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Old 31-05-2016, 01:14   #61
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

In your design, did you consider RFID tags and an RFID receiver? Some of the RFID tags seem like they might have the range.

It might also be interesting to be able to trigger the GPS mob function, and if the autopilot is controllable, to put the he boat into the wind, and/or cut the throttle. The phone might not be able to do this, while other hardware might have fewer issues.

Also, I am not sure that any of the class D radios can be remotely triggered to do a pan mob distress call, but that might be useful as well.

The competition here are the mini-epirbs that are easy to keep in a pocket of your life jacket, if it has one. Arguably, triggering one of those if you fall in gets you strength from a lot of places and would be more useful if you were soloing... Unless you can automatically stop the boat.
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Old 31-05-2016, 07:38   #62
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

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Originally Posted by Brasshopper View Post
In your design, did you consider RFID tags and an RFID receiver? Some of the RFID tags seem like they might have the range.

It might also be interesting to be able to trigger the GPS mob function, and if the autopilot is controllable, to put the he boat into the wind, and/or cut the throttle. The phone might not be able to do this, while other hardware might have fewer issues.

Also, I am not sure that any of the class D radios can be remotely triggered to do a pan mob distress call, but that might be useful as well.

The competition here are the mini-epirbs that are easy to keep in a pocket of your life jacket, if it has one. Arguably, triggering one of those if you fall in gets you strength from a lot of places and would be more useful if you were soloing... Unless you can automatically stop the boat.
He Brasshopper,

Thanks for thinking with us.
No, I haven't looked at RFID, as far as I was aware this was only for short range applications (like NFC.) Could you maybe provide me a link to a product with long range RFID?

We are actively investigating the possibility of communicating with the auto pilot/chart plotter over wireless. epirbs are indeed the most similair thing but still a lot more expensive. Also you might not always want to call the cavalry immediately.
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Old 02-06-2016, 07:40   #63
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

all those systems may work on certain types of boats /each vessel needs to tailor a workable safety protocol / the spot connect transmitter fits in a pocket /is waterproof and has an sos button / just purchased but haven't received through the post yet a waterproof phone watch with gps / hopefully after reading your post the watch has Bluetooth

thank you for the idea
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Old 15-06-2016, 03:50   #64
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

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He all,

For the past view months I've been hard at work to solve a problem my father in law had.

He was going on a sailing trip with his son that would require them to sail in shifts. Day and night.
The alternating shifts meant there is always a risk to fall overboard without the other knowing.
So he asked me to make something simple and affordable that would work with his phone since he already used that for navigation.

A view months later, PanPan was born and I'm very curious to learn what you think of it!
You can checkout the website bellow or/and ask me any questions on this forum.

Here's a quick summary:
PanPan is a smart crew watcher that constantly checks if all crew members are still on board.
If someone were to go overboard, it will automatically sound the alarm.
Not only that, it will provide everything needed for a swift recovery and rescue;
Coordinates of the point of loss, time of the event as well as a constantly updating rescue heading.

PanPan - The Smart Crew Watcher

what is the max range to the MOB ?
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Old 20-06-2016, 08:57   #65
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

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what is the max range to the MOB ?
From what I understand, it only registers that a crew went overboard and notes the location. It doesn't track the MOB in the water, only the location where they went overboard.
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Old 22-06-2016, 03:44   #66
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

look here Child Safety and Locating Device | MyBuddyTag
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Old 28-06-2016, 15:00   #67
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

Hi Jason, Great concept and I've signed up for a couple of the beta units please. Agree with others here that your unit should not be looked at as a replacement for a personal eperb but another safety measure while at sea. As we all know there's no such thing as "to safe" no matter if 1 or 100 mile offshore. Another thing I like about this is the automatic activation. Essential if you happen to be stunned or unconscious. Great idea for just pottering around local waters when you would least expect problems. Let us know when the beta units are available. We're heading off from Sydney early next year for at least a year (or longer depending on the admiral) of cruising north so great timing. Happy to test it out and give you feedback when we get up into warmer waters.
Best of luck with it and look forward to future developments. Cheers, Roy
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Old 14-11-2017, 11:39   #68
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

Just curious what folks think about this device now that it has been on the market for awhile. One concern I have is regarding the range this operates in. If a MOB event occurs at night, and the boat is traveling 5 mph, the distance between the vessel and the MOB can exceed the range of the device within one minute. That's cutting it pretty close - in the dead of night with the crew all below sleeping.
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Old 14-11-2017, 13:59   #69
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

Yes short range but when it activates it logs MOB position on the mob device so even when it gets out of Bluetooth range you only need to steer back to the recorded position. It will activate again as soon as you get back within range and also update any change in position. What I really like about these is that you can pair them to every mob and Bluetooth capable device on the boat greatly improving the chances of someone hearing the alarm go off. Fortunatley we haven't had to put it to the test.
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Old 14-11-2017, 14:17   #70
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

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Yes short range but when it activates it logs MOB position on the mob device so even when it gets out of Bluetooth range you only need to steer back to the recorded position. It will activate again as soon as you get back within range and also update any change in position. What I really like about these is that you can pair them to every mob and Bluetooth capable device on the boat greatly improving the chances of someone hearing the alarm go off. Fortunatley we haven't had to put it to the test.


