How to Maintain that precious seaman’s commodity: night vision

By Chuck Husick

Accident statistics show that safe navigation, especially in conditions that restrict visibility, is challenging. What we see is our primary information resource. In fact, the electronic “aids to navigation” on the bridge, radar and instrument displays can actually hinder our effort to see what surrounds us. Fortunately, there are techniques that can significantly enhance the performance of the eye, and ways to set the electronic displays so that they don’t keep us from seeing what we must see for safe navigation. With a modest investment in additional gear it is also possible to use visual information whose intensity is below what can be sensed by the eye or that may be in forms that are invisible to the eye.

One cost effective and easy way to see better in low light conditions is to ensure that your eyes have been protected from exposure to even modestly bright light for a period before standing night watch. A fatal accident near the Isle of Wight in the English Channel was caused in part by the fact that the watchstander’s night vision was impaired by exposure to bright light just before he went on duty.
Clearly, it is worth doing what is necessary to protect and preserve the eye’s night vision. When trying to see an object in really low light level conditions it’s best to constantly move your eyes across the scene, rather than concentrating on what you believe may be the center of your field of vision. Achieving full dark-adaptation can take as much as two hours during which the eye is protected from exposure to normal intensity of light, however a significant degree of improvement can be achieved by protecting your eyes from bright white light for as little as half an hour. Setting cockpit displays and any lighting to a pure red pallet reduces the chance of loss of low light sensitivity. The difference in light sensitivity between a fully dark adapted eye and one that has been exposed to normal room level lights can be more than 10,000:1.
Other techniques employ electronic technology that will allow us to “see,” albeit through a viewing device. We can use optics, for example a regular 7×50 marine binocular, to increase the amount of light that reaches the eye’s retina. We can use electronic light amplification devices to provide even greater sensitivity. We can use an electronic light amplifier to see in close to total darkness. All light amplifiers operate on the same basis and light amplifier equipped monoculars and binoculars are widely available. Some models include image stabilization.
Although light amplifiers do a remarkable job in delivering useful images they cannot work when there is no light energy at the scene. Fortunately it is still possible to see in this circumstance by sensing and producing a visible image of a different form of energy; the virtually always present infrared energy (normally sensed as heat). Today’s IR sensing devices can create a very useful image even from these small temperature differences. It’s important to recognize that there are limits to what the vision enhancing hardware will show you, and to use extra caution when navigating in low light conditions.
Beyond light amplifiers, which can become overpowering if there is too much light, and the infrared sensitive viewing devices, it is best to think about preserving one’s night vision. A red flashlight or chart light can be used to illuminate paper charts and other objects without concern for compromising night vision. (However, anything printed in red ink will be virtually invisible.) An incandescent bulb coated with red paint doesn’t get the job done.
One of the most immediate detriments to night vision can be the instrument screens in the wheelhouse. Gone are the old CRT bright green radar screens that required a hood to keep the screen from lighting up the bridge. With the advent of LCD screens, and now superior LED screens, the bridge is a far friendlier place to humans’ night vision. Still, if untended they will reek havoc with your night vision.
Nauticomp and Simrad make glass bridge screens that display any signal that is needed on the bridge. At night Nauticomp screens can be easily dimmed to any level from 0 to 100% and, any information coming in on any inputs, including DVI, VGA, and NTSC, can be selectable as “red.” Even with all of the adjustability if you find the red too distracting the screen is dimmable down to 2 nits in black or red. Even the function buttons (non-touch screen) go to red when it is selected.

