Wireless Maritime Services, a joint venture of AT&T Wireless and MTN, is offering a roaming solution for GSM subscribers while cruising in international waters. I've written about similar solutions before, if you have a large enough yacht you might even install it for private use...
"Our passengers now have the option of using their own mobile phones while at sea, whether they wish to stay reachable at their usual phone number or check for voicemails and text messages whenever they like." Wireless service is now available on the Island Escape for many passengers with GSM phones operating on the 900 MHz frequency, which is common throughout Europe. Passengers will be billed for usage by the wireless carrier to whom they subscribe, as with any other roaming service"
Can you imagine that here are still marinas out there that do not offer Wi-Fi internet access...? It won't be long before yacht owners expect to have it like they expect to have water and electricity at their slip.
"When Ed and Betty Jo Chipman, two members of the yacht club, heard the yacht club was offering Wi-Fi (through smartBridges), they immediately asked SmartWires to design a personal local area network 'on-board' their trawler. "Now with the wireless network, we can transfer files between our computers and access the Internet from anywhere on our boat or in the club. We cannot imagine going back to our old dial-up Internet connection" explained Mr. Chipman"
I guess Wi-Fi internet access is becoming a standard feature for ships like these, and so it should be. And looking at the pricing, I would prefer sending some emails instead of using their satellite phone...
"Previously, the charge for outbound satellite telephone calls from Seabourn ships was $12.50 per minute; it is now $4.95 per minute. Internet connection, which previously cost 95 cents a minute, will now be 50 cents per minute. Discounts for purchasing bulk packages of online time can further reduce the internet cost to as little as 25 cents per minute."
Motor Boating Magazine takes a look at one of the ships participating in the Nordhavn Atlantic Rally, a high-seas adventure from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to Gibraltar. There's a lot of electronics stuff on board this ship... Here are some of the highlights:
-�It�s the autopilot that�s the most important thing,� he says. And for autopilots, Kinney selected two Furuno NavPilot 500s and added a SC 60 GPS satellite compass."
-"The first display supports Furuno�s 1953C chartplotter with a powerful 12-kW radar for 72-mile range and 1.2-degree horizontal beam width for accurate target separation."
-"The second chartplotter, an 1833C, uses a smaller radar with dome antenna that will pump out 4-kW of power for a range of about 36 miles"
-"Called NT-Link, this is a little sister to C-MAP�s rugged commercial product, only it�s coupled with the NT recreational cartography. One notable feature of NT-Link is its ability to handle online chart updates."
-"But the real heart of the navigation package is Furuno�s NavNet system, which allows for multiple sensor displays on three different display screens�the two 10.4" monitors in the pilothouse and an additional 7" remote display on the bridge."
Having reception problems while sailing along the coast? Here's a simple and cheap solution.
"The new Freedom Antenna from ARC Wireless Solutions presents a simple way to minimize those problems. The antenna, housed in a thin piece of plastic 3 inches wide and 6 inches long, uses patented technology to boost a signal enough to add at least a couple of bars to your phone's signal-strength display."
Although I'm sure this is meant for military use, this solution from Nautronix allows you to send an SMS while underwater. Well, sort of at least....
"The mine countermeasure system will provide divers with underwater PCs that allow them to track their position using GPS or sonar technology, log the locations of objects in the water, and communicate with each other by an acoustically powered "underwater SMS" system."
Apparently Raymarine is launching a new fixed mount VHF radio and some other products. But I can't find anything about it on their website though. Or anywhere else for that matter....
"Making its show debut will be the Ray 240 E - a fixed mount radio, offering top of the range features for VHF and Digital Selective Calling, and RayTech 5 - the latest and most technically advanced version of RayTech Navigation System software that can be operated from the new fully waterproof USB navigation console keypad."
It has been a while since we last heard some news about the availability of Boeing's supposedly rule-breaking solution. Apparently they are testing it with a commercial shipping company, Teekay.
The Connexion by Boeing maritime solution - 2.5 Mbps to the vessel and 256 kbps from the vessel - is much faster than the most commonly deployed narrowband maritime communications systems available today. This capability will allow users to access the Internet and firewall-protected corporate intranets, send outgoing e-mails or open large attachments from incoming e-mails and get the news, weather or destination information.
And we have another fan of Uniden�s Mystic, a device that has been mentioned on Panbo.com before and should be a very popular GPS device looking at my website statistics... In the article a couple of other devices that help you find yourself again are reviewed, a.o. Garmin�s GPSMAP 60CS and Foretrex 101 Personal Navigator and the Suunto X9 watch.
"When boating, I usually take a GPS along but always wanted some inexpensive and integrated device that could signal for help in an emergency. Uniden�s new Mystic handheld marine radio offers terrific GPS navigation with a one-button emergency call to alert the Coast Guard to your position."
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."
Wireless Maritime Services, a joint venture of AT&T Wireless and MTN, is offering a roaming solution for GSM subscribers while cruising in international waters. I've written about similar solutions before, if you have a large enough yacht you might even install it for private use...
Can you imagine that here are still marinas out there that do not offer Wi-Fi internet access...? It won't be long before yacht owners 
I guess Wi-Fi internet access is becoming a standard feature for ships like these, and so it should be. And 
-�It�s the autopilot that�s the most important thing,� he says. And for autopilots, Kinney selected two Furuno NavPilot 500s and added a SC 60 GPS satellite compass."
Although I'm sure 
Apparently Raymarine is 
It has been a while since we 
And we have 
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 