Panbo: The Marine Electronics Hub

Furuno TZT chart plotting, feeling the love

Ben — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison

One problem with cruising north early during a late spring was that Gizmo's open fly bridge was usually too cold to work with electronics like the Furuno TZT14 that I'd installed there just before finishing the trip south (as seen in this photo). I look forward to much more testing here in Maine but this I already know: For me, there is no other MFD or PC navigation program that does underway chart plotting so well. TimeZero software from MaxSea and Nobeltec are obviously excepted -- and note that TZ for iPad is on its way -- because Furuno essentially built the NavNet3D and TZT series as very specialized marine computers that run TZ with tight integration to their radars, sounders, etc. as well as to NMEA 2000, Ethernet and analog cameras, and more. Let's look at some screens that illustrate what TZT does so well...

A closer look at Lowrance's HDS Gen2 Touch

Kees — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Kees Verruijt

Today is an excellent time to look in more depth at the Lowrance HDS Gen2 Touch, a slightly awkward name for six products that form the "top end" of the Lowrance multifunction display range. The reason is the recent release of the 2.0 software version that brings GoFree functionality -- as seen above -- and much more to both the Lowrance Gen2 and Gen2 Touch range. Last year I upgraded my HDS Gen1 to a HDS2T and in this entry I will compare the HDS2T to other Navico options, give you the reasons why I like it and of course discuss the new features in the 2.0 software.

Marine fuel prices, why so hard?

Ben — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison

I'm so close to home! But good old Maine welcomed me with a full menu of fog, rain, and wind -- topped off with a foul tide -- so it seemed wise to take a break behind the Rockland breakwater, make some tea and discuss marine fuel prices. One of many things I learned on this trip to South Carolina and back is how much diesel prices can vary, even within the same harbor. So I was quite keen to give the new MarineFuel.com IOS app a spin. Thanks to partner Fugawi it's quite a piece of work just as a free marina-oriented mapping program with goodies like tracking, go-to navigation, and photo waypoints. But you won't see the $Fuel icons unless you subscribe to the pricing data, and so far that's been quite a disappointment...

BEP CZone Signal Interface, a NMEA 2000 winner

Ben — Fri, 03 May 2013 12:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison That screen above makes me so happy! I had been reluctant to give up on Gizmo's standalone tank monitoring system but circumstances forced a change. Had I realized how easy and relatively inexpensive it was to switch the tank...

Garmin GMI 20 & GHC 20, back on top?

Ben — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison

In my opinion it was the Garmin GMI 10 that trail blazed the wonderful world of color NMEA 2000 all-in-one displays, but it's gotten major competition from the Raymarine i70 (comparison here), the B&G Triton (first look here), and the Furuno RD-33 (hand's on here). And when Garmin demoed its new 800 Glass Bridge Series in Miami, the GMI 10 also installed on the dash looked decidedly out of place. So it was really no surprise when they announced the new GMI 20 and its GHC 20 sibling last Tuesday. It will be interesting to see if they've outdone the competition but that's hard to judge as these all-in-ones can potentially do so much, though not necessarily exactly what you want...

Verizon LTE nirvana, can it last?

Ben — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison

I lucked out. Just look at all the data I've been slurping through my Verizon Galaxy Nexus cell phone while living and working afloat. Up until this month I didn't think that using 21,482 megabytes on a $60 data plan was possible without repercussions -- like Verizon throttling me down or even saying "bye-bye, buster!" But apparently it's perfectly OK for me to keep right on slurping at this piggish pace. Am I enjoying a short term sweet spot?

KVH V3-IP Broadband & Thuraya SatSleeve

Ben — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison Since leaving Myrtle Beach on April 1, I've spent a fairly ridiculous amount of time messing around with WiFi and cellular Internet connections, and not only is Gizmo quite well equipped in those categories but she's stayed within a...

Gizmo's air draft sensor & my Panbo 8th

Ben — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 11:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison

This was Thursday's little challenge. It's what I've starting calling a "trawler bridge": a span high enough to let motor cruisers get at some good anchoring and/or gunkholing, but not so high that they have to share it with pesky sailboats. I kid, of course, but I had spied out a great little spot on Norfolk's Lafayette River (Google Map here) to ride out the frontal passage and it would likely be free because there's only 24-feet under this bridge at high tide. However, I wasn't absolutely sure that Gizmo's mighty antenna farm met that requirement...

