Debutantes All

Five electronics products

worthy of your attention

The marine electronics industry hasn’t been sitting on its hands through this economic slow-down; in fact, it’s been forging ahead with new ideas and hardware that, once boating climbs out of the slump, will have many companies poised for progress. Some electronics manufacturers are enjoying strong sales through this lag due to boat owners’ spiffing-up their current vessels. Here are five products that prove these electronics manufacturers are serious about forging new ground, four of which debuted at the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) Expo in early October at Sanibel Island, Florida.

Simrad NSE Series Chartplotter

Simrad’s Director of Marketing, Paul Comyns, showed us the new NSE Series chartplotter on board a 35-foot Yellowfin tournament center console at the NMEA show. This GPS comes embedded with Nautic Insight HD cartography for out-of-the-box functionality, and at the top of Simrad’s design criteria—ease of use. What stands out is the dial on the top right of the display.
“We did some research and found that the rotary dial with push-to-enter selection was being used on some high-end cars, like BMW,” says Paul. “So, we adapted the design to suit boat operators, improving the feel and resistance of the dial, so it would be easy to operate in wavy conditions.”
Virtually all of the plotter’s functions can be accessed from this one easy-to-use rotary dial. When the information you desire is highlighted, a firm push of the button is met with a click, and the display changes. It’s very intuitive. Right from the start, it’s easy to navigate through the menus, choose different features and set the number of windows to show you the specific information you want to see. It’s compatible with BR24 Broadband Radar, BSM-1 Sonar and Sirius weather overlay. Information bars can be enlarged to nearly full-screen size, making things such as depth, speed and course easy to read at a glance without (if you need them) reading glasses. Information bars can be customized, and set to scroll between bars at timed intervals, alternating like a Web page banner.
The NSE features Simrad’s SunView screen allows for 120-degree full-sunlight view ability (1,500 nits for those so inclined). We had no problem seeing charts, sonar and radar from all angles around the helm. NSE chartplotters are available with a 12.1- or 8-inch screen. Both are submersible and compatible with 12- or 24-volt systems. Prices start at $3,295 for the NSE8 and $4,595 for the NSE12.

Interphase Ultrascan PC90

We all know that with a typical depth sounder, by the time the transducer has passed over a shallow area, it’s too late to do much about stopping or changing course. Interphase Technologies has been manufacturing forward-looking sonar units to give you a look at what’s up ahead and under the surface. But, the new Ultrascan PC90 takes forward-looking sonar to the next level, providing the closest thing yet to a real-time reading of the bottom ahead. The PC90 provides up to 24 full 90-degreee scans per second, as opposed to a mechanical scanner, which is typically about seven seconds per single scan. This super-fast reading is then translated onto your Multi-Function Display as a color picture that resembles an ultra-sound medical scan of the human body.
“This is updated at the speed of sound,” says Bob Chew, sales and marketing director for Interphase. “You can pick out a school of bait fish, see a large predator fish circling or a sudden drop or rise of the seafloor as if you were watching it on a television.”
Interphase says Ultrascan is up to 200 times faster than previous Interphase forward-looking sonar. If you already own one of those units, you’ll be glad to hear that you can update your Interphase sonar to the new Ultrascan technology using your current transducer. Ultrascan is compatible with a variety of video-enabled MFDs and will be priced under $5,000.

Jeppesen Marine C-Map

4D Cartography

Jeppesen Marine is adding a fourth dimension to its charting technology—time. The easy-routing technology works out the shortest route and then checks and displays hazards in each leg of the journey. C-Map 4D is based on a continuous update process to provide up-to-date data for navigation. C-Map 4D also includes high-resolution imagery and thousands of photos of popular marinas and other areas of interest. Users can also overlay paper charts on the multi-dimensional shaded relief display. A single cartridge will hold Jeppesen’s C-Map Max and the new 4D technology.

Sailor 6216 VHF DSC Class D

From the tactile feel of the dials, to the large, easy-to-read red backlit display, the Sailor 6216 VHF looks to be all business. It has a powerful built-in 8-watt speaker, but if you miss part of a conversation, the 6216 features a replay function. Because it is waterproof, the 6216 is suitable for open installations. It can be operated by two handsets, hand microphones or control speaker microphones, all of which can be connected at the front or the back of the VHF. $592.

Comrod Antennas

Comrod manufactures what could very well be the toughest antenna on the market. Each is designed to meet   military and commercial specs from around the world. Life expectancy is 20 years and they’re designed to withstand 125 mile-per-hour winds. Comrod antenna conductors are enclosed in polyurethane foam, which fixes them firmly to prevent damage from vibration and eliminates condensation. Available in a wide variety of sizes for several different applications. Comrod antennas are not cheap, but they are durable.