Get with the Program

At a recent seminar I asked attendees if any of them had replaced their VHF radios in the past two years. One had. Two had replaced theirs in the past five years and 42 were operating with VHFs more than five years old. None had ever replaced their antennas. Even more interesting six of the boaters didn’t have a working VHF on board. They relied on their cell phones!
Modern VHFs are so versatile and inexpensive they continue to be one of the best safety features a boat owner can have. Anyone looking at a refit or upgrade should put the acquisition of a new VHF and antenna right near the top of their list.
When I started boating there were no VHF marine radios. When they came onto the market they were quickly recognized as one of the most useful marine safety devices available. By modern electronic standards they were primitive and very expensive.
It’s not surprising that many boat owners are operating with old VHFs. In most cases even the oldest units continue to operate well and many owners are of the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” school. In my opinion, a VHF without Digital Selective Calling  (DSC) is broke, especially now that the emergency response system, called Rescue 21, is now in place on virtually all of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
One of the most useful safety features currently available only on newer VHF radios is DSC. This feature, when connected to an operating GPS, will send a distress message to the Coast Guard, or other DSC-equipped receivers, like a 911 call, containing, among other things, the vessel’s coordinates. While this won’t replace an EPIRB for offshore cruising, it will dramatically reduce emergency response time for near shore users and continues to broadcast even if the skipper is incapacitated.
Fixed base VHF radios, complete with DSC, can be bought for as little as $100. If you have a windy or noisy wheelhouse, you might have a look at the Cobra Fixed mounts with the speaker in the same housing as the noise canceling microphone, and it’s submersible, too. Have multiple stations? Garmin makes a “black box” unit, the VHF 300 DSC where the radio’s guts are mounted out of sight but running up to three remote stations with mic and speaker. With multiple stations, you can use it as an intercom.
Many of the modern VHF radios are equipped with the NOAA weather alert monitoring system. This around-the-clock feature provides instant access to hazards and weather information and is invaluable in voyage planning decisions.
If the only VHF radio you will have on your boat is a handheld, you’ll find a smaller selection  of DSC-equipped units, but they are a good investment. Standard Horizon’s HX471S DSC VHF is multi-band, GPS-equipped and submersible, and talk about clever, it has a built-in strobe light SOS signal that can be seen over a mile away.

Take if from the top
Without a good antenna a VHF simply won’t work. Antenna manufacturers say their products generally last up to 10 years, depending on the location of the vessel. In hot, sunny climates, the sun’s UV rays break down the fiberglass coatings of many antennas and a five-year life span is all that can be expected.
Inexpensive VHF antennas cost about $60 and the most expensive about $400. The higher a VHF antenna is above the waterline, the longer its range, so there are a number of antenna extenders on the market ranging in price from about $30 to $150 depending on quality and length.
The cost of a good quality DSC VHF radio, including a new fiberglass antenna, can be as little as $300. I paid four times that much for my first VHF and it had only six, fixed, channels. The antenna cost me an extra $250.
Note: The Coast Guard has recently issued a marine safety alert related to DSC-equipped VHF radios. It appears that many radios will automatically switch from a working channel to the emergency channel when the radio receives a DSC call and remain there. The Coast Guard says that a vessel operator may not realize this has happened and thus, unknowingly, put his vessel in danger, particularly if the skipper is involved with a bridge clearance procedure or monitoring nearby vessel traffic.
The Federal Communications Commission has mandated that all U.S. DSC-equipped VHF radios certified after March 25, 2009, have such a method of disabling the auto switch over.

SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio delivers

detailed weather data while

new multi-function displays offer

dazzling viewing options

Every second of every day ocean temperatures are monitored and skies are scanned for storms. At thousands of locations, wind speeds and wave heights are measured, humidity is dutifully logged, barometric pressure is recorded, and all this information pours into the National Weather Service (NWS). You probably know SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio as the company that delivers continuous cool jazz, talk and Elvis Presley. But did you know it offers the tremendous resources of the NWS to subscribers through two products: SIRIUS Marine Weather and XM WX Satellite Weather. For as little as $12.99 a month, you can receive the data feed and use it on single or multi-function marine displays (MFD). Since MFDs are the wave of the future, that’s what we focus on here.
During the  Miami International Boat Show in February, MFD units from Garmin, Lowrance, Raymarine and Simrad were showcased aboard the 70-foot yacht Solstice, and journalists had a chance to test each MFD’s capabilities at sea. While the weather data provided is essentially the same, each manufacturer has developed technology to display it differently for targeted applications audiences.

