Marine Electronics

After many hours testing a NXT radome on Gizmo in often busy Maine waters, I believe that Furuno's bold "Radar Redefined" claim is completely justified. This radar is so smart that it makes sense to run it in broad daylight.

Did you know that some areas of the U.S. coastal chart you're using may only show land and bottom features accurate in position to +/- 1,600 feet, and you shouldn't be confident about the depth soundings either?

There are many reasons for Gizmo's late launch last week -- travel, getting old, boatyard miscommunications, etc. -- but perhaps the most interesting one is what it took to properly retest Pettit Hydrocoat Eco bottom paint.

I've long felt that the DeLorme inReach is a valuable safety and communications tool for boats that sometimes go beyond reliable cellular (and/or VHF) contact with friends, families and rescue centers.

Let's take a closer look at the training needed to use some of the gear on SAR 1, along with how and why it is used on a search and rescue mission.

Now here's a truly different boating app screen. Tapping Boat Beacon's eye-like Live View button starts Flir One live video with the selected AIS target's name and bearing overlaid for positive identification.

If you have a Raymarine a, c, e, eS or gS Series MFD, you recently got an astonishing array of free new features thanks to the just announced and available LightHouse Release 17 software update.

A clean single-brand helm electronics setup is now available under three different brands, and seems reasonably priced even for a relatively small boat.

If I was once again in New Bern, North Carolina, about to cruise north with spring -- instead of watching late April freaking snow fall in Maine -- I'd certainly have the new Cruisers' Net app loaded on my iPad.

The Rokk Mini system is exceptionally well made and can solidly mount phones, tablets, smallish marine displays and more.

At this moment in time, the Garmin GPSMAP 8600 multifunction display announced in February may be the most powerful premium MFD available, and they had plenty more to show during their recent press event.

While Ben suggested some topics to cover, the story I must tell largely involves kites and sailfish, though the electronics could not be ignored.

The Iris255 NightPilot looks like an accessory from Star Wars and includes some pretty hi-tech wizardry considering its $4,895 suggested retail price.

In today's world of always-connected systems, I am surprised that there are not more vendors in the space of vessel monitoring. My adventures with remote monitoring systems started in the late 80's.

Panbo's contributing editor, Adam Hyde, brings you a slew of updates from the ever-expanding world of marine electronics.

Here's some big news in the small world of marine electronics: Boeing company Jeppesen just sold its marine cartography division to a formerly unknown entity named Digital Marine Solutions.

Shipping the first week of April for US$400 is a new heads-up display called the Garmin Nautix. A 1.1 oz "hands-free in-view display," Nautix attaches to your sunglasses and shows NMEA 2000 data.

While Doppler effect is a seasoned and fairly well known concept, I suspect that its sudden and intriguing arrival to marine electronics is going to effect change.

When I wrote about the StructureScan 3D announcement last July, I recall feeling a bit skeptical. But I was wrong. On-water demos have taught me that SS3D is much more than a visual gimmick.

I still think that many boaters don't realize the added safety, tracking, and navigation capabilities possible when GPS is integrated with portable VHF, though the Standard Horizon HX870 has been earning great reviews for a while.