Electronics technology is constantly improving, offering ever more impressive capabilities. It is making navigation easier, quicker and more accurate, and useful information easier to access. It’s making recording and displaying historical data possible, supplementing the real-time (now) data we’re used to. It costs, but only if substantial replacement of hardware is necessary.
We decided we wanted the best of bothworlds — standard hardware with longevity, and software with the flexibility to take advantage of emerging trends. We are electronics enthusiasts and configuring electronics isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But a little effort can deliver the very latest capabilities, tailored to your boat, for minimal additional cost. For those not inclined to experiment, this article illustrates capabilities coming to future ‘plug and play’ systems.
Our boat Zen Again is a 1980s 34ft 3/4 tonner which we purchased 10 years ago. She is fitted with a robust cruising navigation and communications system, with built-in redundancy. For some years we’ve used standard NMEA-2000 sensors for position, speeds, depth and AIS. The data is sent via WiFi to a laptop at the chart table and waterproof tablets on deck. Recently we’ve added a NMEA2000 weather station which added wind, temperature, atmospheric pressure and 3D attitude. This required new SignalK interface technology to replace the old NMEA-0183 traditionally used over WiFi. SignalK became a springboard into some really useful capabilities.
I will describe what we’ve done, and what it cost. You can stop anywhere along the process but the further you go the better the capabilities, and the value of the investment!
Mike Reynolds is a consultant electronics engineer who occasionally lectures on yacht navigation and communications systems
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 2021-Ausgabe von Yachting Monthly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 2021-Ausgabe von Yachting Monthly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Midsummer on Hanö
This wonderful little island in the south-east of Sweden is a real gem off the beaten track
ADVENTURE SAILING TO HAITI
After spending two months in the Dominican Republic, Andy Brown sails west to Haïti bringing medical and school supplies to the town of Mole Saint Nicholas
In celebration of bad sailing
New owner Monty Halls tests his sailing skills with his family aboard their Colvic 34 ketch, Sobek. A recently qualified Day Skipper, Monty faces a few unexpected challenges...
Winter brings excitement and opportunity
Oddity’s double glazing, insulation and heating create a warm, homely environment as I bash out this column.
ADVENTURE MAISIE GOES TO GOES
To depart or not to depart? That is the question. Is it safer to stay, or suffer the wind and weather of a rough North Sea?
'MAYDAY, GRANDAD OVERBOARD!'
When David Richards and his grandson Henry went out racing from lowey, they didn't expect their sail to end with a lifeboat rescue
VERTUE
For a 25-footer, the Vertue has a huge reputation and has conquered every ocean. So what makes this little boat quite such an enduring success? Nic Compton finds out
Sailing siblings
Mabel Stock, her brother Ralph, a friend Steve and an unnamed paying passenger passed through the Panama Canal in December 1919 on the sturdy Norwegian cutter Ogre. They were towed to a quiet anchorage in Balboa away from the boat traffic but within rowing distance of the shore.
TECHNICAL MAINSAIL MODIFICATIONS
Safety and performance improved hugely when Mike Reynolds reduced the size of his mainsail and re-configured the systems controlling it
PILOTAGE DONE PROPERLY
Chartplotters are an amazing aid, but can detract from your real-world pilotage if not used with caution, says Justin Morton
