It’s long past time that the magnetron was consigned to the dust bin of maritime history,” enthused Larry Brandt, a commenter on my electronics blog who is both a professional mariner and a radar tech with experience working on everything from 60-ton 1960’s Air Force sky scanners to the super-compact, super-high-performance solid-state sets
Photo by Ben EllisonNow Class B-equipped Gizmo shows up on ship AIS displays and Web viewers like this. I’ve never been more pleased to write this column. If you read the original “Here Comes Class B” in the March 2007 issue, you’ll recall my cautious optimism about the then untried yacht version
Photo by Ben EllisonDigital Yacht is a substantial U.K.-based marine electronics manufacturer/distributor that is expanding to the United States in a timely manner, given its emphasis on Class B AIS. I’m testing its $899 AIT250 Class B, which—while being the same basic transponder that’s marketed by Shine Micro, True Heading,
Photo courtesy of Icom AmericaIs Icom a Johnny come lately for introducing the MXA-5000 AIS receiver just as Class B transceivers finally hit the market? I don’t think so. Not every skipper is as keen to be seen via AIS as I am, and if said skipper does want to monitor Class A and B AIS targets, ICOM’s offering looks easy to
Ben EllisonCellranger STIXThe Cellranger Stix is a portable and affordable cellphone booster that I can recommend but only with certain caveats. The seductive claim is that its microprocessor technology can analyze an arriving cell signal via that five-inch magnetic-base antenna and add 50 dB of
Callpod’s Dragon V2 headsetsWhen does an everyday Bluetooth cellphone headset become a desirable boating accessory? When a pair of them can also provide a captain and mate hands-free intercom capabilities up to 300 feet apart. The powerful transceivers in Callpod’s $100 Dragon V2 headsets are also purported to double or triple
Cobra MR F300 BTThe short-range Bluetooth wireless standard, commonly used for cellphone headsets, is now usefully making its way onto boats. So while Cobra’s new MR F300 BT may look quite like a VHF speaker mic, in fact it’s designed for making cell calls possible in a noisy and potentially wet environment. It has noise-cancelling
How about a wireless Bluetooth headset designed expressly for marine VHF? Standard Horizon’s BH-2 works with either the company’s new HX760S handheld or as an add-on to certain of its Quantum fixed VHF radios. It can be used in either push-to-talk or completely hands-free voice-activated modes (with two VOX sensitivity levels selectable). The HX760S—which floats
Shine Micro RadarPlus AIS-BXIt’s been almost 18 months since the U.S. Coast Guard approved a variety of yacht-size Class B AIS transponders, and the FCC still hasn’t added its blessing! I’ll spare you further ranting, but understand that we may have to wait for a new administration before we can use this valuable safety tool.
Cruisers who enjoy spending time away from crowded harbors and anchorages need a radio that will keep them in touch with friends and receive information from many different sources. While nearly all boats carry a VHF, its maximum range isn’t more than about 25 miles. This is because VHF radio waves travel in a straight line
A feature about data networking wires and related minutia? I can almost feel fingers flipping the page. But wait! If you’re looking at new boats or are about to upgrade your electronics, you’ll likely get more satisfying results if you shop with some knowledge of the National Marine Electronics Association’s (NMEA) 2000 nitty
OrSat AL-7103 MKIIAccording to Orbit Technology, this 1.15-meter (45-inch) Ku-band marine-stabilized antenna is the first of its size range to be type approved by Eutelsat and Intelsat, meaning no further verification is needed to use either of these broadband services, which, along with
WxWorx hard- and software packages let you monitor XM Satellite Weather with your onboard PC, and its latest receiver makes installation easier than ever. Exchangeable modules allow the PC interface to be either traditional RS-232 serial, wireless Bluetooth, USB, or Ethernet, and the latter two can also supply
With a solar cell wingspan of 145 feet, Inmarsat’s new I-4 birds promise reliable, global coverage.I was annoyed! I’d found a cozy corner at the Fort Lauderdale airport with a five-bar connection to the free WiFi Internet service there, but I could barely pull up a Web page, and my e-mail icon just spun hopelessly. I tried the
Digital Antenna DA 2330Subscribing to XM weather via WxWorx entitles you to a great rate on XM’s multichannel-audio goodness, but you’ll have to run yet another antenna to your boat’s satellite radio-enabled stereo. Or maybe you want two XM or Sirius