GARMIN GPS MAP 7212

with XM WX Satellite Weather

Garmin is the only MFD manufacturer we tested using the XM WX Satellite Weather service, which is offered in three packages following a one-time $50 setup fee: XM WX Fisherman ($29.99 monthly), Sailor ($29.99 monthly) or Master Mariner ($59.99 monthly).
The Garmin GPS Map 7212 (retail $4,999) display features a waterproof touch screen and bright and low-light back lights for viewing in all lighting conditions. It also has G-Motion technology that delivers fast redraw of maps and XM WX weather graphic overlays at all zoom levels and perspective views.
An appealing feature for offshore anglers in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico is a service called FishBytes that comes with the Master Mariner package. Using water-temperature data, the location of certain fish species is forecast using color gradients. Say you want to target wahoo. You select that species and the specific longitude and latitude for each promising location is provided.

LOWRANCE HDS-1O INSIGHT

with SIRIUS Marine Weather

The Lowrance HDS-10 Insight (retail $2,464) runs all three SIRIUS Marine Weather Packages: Inland ($12.99 monthly), Mariner ($29.99 monthly) and Voyager ($59.99 monthly). There’s a $25 one-time activation fee.
The Lowrance HDS-10 automatically tunes the screen’s color palette to reveal crucial temperature breaks for anglers as well as eddies in sea-surface temperatures.
With the Inland package, weather coverage is localized to the water and surrounding shoreline, while still including the lightning and severe-weather alerts. The Inland package also includes the SIRIUS roadside fuel pricing display to help plan fuel stops to and from the boat ramp.

RAYMARINE E140W

with SIRIUS Marine Weather

The Raymarine E140W (retail $4,751) enables the display of SIRIUS radar and forecasts overlaid on navigation charts with variable transparency. Cruisers will benefit from the increased situational awareness while on a heading, as the display shows the speed and projection of a storm cell’s heading. Knowing where the storm cells are heading can either increase your time out on the water, or help you make a decision to head to port or change course.
The Raymarine E140W also features a touch screen combined with keypad controls, providing easy and flexible operation of the screen in variable weather and sea conditions.

SIMRAD NSE12

with SIRIUS Marine Weather

The Simrad NSE12 (retail $4,049) allows you to create alerts for a specific wave-height range, helpful if you’re heading offshore but don’t want to take on waves say, bigger than eight feet. The Simrad unit can drill down to an area as small as a two-mile square, so if you are heading to the Bahamas, you can set the NSE12 to display both a wave-height range and wind direction. That information will help you decided whether or not to cross the Gulfstream, or perhaps change your heading for a smoother ride.

Dometic dampens the start-up

spike of air conditioning compressors

SmartStart is available as a component of Dometic’s OEM air conditioners or can be retrofitted on existing Cruisair and Marine Air units.

When sailors were hardy souls, they dressed in wool shirts and wore oilskins to keep out rain and spray. When it was hot they wore little or nothing and when it was really hot they lived in a puddle of sweat. Today’s boat owner avoids these extremes with a wide choice of clever clothing, and if his boat has a bunk, an air conditioner. Life on board is MUCH more agreeable IF the boat’s alternating current power system can supply the air conditioner’s energy demand, including the extra energy needed to start the air conditioner. A new device, the SmartStart from Dometic (manufacturers of Cruisair and Marine Air air conditioners) can substantially improve the starting performance of any marine air conditioner and may allow you to cool your boat with a smaller genset or inverter.

Dometic supplied this graph data for the same air conditioner start up load with and without a SmartStart unit. Three different sizes are available for air conditioners from 5,000 to 60,000 BTUs, with a maximum continuous current draw of 32 amps.

