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Have fun and enjoy the next generation in Community Software:
My first impression of this just-launched Maine Cat P-47 last June was all about how well the flying bridge looked on what I'd only known previously (and almost bought) as an express style design, and how much useful space it added. But, my, what a mess I found when I went aboard. The poor owner -- just about to embark on an already delayed delivery trip to his home waters on the Great Lakes -- gamely listed all the not-yet-functioning parts of the boat's elaborate Garmin networks while sitting in a main salon littered with bits and pieces of other unfinished systems. While delays for complex, semi-custom boats like this are nearly a cliche, and possibly worse in these tight times, this case seemed particularly egregious. However, I've stayed in touch with this gentleman and am relieved to report that he's a pretty happy boat owner today...
A couple of weeks ago I replaced Gizmo's older Simrad autopilot with the latest generation, which turned out to be easy even though I've never installed an AP before. It helped that there was no drive involved, just wire swapping, as the AC12 processor simply controls a solenoid plumbed into the boat's engine-driven hydraulic steering system. Plus the existing Simrad rudder sensor wired to the AC12 without trouble, and I already had a SimNet backbone in place. So I replaced the old AP11 control head at the lower helm just by plugging an AP28 head into SimNet, and did nothing on the flying bridge (except replace the AP11 with an extra instrument display) because I no longer need a control head up there. That's because I'm using the new NSE autopilot mode that was announced in Miami as part of its 2.0 software update. So far, it's great...
AIS users CT to NC, head's up! Oops: "Between July 27 and August 19, 2010, while conducting development testing of its Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS), the Coast Guard inadvertently tele-commanded most AIS users transiting the Eastern United States between lower Connecticut and North Carolina to...
At the risk of sounding mean, what excites me most about Furuno's new GP-33 GPS sensor and display is what it means regarding the coming RD-33 data display we discussed a while back. That 4.3-inch 480x272 pixel LED-backlit screen -- seen above in bright sunlight on Gizmo's flying bridge -- is pleasingly crisp and bright. And note how legible and even handsome the screen designs are, and how Furuno has dropped some of the numerical over-precision that has drawn criticism from users of NavNet 3D MFDs and FI50 instruments. You get all that screen goodness -- 50% more area than a Garmin GMI 10, Furuno claims -- for a maximum of 7 LENS (350 milliamps) of 12v power off a NMEA 2000 backbone...
The first time was the best. I was tootling down the Bay in May when I tested the ACR AquaLink View PLB. I'd already appreciated its high build quality, and how neatly instructions about how to activate its two self test modes and primary distress function are explained right on the casing. Then when I pressed the GPS Test button for five seconds, it was very nice to have the small LCD screen show the procedure step-by-step and advise me to give the antennas a good sky view. And it was impressive that the GPS -- perhaps never used before, or at most tested in Florida -- got (and displayed) a position in well less than a minute. (In fact, the whole test procedure is so quick that I've had a hard getting a good photo with the scrolling screen in action.) But the kicker was how my cell phone buzzed a moment later with a text message confirmation that the beacon's test signal had made it through the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system, along with a link to its accurately mapped position...
