That’s Argonaut’s Tflex-G615, the $1,000 waterproof 15” monitor, looking pretty good in direct sunlight (though a low winter Maine sun partially filtered by trees). If I wasn’t also testing yet another compact camera (the unfamiliar UI being my excuse for erasing most of today’s shots), you’d see all four of those screens lit up, and you’d probably be pleasantly surprised that the Si-Tex ColorMax 15 looks almost as bright as the benchmark Raymarine E-120 (at least in these conditions). But both the Si-Tex and the Argonaut screens are more reflective than the Raymarine (and the Northstar 6100i), as you can see in this close-up. I’ll have more about the Tflex, ColorMax, and 6100i eventually, and also about my new super duper test bench, not yet finished.
It’s hard to make out until you view the bigger image, but this screen is a Google Map demo of an interesting utility that can guesstimate an ETA for a boat that’s tacking into the wind. It was originally developed as SailTimer, but is now going to be incorporated into a new SailBoat Edition of NavSim’s BoatCruiser. I think that full-on routing modules, like RayTech’s and MaxSea’s, can provide this same sort of real life ETA, based on weather forecasting and a boat’s performance data, but maybe I’m confused? Starting yesterday at the WorkBoat Show in New Orleans, NavSim is also previewing a new version of NavCruiser Pro that uses C-Map Max Pro charts. Prior to this product, the Pro format—which looked very powerful in a presentation I attended at the NMEA conference—was only available on the Northstar 8000i, a system I gushed about last year, but is only now coming to market (there were some problems). At any rate, I flew down to New Orleans today, mostly for a Charles Industries product introduction, but plan to visit the Show tomorrow (anything particular I should check out?). Which is why there’ll likely be no Panbo on Friday, but I may get to see NavSim’s latest.
It’s worth checking out this screen shot in all its colorful pixels. Tiki Navigator is slowly gaining a devoted following, largely for its clean and attractive interface. I made this screen show some interesting options like the context sensitive help windows and the function key map, but they disappear completely if you want them to. Tiki only shows raster charts, but otherwise seems to have a lot of features, depending on the version you choose, all reasonably priced.
Here’s a report from a Panbo reader (thanks Ron!):
“I've been evaluating Xenarc's 10" touchscreen monitor for the past two months, having purchased it from Xenarc Direct thus taking advantage of their reasonable return policy {ed: Captn. Jack also has a decent policy}. Unfortunately, the first monitor proved defective but Xenarc replaced it quickly. It's connected to a laptop below decks running a Nobeltec navigation program. Also, Milltech's AIS unit is connected and displayed.
It's mounted at the helm of a sailboat and the screen's 500 nits is quite visible under all conditions, but keep in mind the bimini is always kept up. The monitor isn't waterproof as it has an open grill but the substantial aluminium case and 8 watt power demands make sealing the unit possible. A mouse GPS makes the system independent of the existent Raymarine radar/plotter system. The best part is that its $600 price makes it quite reasonable to be used as a redundant navigation system.”
In a way, this photo, bigger here, doesn’t do Argonaut’s new Tflex-G615 monitor justice, but then again I took it at the NMEA Conference with a Canon XT flash aimed directly into the poor thing’s LCD. Try that with a conventional lap– or desktop screen! It is indeed noteworthy that Argonaut has come up with a “waterproof sunlight readable” monitor under a grand, but do note that its claimed 2,000 NITS transflective equivalency is figured in direct sunlight. I’m going to test one soon and will be interested to see how it does in bright situations without direct light. Note, too, all the added features—optical bonding, multiple inputs, wider range dimming, PiP, etc.—that you get with the Tflex-G515, the same underlying LCD, I think, but costing nearly three times the money.
More good pricing news: * Apparently due mostly to lowered memory card costs (all the data for an XL3 size region usually requires two Gigs of space), Navionics has dropped the price of Platinum cards from $499 to $299. Plus there are more Platinum regions available, like in Europe, and US cards still include the right to a free Fish’n Chip (which, by the way, deserves better Panbo coverage). * And, get this, Captn. Jack’s is now offering Maptech’s U.S. Boating Chart DVD for $19.50, still with free ground shipping, money back guarantee, and technical support. And here I thought this a great value at $50. But this special holiday price may not last long; I guess ‘Jack’ wants to get noticed.