The amount of air conditioning capacity your boat’s electrical system can support is limited by both its continuous energy capacity and by its ability to supply the short duration current demand that exists each time an air conditioning system is started. A boat’s AC electrical system may be able to support a one-ton (12,000 BTU) air conditioner once it is running but unable to consistently deliver a trouble-free start. The starting current challenge can create problems when AC power is being supplied from the boat’s genset or inverter or, perhaps most annoyingly, when the boat is connected to inadequate shore power and the start attempt of an air conditioner trips the circuit breaker on the shore power pylon at 3 a.m.
The amount of current that flows through the electric motor in the air conditioner’s compressor unit depends in part on whether the motor is stopped and being started or is already running at its design speed. The operating current demand of the compressor of a typical one-ton air conditioner may be 8.7 amperes while the momentary current required to get it started, the inrush current, can be 58 amperes, more than six times the run current. If the AC power system’s capacity to supply the inrush current is marginal, the compressor control may make several attempts—accompanied by brown-outs of your lights—or it may prevent the air conditioner from starting at all.
Previously available single-phase soft-start interfaces typically reduce start-up surge by about 20 to 40 percent. SmartStart won’t eliminate start demand of the air conditioner’s compressor motor but it will reduce the momentary load by about 30-65 percent, limiting the start current for the one-ton unit to about 20 amperes. The device uses a microprocessor managed by custom software to instantaneously analyze the electrical status of the compressor so that it can supply just the amount of energy needed to start turning the motor. It switches itself out of the circuit as soon as the motor is up to speed. This precise control of starting current reduces the likelihood of tripping a circuit breaker, and by limiting the mechanical stress imposed when starting the compressor, can extend its life.
Dometic says it is offering an integral SmartStart as an option on new boats and as a retrofit for boat owners. The unit measures just 5” x 3” x 2” and weighs 15 ounces. It wires directly to the air conditioner’s electrical box.
The benefit of the SmartStart will always be evident, the lights won’t dim when the air conditioner starts and nuisance circuit breaker trips will occur less often.

This first mate could be a lifesaver

How can a monocular priced at $3,000 possibly be considered a bargain? You will make that judgment the moment someone goes overboard and your ability to locate and recover the MOB depends on your being able to see the person even when only his/her head  bobs above the waves. The FLIR First Mate’s true infrared imaging ability, its sensitivity to the heat radiated from a person’s body—especially from the head—can make identification and rescue possible, regardless of light conditions. Unlike light amplifiers that are most useful in darkness and are of limited or no use during daylight, the IR sensitive FLIR will display the large contrast between the relatively cool sea and a living body with surprising clarity, regardless of the ambient illumination.
The seemingly high price of the First Mate is in reality a break-through in low cost IR sensing technology. Not too long ago the IR sensing element, the bolometer, had to be artificially cooled before they could be used (initially using liquid nitrogen, later an electrically powered heat transfer device). The bolometer in the First Mate works at room temperature. “Seeing” infrared energy is accomplished using a lens made of Germanium crystal; glass lens materials will block the incoming IR energy.
The ability of the First Mate to image even very small differences in the amount of IR energy (heat) being radiated from objects is most impressive. At one point we retreated into a space where we believed there would be very little variation in the level of IR energy. As we scanned around the room we noted an image of an electrical outlet that was powering a 40-watt heated towel bar. As expected we could see the relatively warm towel bar but did not expect to see any indication of the minute amount of heat that was passing through the outlet to the device’s plug. But there was no mistaking the fact that the temperature of the plug and outlet were substantially above that of the unused adjacent outlet.
We used the First Mate to survey the boats near our slip at the marina. Everything was clearly visible even though it was a pitch-dark night. We also noted that we could “see” the location of the chain plates to which our boat’s main mast rigging is attached. The image was captured well after dark, however, the metal plates inside the hull sides remained warm enough to provide a clear contrast with the more rapidly cooling fiberglass. During previous demonstrations at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show we had noted the ability of various FLIR units to clearly show the internal rib structure behind the plating of large ships.
Although invisible to the human eye, the difference in the level of IR (heat) energy radiated from the head of a person floating in the water is vastly different from the infrared radiation from even very warm seawater. A person in the water may be more visible in IR in many daylight conditions than when using a normal binocular. The unmistakable image of a “glowing” MOB’s head at distances of some 400 meters, even when the sea is rough and in misty or light fog conditions will astound and impress. A small boat will be visible at distances out to about 4,000 feet.
The First Mate’s IR sensitivity sets it apart from light amplifier viewing devices that create images in difficult viewing conditions by converting the small amount of visible light that may be available into an accelerated flow of electrons that is then converted into a viewable image. The IR sensed image delivered by the First Mate is steady and free of the scintillation characteristic of the light amplifier image.
IR viewing is useful in situations less extreme than locating and recovering a man overboard. The IR view of your vessel’s surroundings will be useful in many routine situations, especially during periods of mist and light fog. (IR viewing devices are used as landing aids for aircraft when operating in limited visibility conditions).
The version of the First Mate we tested includes the option of recording both still and moving image sequences on an internal, removable SD card. The viewing lens of the First Mate must “see” the world without any intervening glass or plastic that would scatter the incoming IR energy. A standard camera tripod socket on the underside of the device makes it easy to install with a single, small diameter video coax cable used to feed the image to a standard TV set or chartplotter.
The unit will operate for 5 hours from 4 rechargeable, AA NiMH batteries, from non-rechargeable alkaline or Lithium-Ion cells or from an external 9-30 volt DC power source. The image can be switched to either White-Hot or Black-Hot and when desired can be magnified by a factor of two. The device is shockproof, submersible, has positive bouyancy and  weighs only 1.45 pounds.
The First Mate may be a luxury for many boat owners, however if you use your boat in limited visibility conditions, day or night it may become a real lifesaver.