Thank you for that helpful response. Makes perfect sense to me. So does the price!
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Old 14-11-2017, 17:53   #71
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

I ordered one via the beta test program at a discount rate.

The first unit died within one week of activation. Maybe not perfectly sealed so water got in.

Received a replacement unit that still works OK. (I just remember I forgot to send the defective unit back... oops! )

This summer I played a few times with the device but actually used it very little. We had only short passages and used the Panan only on two nights. During these two nights we had three false alarms.

One was repeatable because it was the maximum range of the device. That distance was about 9m air, some fibreglass and one human body. Maybe that would improve if I loose some weight

On two occasions we had false alarms while the MOB device was less than 2m away: phone in stb aft cabin with the MOB device just above at the helm. Of course this happens when you are just falling asleep.

After the first false alarm on my phone (Google Nexus 5) I switched to a Google Nexus 7 tablet on the next night. Same story: a false alarm after a few hours. Both are running stock Android 6.

IIRC I read somewhere on the Panpan website that additional MOB beacons extend the range because each unit repeats the signals of the others in some sort of mesh network. Of course we can't try this with just one device.


OTOH Panpan reported MOB events reliably when I played with it. Jumping into the water or rowing away from the boat reliably triggered the alarm.
The software has been remarkably stable, no strange hickups.


would I buy it again?
Depends... On our boat the night watch always carries a waterproof handheld DSC VHF tied to the lifevest. The onboard VHF has a very loud DSC alarm so the offwatch is awake seconds after pressing the MOB button on the handheld. The MOB current position is on the chartplotter and the MOB can talk to the boat and give directions.
In addition the fixed VHF periodically polls the position of the handheld in the background, and sends it to the chartplotter which continuously plots the position of the handheld. So we always know where the handheld is (automatic poll intervall is 15 minutes, or manual if required like in case of MOB)

In our case this MOB device serves only to notify the offwatch in case the MOB looses the handheld VHF or is unable to operate it.


So would I buy it again? Based on our use case and the rate of false alarms: No.


If we had no handheld DSC/GPS VHF the answer could be a yes. But then I would rather spend the money on a decent DSC VHF handheld instead of the MOB beacon. A Lowrance link 2 VHF is ~200 Euro.


Panpan could be a device for keeping smaller children or pets safe, but the device is not exactly tiny. Its OK for kids or large dogs but maybe not for a cat.
The real use case I see is in case some charter skipper does night sails. In this case Panpan is certainly better than nothing.
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Old 15-11-2017, 06:52   #72
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

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In addition the fixed VHF periodically polls the position of the handheld in the background, and sends it to the chartplotter which continuously plots the position of the handheld. So we always know where the handheld is (automatic poll intervall is 15 minutes, or manual if required like in case of MOB)
If you don't mind me asking, what are the makes and models of those VHF's and plotters which support this type of function?
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Old 15-11-2017, 11:34   #73
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

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If you don't mind me asking, what are the makes and models of those VHF's and plotters which support this type of function?
The function you are looking for is "Track buddy".

I first encountered it in my Navman VHF. Navman was bought by Navico and all products taken off the market, but their technology is still alive in several Navico product lines: You can find these functions in Lowrance, Simrad, B&G, ...

My setup is:
Lowrance Link 2 VHF handheld

Navman 7200 onboard VHF (Lowrance Link-8 and B&G V50 are alternatives)


Navman 8120 chartplotter (again, other newer Navico products should do it as well)


Pretty smart stuff.
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Old 15-11-2017, 12:42   #74
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

There is a problem in general with Bluetooth gizmos. Most BT gear, including all cell phones (AFAIK) is the old nominal range of "up to ten meters" and that's a clear-air line of sight range limit. Yes, phones could use newer standards and get 100 meter range, but for most users that would mean greatly lower battery life for no purpose, so it just isn't done.

You would need a dedicated (BT 2.1 or Cat2 I think they call it) device with the 100 meter range in order to make that happen. A $5 chip, a battery, a case...not impossible. The folks at Tile are claiming 100 meter range for their tiny "tiles", that sell for about $40 each. They don't make software that actively polls for the tiles though.
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Old 12-12-2017, 13:15   #75
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Re: PanPan - a virtual lifeline on your smartphone

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Originally Posted by jason-panpan View Post

A smartphone on a yacht is considered a one-time thing (it can be dropped in an emergency or simply discharged). We need something stationary and strong: a display with a loud alarm system, capable of waking up at night after a heavy watch. Then I would have bought!
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