Geez, anyone know where the “Big Belly Reduction” Tool is in PhotoShop? Also, what’s the drill when your full res photo reveals a half-naked Florida boat guy? At any rate, here’s another FLIBS product intro, this one splendidly orchestrated by Raymarine’s well oiled marketing machine. Simultaneous to this “VIP preview” event in a nicely shaded and catered boat shed, Raymarine “insiders” got the news via HTML e-mail (you can be an insider too). In fact, there’s no need for me to repeat the awesome specs on the new 17” and 19”, nine-input monitors, nor mention the spectacular prices. But I will point out how neatly they can work with an E-Series VGA Out port (pictured) or a PC running RayTech 6.0, though apparently you can’t do both with the same cool dedicated keyboard. They look similar but one is SeaTalk2 and the other is USB. And I’ll add that a trustworthy Raymarine Product Manager told me that he’s seen these puppies in direct sunlight head-to-head with the competition and with an E-120, and “they rock”.
I always enjoy poking around the megayacht tent at FLIBS; it’s full of gorgeous booths, boat models, and some awesome electronics. Palladium Technology is in the latter category, and it seems like every year it comes up with an interesting addition to its PC/Ethernet based SiMON monitoring system. This year it’s integrating in an elaborate, but simple to work, entertainment system, which I’ll write about when I get more info and better images. In the meantime check out that trackball the company came up with. It's translucent, and colored LEDs underneath are used to indicate alarm states. When everything is cool, it glows green. But if some system moves into warning territory (whose very sophisticated parameters you can set in SiMON), it goes to yellow. Finally, if alarm status is reached it throbs red. It strikes me as way better than an audio alarm on the bridge, neat looking, and an idea that could come down to us little people.
Since my first Simrad Glass Bridge post, the company has posted more information plus an 8 page PDF brochure. That’s where I snipped this hind-end shot of its super-connected black box computer (also here in a larger, unlabeled version). Check out the dual SimNet/NMEA 2000 and four serial ports—no multiplexers needed around here! Note too that the GB60 will support up to to two radar scanners (via that built in Ethernet switch) from a wide range especially designed for the system, or can connect to stand alone, even type approved, Simrad radar sets (via the RSI).
I understand that Simrad is hoping to demo the GB60 at the NMEA Conference and Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show, both in late Oct. I’ll be at both myself, and look forward to seeing it. I know that megayacht specialists can build systems even more powerful, and Raymarine has its elegant H6, but isn’t this is the new king of really high-end all-from-one-manufacturer systems?
I came across this late 90’s picture of my first ECS set up on Ralph, the boat’s that’s still looking for a new owner, yee scurvy dogs (hey, yesterday was supposedly Talk Like a Pirate Day). That cloth-over-something-stiff hood velcroed to the laptop made a tremendous difference in usability, even on cloudy days. I got it from Hoodman but now they only seem to have a hard plastic ‘desktop’ model (do not get the pop-up version, as you have to put your head too close for boating). Captn Jack’s has one that looks pretty good, and there’s also GlareStomper, which specializes in fabric and stiff foam hoods fitted for smaller machines like Garmin 492. Anyone know of other choices, besides some cardboard and duct tape?
With so many megayachts in the world—some with extra large tenders that they have to tow offshore, some with wild and crazy champagne-guzzling jet-ski-riding charter guests—tender tracking is a big deal. The Nobeltec Admiral 9 Plus Pack looks like quite a complete offering, as seen in these screen shots, and I know that there’s another interesting product about to enter this niche. Some thoughts: * I think Admiral can track more sorts of targets than anything else out there: MARPA, AIS, DSC, and now tenders. Won’t other navigation systems follow suit? And what new target type next? * The Seetrac transmitter/base station system that works with Tender Tracker (with Transas too) can also send wind info, using an option that sounds like the Airmar WeatherStation. Thus you could send your sailing yacht’s tender out to survey a race course America’s Cup style. * By the same token, your tender can also send back depth readings. I’m not sure how they are displayed in Admiral, hopefully as a track of varying colors, but I do know that if you have the optional Bathy Recorder, the tender’s readings can rebuild the 3D data right ahead of your yacht. Yeah, you’d be down $2,300 just in software options (and I can’t find Seetrac prices), but how cool is that! (Actually, has any reader devised a poor man’s way to collect soundings from a dinghy, lead line excepted?)
I've been evaluating Xenarc's 10" touchscreen monitor for the past two months, having purchased it from 
some awesome electronics. 
even on cloudy days. I got it from Hoodman but now they only seem to have a 