VHF – DSC – AIS

All-in-one performance

It’s in just one compact, waterproof, easy to install box—an International Class D VHF/DSC radio, a dual channel AIS receiver with a plan-position indication (PPI), plus alphanumeric display of AIS information. With the radio’s transmitter and all four receivers sharing a single antenna, the Standard Horizon GX2100 can be a drop-in replacement for any existing VHF/DSC radio, adding tremendous safety features.
A marine VHF/DSC radio is without doubt the most valuable electronic safety device you can put on a boat. Connected to a GPS receiver and programmed with your maritime mobile service identity number (MMSI)—available free from a number of sources including BoatU.S. and SeaTow, it will provide instant access to all other radio equipped vessels, shore stations at bridges, marinas, yacht clubs, and boat yards and most important, the Coast Guard’s Rescue 21 system. If you haven’t discovered AIS yet, this radio is a smart introduction. Its dual AIS receivers and decoder provide instant access to the information transmitted by vessels required to operate AIS. The radio’s LCD presents a PPI of the relative range and bearing of vessels in radio range (normally those within six nautical miles) plus a display of this information; vessel’s name, MMSI, Call Sign, relative bearing, distance (BRG), speed over ground (SOG) and course over ground (COG). The closest point of approach (CPA) indication provides a graphic alert to a possible collision. Displaying the MMSI of AIS-reporting vessels makes it possible to establish immediate radio contact. No longer do you need to call “the black hull ship with the red funnel” on channel 16. Two-way voice communication with the AIS reporting vessel is very effectively established by using the GX2100’s DSC hailing system; select the displayed MMSI, choose a working channel and press the “CALL” key. A DSC call to the MMSI of a ship will be “heard” by the watchstander even if the radio’s volume is turned down, because the radio will emit a loud tone when the call is received.
AIS information received by the GX2100 is available for display on the boat’s chartplotter and/or radar in addition to the radio’s LCD.
Providing the full Class D DSC functions, coverage of both AIS channels and the normal voice communication frequencies (including weather) requires a total of four receivers. The audio amplifier section of the radio delivers 4.5 watts to the internal loudspeaker with a separate 30 watt amplifier dedicated to the two-way loud hailer/fog signal generator.
Going beyond the usual capabilities of a VHF/DSC radio, the GX2100 provides navigation capability with its 100 waypoint storage and display of your vessel’s SOG, COG, BRG, and DST to a selected waypoint. The radio’s polling function enables it to exchange position information with another vessel and display the relative position of that vessel on its LCD or on a companion chartplotter. Plan on spending a few hours learning how to operate it in all of its many useful modes.
Installing the new Standard Horizon GX2100 on your boat is both simple and straightforward; connect a VHF antenna (one antenna serves the radio’s transmitter and all four receivers), connect the radio to the boat’s 12-volt DC power supply, connect two wires from your GPS receiver (NMEA 0183) and connect to your chartplotter and/or radar so that AIS information will appear on their screens in addition to the radio’s LCD. The GX2100 can do a great deal to enhance your boating experience and safety.

