor systems you may already have onto an N2K backbone for display, or use in calculations...
Excellent and surprising news, I think: As of yesterday, the widely respected racing/navigation program Expedition supports Navico's Broadband Radar straight up, no Navico MFD required in the system unless you want one. This means a lot for the serious racers who favor Expedition, and it may well mean a lot for the rest of us...
These 3-foot, 3dB VHF whips look very smart for sailboat mast head installs, especially the Windex-style apparent wind direction indicator built into the $190 Galaxy 5440 model. Both it and the $160 5445 model come with 65 feet of RG-58 coax cable and an "exclusive solderless connector system" that enables easy removal of the whip, and also looks easier to fish up a mast than the standard PL-259 connector at the other end. Press release here.
Pirates beware! The Furuno DRS25A Ultra HD radar and FLIR Voyager II thermal camera shown being installed on the stern of the Maersk Alabama are all about keeping a sharp watch for attackers in small boats. And there's another pair at the bow, along with dual monitoring stations within the ship, and lots of redundancy built in...
Following last week's introduction of the very interesting GX2100 & 2000 VHF/rxAIS fixed units, Standard Horizon is today announcing significant updates to its high end handhelds. I was already a big fan of the HX850S with its built-in GPS and full DSC features, but now the new HX851 takes care of my main original complaint -- lack of navigation features for small boat and back up use -- and adds a couple of cool twists...
Damn! An AT&T 3G smart phone that can use the world's largest commercial satellite for voice and data if you roam beyond cell range, no oddball second phone number, no dorky antenna? The big bird is up, the Genus phone is at the FCC, and the whole deal seems on track to be real in early 2010. But will it be a big deal for boaters? That may depend on what system developer TerreStar means by "offshore coastal waters"...
An MFD ought to be mounted where you can see it well, and reach it easily, and on many boats that may mean a flexible mount that can move with you, or with the sun. Like that new Navslide rig above, which looks like it will give great access to either the helmsman, or a navigator seated forward of him, regardless of which side of the cockpit they're most comfortable in. It's a slick idea, and wait til you see the hardware quality...
