Above is Raymarine's new RayControl app running on my iPad1 and the screen is purposely busy because I was trying to stress it. While a NMEA 2000 data simulator tells the test e7 MFD it's going 40 knots up the Bay with one chart window Head Up in 3D and the other North Up, I could still sit in my office -- 40 feet and a "deck" away -- and select/display a tide station with my finger without a noticeable lag. I did manage to crash the app's WiFi connection to the e7 once, but Ray actually recommends an iPad2 or better for best performance and get this: RayControl will give you touchscreen control of the new value-priced c-Series MFDs that don't even have a touchscreen themselves! In short, Ray has done more than make good on its promise of a two-way app...
When I wrote about Icom's "New Look" VHF radios after Miami I also mentioned a new and "affordable" black box navigation system that impressed me for its rugged-looking build. Well, let's say hello to Icom MarineCommander. While I think that there are still many details to learn about -- online manuals and spec sheets will help -- a lot about MarineCommander is becoming clear, and, besides, I obtained some high res images that nicely complement what's on that Icom site...
The Maine Boatbuilders Show starts today, and I'm making my (almost) annual pilgrimage to Portland first thing this morning. But I've already spent some quality time trying out a show debut, the rather spectacular update of the USHarbors Network. Among many major enhancements is a full screen raster-charts-over-Google-Maps mode that may well be the best online charting engine I've ever seen. Note how it's even quilting in skewed small craft charts at the particular zoom level I captured above. That's hard, and moving around on these charts is fast!...
Furuno has been extremely tight lipped about its new NavNet TZ touch systems, aside from the ad, but much more should be revealed in this morning's press breakfast. I'll be there and will report details in the comments section. What I gather so far is multi-touch screens that still have some buttons alongside, including the RotoKey, and are -- according to a couple of the BWI/NMMA Innovation Awards judges, neither an electronics buff -- "very intuitive" and "fun" to use. A much faster processor will be no surprise, nor will support for large SD chart cards and all existing NavNet 3D peripheral hardware. I'm hoping that Furuno will also reveal its strategy for smart phone and pad integration -- shouldn't a multitouch interface and the company's long love of Ethernet help with that? -- but I have a particular interest in what the black box version of NN TZ is going to be like...
The Raymarine e7 that's been in the Panbo lab for a few weeks is proving itself quite able and well designed, but I've come across enough little glitches and omissions that I think it's also a good test of the new Ray's ability to push out software fixes and improvements. That chart window above, for instance, should be showing
spot soundings. Now it could be that I don't have the chart presentation set up right, but even if that's true, I suspect the menus involved can be improved to help a user like me. On the other hand, that screen shot is from an iPad streaming the e7 over WiFi, and that feature not only works well but continues to intrigue...
I'm surprised because I thought Raymarine was holding off a slew of new products for the Miami show in mid-February, but today we learned that Ray's UK site has put up details on the e9 and e12 big brothers of the e7 launched last summer, as well as new c9 and c12 MFDs that are similar to the e Series but without the touch control. Which is a lot, but not all...
It may not matter if you don't cruise outside the U.S., but Coastal Explorer users who do seem quite excited that the PC charting program will soon support the worldwide portfolio of Jeppesen C-Map Max charts and maybe even the older NT+ format. You can hear the enthusiasm, and learn a lot of detail about how the support will work, by checking out this CE Beta testing forum entry. Better yet, if you already run CE 2011, you can download the Beta from the same page and then use its rich chart management features to download some of C-Map's generous demo cartography...
The breaking news today is that Lowrance is out with the new HDS Gen2 multifunction display series, and it has enough processing power to support an interesting new feature called StructureMap. Of course you need to have a StructureScan module and transducer networked to the MFD(s), but then you can see its output overlaid onto your chart in real time and/or save the scans for later perusal. The video on that HDS Gen2 page is the best way to get a sense of StructureMap, I think...
I've looked forward to testing Simrad's new 4G Broadband Radar since I saw it demoed in Fort Lauderdale. And how timely that I got out with it and the rest of Gizmo's test radars over the weekend. Tonight I'm reprising my Seven Sea's University radar webinar, and now I've got fresh material! (No hard sell meant, but Panbo readers can get the SSCA discount by using the code "Gizmo" and note that you can watch the webinar any time in the next few weeks if you can't make it tonight). Plus it's been weirdly warm here for early December, so I had a pleasant cruise even if almost all those finely targeted Camden Inner Harbor floats are empty in anticipation of what is surely coming...
The great news is that Nobeltec rolled out TimeZero Odyssey last week, and the introductory price for existing Nobeltec VNS and Admiral software owners is a compelling $199, as seen at retailers like P2 Marine. Odyssey seems to be the same core charting program that I've been enjoying all season as TimeZero Trident, except that it can't integrate with radars, sounders, or video cameras (thermal or otherwise), and it doesn't support dual monitors, fuel management, or Nobeltec's Ocean Data Service (for serious fishermen)...