“Appy”

Mariner

Use your smart phone for smart boating

The “appy” Mariner’s iPhone is loaded with applications (apps) that contribute to the pleasure of boating. With more than 10,000 apps available from Apple’s App Store, plus tens of thousands from other sources, choosing the right ones can be challenging. Unless you devote your iPhone exclusively to maritime activities, you will need to be selective.
Apps I use include: AeroWeather (free), GPS Tracker (free), MotionX-GPS (free), Safari (standard on iPhone), iNavX Marine Navigation ($49.99), Tides ($0.99) (or AyeTides—accessed from within iNavX, $9.99), Navionics Marine ($9.99 per U.S. chart), Wind Meter ($0.99), EveryTrail (free), Google Earth (free), Google Mobile (free), Take Me To My Car (free), Flashlight (free), Clinometer ($0.99), and Navigation Rules ($2.99). Those who trailer their boats will find Boat Ramps ($0.99) very useful. AeroWeather, Safari, Google Earth, Google Mobile, and Boat Ramps work only when within range of a Wi-Fi signal or an AT&T cell network, the others function independently. When the boat is secured at the end of the day, Drinks Free (free) will provide the recipes for 5,000 beverages.
AeroWeather provides live aviation weather information for virtually any airport in the world. Tapping into those airports near navigable water accesses information very useful to cruisers. The Safari Web browser provides access to real-time images of the National Weather Service radar system.
GPS Tracker provides quick access to position and GPS signal quality data plus a way to record, track and export position data. MotionX-GPS is invaluable when using the iPhone in areas where the phone’s normal AGPS mode (assisted GPS; the GPS receiver is aided with information from the AT&T cellular phone towers) is unavailable and the GPS receiver must operate independently. The app provides a wealth of position determination information, including satellite signal reception.
The two chartplotter apps, iNavX and Navionics, are similar but have important differences. iNavX can access all U.S. raster charts and will automatically search for and download the most appropriate chart when it is used in a location with Wi-Fi or cellular connection. Fly to a distant boating area, and within a few minutes iNavX will present the needed chart. The app also works with Navionics charts obtained via Fugawi X-Traverse. The AyeTides app provides tide and current data within iNavX or you can use the Tides app independently.
Each Navionics chart application provides access to any one of the U.S. regional chart areas with on-chart, one-click access to tides and currents at specific locations. The app also includes an 8-topic search mode and the ability to locate a position by entering Latitude/Longitude data. Chart information updates are sent to the iPhone via iPhone’s App Store link. A click on the camera icon at the top left of the screen captures and georeferences an image to the chart. Both iNavX and Navionics create voyage tracks, store waypoints and can measure on-screen bearing and distance.
The very clever wind meter app uses the sound created by the flow of air past the phone’s microphone to provide a wind speed-reading.  EveryTrail uses the iPhone’s GPS receiver to precisely log your track when walking, boating, riding a bike, or driving. Photos taken with the iPhone’s camera or with a separate digital camera are georeferenced for inclusion in the trip log.
When cell service is available, Google Earth can provide very useful images of the harbor you are about to enter, including details that may not be available on the boat’s chartplotter. The Google Mobile app provides an easy, voice-activated way to access a wealth of information on the Web.
Take Me To My Car will also lead you back to your anchored boat when darkness or fog limits visibility. A screen tap inputs your original position; tap again when it’s time to dinghy back to your boat.
Flashlight provides a wide area of constant or flashing light in whatever color you wish. The app won’t substitute for a real flashlight but its virtually always in your pocket and ready to be used.
Clinometer is both a bubble level and an instrument for measurement of vertical angles. Use it to check the trim angle of the boat or to obtain the elevation angle of the sun, moon or stars so you can use celestial navigation.
Nav Rules presents the complete Rules of The Road in an easy to read, fully searchable form. Although not yet a Coast Guard approved substitute for the printed version required on all boats longer than 12 meters, it’s a great way to improve your knowledge of all the rules. Two companion apps from the same company, Boater’s Glossary and Boater’s Pocket Reference provide answers to a wide variety of questions.