It’s long past time that the magnetron was consigned to the dust bin of maritime history,” enthused Larry Brandt, a commenter on my electronics blog who is both a professional mariner and a radar tech with experience working on everything from 60-ton 1960’s Air Force sky scanners to the super-compact, super-high-performance solid-state sets
Photo by Ben EllisonNow Class B-equipped Gizmo shows up on ship AIS displays and Web viewers like this. I’ve never been more pleased to write this column. If you read the original “Here Comes Class B” in the March 2007 issue, you’ll recall my cautious optimism about the then untried yacht version
Photo by Ben EllisonDigital Yacht is a substantial U.K.-based marine electronics manufacturer/distributor that is expanding to the United States in a timely manner, given its emphasis on Class B AIS. I’m testing its $899 AIT250 Class B, which—while being the same basic transponder that’s marketed by Shine Micro, True Heading,
Photo courtesy of Icom AmericaIs Icom a Johnny come lately for introducing the MXA-5000 AIS receiver just as Class B transceivers finally hit the market? I don’t think so. Not every skipper is as keen to be seen via AIS as I am, and if said skipper does want to monitor Class A and B AIS targets, ICOM’s offering looks easy to
Ben EllisonCellranger STIXThe Cellranger Stix is a portable and affordable cellphone booster that I can recommend but only with certain caveats. The seductive claim is that its microprocessor technology can analyze an arriving cell signal via that five-inch magnetic-base antenna and add 50 dB of
Callpod’s Dragon V2 headsetsWhen does an everyday Bluetooth cellphone headset become a desirable boating accessory? When a pair of them can also provide a captain and mate hands-free intercom capabilities up to 300 feet apart. The powerful transceivers in Callpod’s $100 Dragon V2 headsets are also purported to double or triple
Cobra MR F300 BTThe short-range Bluetooth wireless standard, commonly used for cellphone headsets, is now usefully making its way onto boats. So while Cobra’s new MR F300 BT may look quite like a VHF speaker mic, in fact it’s designed for making cell calls possible in a noisy and potentially wet environment. It has noise-cancelling
How about a wireless Bluetooth headset designed expressly for marine VHF? Standard Horizon’s BH-2 works with either the company’s new HX760S handheld or as an add-on to certain of its Quantum fixed VHF radios. It can be used in either push-to-talk or completely hands-free voice-activated modes (with two VOX sensitivity levels selectable). The HX760S—which floats
Shine Micro RadarPlus AIS-BXIt’s been almost 18 months since the U.S. Coast Guard approved a variety of yacht-size Class B AIS transponders, and the FCC still hasn’t added its blessing! I’ll spare you further ranting, but understand that we may have to wait for a new administration before we can use this valuable safety tool.
Cruisers who enjoy spending time away from crowded harbors and anchorages need a radio that will keep them in touch with friends and receive information from many different sources. While nearly all boats carry a VHF, its maximum range isn’t more than about 25 miles. This is because VHF radio waves travel in a straight line
A feature about data networking wires and related minutia? I can almost feel fingers flipping the page. But wait! If you’re looking at new boats or are about to upgrade your electronics, you’ll likely get more satisfying results if you shop with some knowledge of the National Marine Electronics Association’s (NMEA) 2000 nitty
OrSat AL-7103 MKIIAccording to Orbit Technology, this 1.15-meter (45-inch) Ku-band marine-stabilized antenna is the first of its size range to be type approved by Eutelsat and Intelsat, meaning no further verification is needed to use either of these broadband services, which, along with
WxWorx hard- and software packages let you monitor XM Satellite Weather with your onboard PC, and its latest receiver makes installation easier than ever. Exchangeable modules allow the PC interface to be either traditional RS-232 serial, wireless Bluetooth, USB, or Ethernet, and the latter two can also supply
With a solar cell wingspan of 145 feet, Inmarsat’s new I-4 birds promise reliable, global coverage.I was annoyed! I’d found a cozy corner at the Fort Lauderdale airport with a five-bar connection to the free WiFi Internet service there, but I could barely pull up a Web page, and my e-mail icon just spun hopelessly. I tried the
Digital Antenna DA 2330Subscribing to XM weather via WxWorx entitles you to a great rate on XM’s multichannel-audio goodness, but you’ll have to run yet another antenna to your boat’s satellite radio-enabled stereo. Or maybe you want two XM or Sirius