C-Maps in Coastal Explorer, never enough charts!

Ben — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison

Yes, it sure looks like overkill -- and this shot doesn't even include the iPad that's often mounted here at Gizmo's lower helm -- but I've definitely found ways to put all these screens to work. In this particular scene the boat is crawling out of a very shallow back creek (actually called Back Creek) where we'd hidden from the worst of a cold gusty low that had me wondering if spring would ever materialize. It was still gusting in the high 20's and that's only 2.8 feet under the StructureScan transducer that's fastened to the keel forward. If you look closely you'll see many chart types, including the C-Map Max format now well supported by Coastal Explorer. The day before I'd gotten a serious reminder about the value of multi charting...

inReach SE, will the screen do it?

Ben — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 06:30:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison

I was so focused on finally heading north that I forgot the April 1 announcement of DeLorme's new inReach SE, even though one standard step in getting Gizmo underway these days is firing up the original inReach for tracking, messaging, and much more (as discussed here last fall). But my forgetfulness does not indicate a lack of appreciation for the new model (which I've already handled briefly in prototype form). To the contrary, I think the SE (Screen Edition) will likely make a lot of boaters as enthusiastic about the whole inReach concept as I've already become...

Paul's Cape Dory 25, just doing it!

Ben — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison

What the heck? This morning In Myrtle Beach it was the same frosty 36 degrees as it was in Camden, Maine. I've got lots more install work I can do before heading north, but it's fun to check out the odd lot of early ICW cruisers who turn into Osprey Marina's narrow entrance channel. Particularly curious was this venerable Cape Dory 25 that came in looking like it had been knocking around at sea. In fact it had just come non-stop and single-handed from St. Augustine, Florida, and had gotten there mostly offshore from Cape May, New Jersey, just last month. Yes, in February, and the owner's previous sailing experience was aboard a Sunfish on a lake. I had to know more!

Gizmo's antenna mast 2013: FLIR, Rogue, Wilson & more

Ben — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison

I've heard it said that if you heeded all the manufacturer advice about antenna placement, you'd need a boat 100-feet long with four or five masts. I've been meaning to ask Panbo readers about how to best use Gizmo's single (though beefy) antenna mast, but instead I went and rejiggered everything last week and your advice will have to wait for the next revision. What mainly drove the change is the long term loan of a FLIR M-Series camera system, which certainly deserves the premier masthead position...

The Equinox, celestial mechanics & pesky "True Wind"

Ben — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison

I'm not a pagan but my first wedding was on the Summer Solstice in 1976 and the second was on the Vernal Equinox in 1993. So, yes indeed, today we're celebrating twenty years wonderfully together (though right now about a thousand miles physically apart). But I want to write about what largely drove those wedding date decisions: my fascination with celestial mechanics, largely acquired through marine navigation, particularly the celestial kind. I learned about the apparent and true motions of the heavenly bodies, the foundations of geography, and what makes this such a balanced day on earth...

MIBS CZone tour, enabling the car-like boat

Ben — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 08:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison

In Miami Actuant Electrical invited a few boating writers like Ed Sherman, Steve D'Antonio and myself to tour several production boats that have chosen to use BEP CZone distributed power and digital switching systems. A highlight for me was getting to hear the founder of Scout Boats explain why he would do such a crazy thing. I joke of course -- and there's an argument that you have to be a little nuts to build boats anyway -- but Steve Potts (seen to the right of BEP's Jarrod Sagar above and interviewed here in Soundings) made a compelling case for why systems like CZone are critical to creating boats that truly satisfy modern customers...

Furuno at MIBS 2013; CHIRP, FCV587/627, and NavPilot FPS8

Ben — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0500

Written for Panbo by Ben Ellison

When I was at the in-water powerboat portion of the Miami show before it opened one morning, I discovered Furuno marketing manager Jeff Kauzlaric and product manager Eric Kunz making video. Of course I interrupted them for a photo but I was also hoping to see their long-rumored CHIRP fishfinder in action. But while it turned out that the big sonar screen behind Eric was not showing CHIRP, Furuno did announce the new DFF1-UHD during the show and Eric showed me the nifty NavPilot Safe Helm and Power Assist modes just about ready for release...