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.

Lowrance LSS-1 sonar

will Reveal everything

Do you want an unfair advantage next time you go fishing? Put the Lowrance LSS-1 StructureScan Sonar Imager on your boat and you’ll be able to see your quarry almost as if you dove into the water to join it. A companion to a conventional fishfinder, the LSS-1 is panoramic imaging sonar that presents photo-like images of the seabed beneath and on both sides of your boat out as far as 480 feet to port and starboard. Fish, including small balls of baitfish that can be very difficult to detect on a conventional 2D fishfinder, will be easy to spot on the networked Lowrance HDS chartplotter’s screen. You will see clear images of underwater objects, vegetation, rocks, debris and the contour of bottom structures such as drop-offs.

Lowrance StructureScan Sonar image of a school bus resting on the bottom in about 25 feet of water shows the enhanced sharpness and sensitivity of the new system.

The performance of the LSS-1 was initially demonstrated to the marine press at this year’s Marine Aftermarket Accessories Trade Show in Orlando, Florida, with an installation on a pontoon boat on a Disney World lake near the convention center. The performance of the sonar was entirely first rate and professional. The images that flowed across the screen of the Lowrance HDS 10m color chartplotter were clear, highly detailed and easy to interpret. Vegetation growing on the lake bottom directly below the boat was clearly defined, as were the small clusters of baitfish hovering close to the bottom. The areas to port and starboard were imaged with equal detail, including the stumps of what appeared to be the remains of small bushes growing in the area before the lake was created. The debris from a wave-making machine that Disney had operated on the lake some years ago was clearly visible to starboard. The small rock ledges on the lake bottom were easy to see, including areas on the vertical face of the drop-off where the upper layer of rock protruded beyond the vertical face.
The StructureScan system includes a TrackBack tool that synchronizes with the system’s GPS receiver and plotter making it possible to mark the presence of an object of interest and return for further investigation. The chartplotter’s substantial memory is used to progressively capture all of the information being displayed on the screen, including the information from the 2D fishfinder and the chart image. The data can be replayed as the boat is guided back over the previously followed course using the stored GPS position information at which time a new image of what’s under the water can be examined.
The LSS-1 StructureScan system comprises a unique 455/800 kHz transducer and a waterproof remote sonar electronics module. The compact, low-drag transducer contains six sonar elements and a temperature sensor and can be transom or hull mounted. A two-conductor power cable and an Ethernet cable connect the unit to a DC power source and the HDS chartplotter display, making for a plug-and-play installation.
The relatively high frequencies at which the sonar operates, 455 and 800 kHz are necessary to provide the resolution required to detect the small details the LSS-1 can image. The LSS-1’s use of the higher sonar frequencies provides a valuable secondary advantage by allowing simultaneous operation of a conventional 2D fishfinder on the same boat. The value of this capability was clearly shown when the display screen was split to simultaneously display the information captured by the sidescan, downscan and 2D images. During the demonstration of the StructureScan on Mickey’s lake we were able to see clear sonar images even when the boat was moving at 30 miles per hour.

Class B AIS systems are affordable, safe and entertaining

The new class-B Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) are making it affordable for more owners to install these vessel identification systems on their boats. If you opt for a transponder and receiver unit and have it connected to a multi-function display (MFD), you can not only see the other boats that are in the vicinity, but you can learn a lot about them—everything from length and beam, speed and course, name, and whether it’s a commercial or private vessel. Even armchair skippers can watch the marine traffic moving in ports all over the planet on such Web sites as marinetraffic.com.

The AIS Advantage

Unlike radar antennas mounted high above sea level which often do not detect smaller vessels, AIS allows you to locate all other vessels equipped with AIS transponders, even when a radar’s line-of-sight is blocked. The added vessel information is extremely helpful when the helmsman cannot see the position of targets around him in darkness or bad weather.

Larger ships have been utilizing the Class A AIS systems for years. These are more powerful and must include information such as the vessel’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) number, ETA, destination, navigational status, maximum present static draft, and rate of turn. The Class B units are not quite as powerful, generally consisting of a 2-watt transmitter, GPS and two VHF receivers. Class B AIS updates at a slower rate, generally about every 30 seconds when underway at less than 14 knots versus every 10 seconds for Class A. But, even at lower power and slower update rates, Class B units broadcast and receive a wealth of affordable  information to boat operators all over the world.

Black Box or Fully Independent?

AIS systems can be purchased as either a stand-alone unit, or a black-box type containing the hardware and connected to your own MFD. The Simrad AI50 is a compact self-contained Class B AIS with a color display. Mounted at the helm, the Simrad AI50 is an easy-to-operate system that retails for about $1,300.

The AI50 also allows the user to enter Maritime Mobile Service Identities (MMSI) of friends and regular contacts into your favorites list. As soon as a listed vessel sails into view of your AI50, you will be alerted to its presence.

Northstar’s new NAIS-300 Class B Automatic Identification System is a black box transponder that instantly adds AIS functionality to compatible Northstar MFDs. The NAIS-300 allows vessels to exchange vital safety information, such as position, heading, closest point of approach, rate-of-turn, call sign and more, with all other AIS-equipped vessels within range. The NAIS-300 connects to Northstar-compatible devices using a standard NMEA0183 connection. Features include dual-band channel reception-doubling the standard rate of position updates, an LED status indicator, and easy set-up using the bundled PC application software. It’s priced at $1,149.

Wiffletree Corporation’s Seven Star SeaVieweR is its latest AIS product filling the gap between low-end simple receivers and more expensive Class B transponders. It features a high-spec 16-channel DGPS receiver as well as a synthesized AIS receiver with two simultaneous channels. Both AIS channels are monitored independently at all times, preventing missed messages or long delays to receive data. Wiffletree’s SeaTraceR Class B AIS Transponder was one of the first AIS Class B transponders to be both EU and USCG approved.

ICOM’s MXA-5000 also provides dual channel receiving capability and a dual-mode data output, allowing it to be connected to an onboard radar or GPS or a PC. The ICOM unit also has an antenna splitter for installation between an existing VHF antenna and radio. Retail prices are less than $700.

The ACR Nauticast-B Transponder is a plug and play with a data cable that directly interfaces with your chartplotter or laptop. The ACR is compatible with the majority of late-model chartplotters and Maptech and Nobeltec software. The Nauticast-B package Includes a 12-volt AIS Transponder, External GPS Antenna, VHF Antenna, Power/Interface Cable, and cables for VHF and External GPS Antennas for about $1,000.

Raymarine’s AIS500 includes a VHF splitter utilizing NMEA0183 or SeaTalking interface protocols with a built-in splitter for ease of installation. The $1,200 AIS500 also features a “silent mode” to deactivate the AIS broadcast, which may appeal to anglers or racers who want to keep their locations to themselves.

Class B Cautions

It’s important to note that AIS Class B purchases are non-returnable because each transponder can only be programmed once with your vessel’s personal MMSI.

A recent note from the U.S. Coast Guard cautions that some older Class A devices cannot absorb all of the Class B information being transmitted. While Class A users are urged to upgrade their equipment, the Coast Guard cautions, “new AIS Class B users to not assume that they are being ‘seen’ by all other AIS users or that all their information is available to all Class A users”.