Visit our Popular Forums

trantor12020 · 24-09-2016, 01:52

Ive got my Anchor Alarm and the silence switch installed. Working nicely. Question, would the alarm work for TCPA and CPA?

**jeffrobbins** · 24-09-2016, 11:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by trantor12020

Ive got my Anchor Alarm and the silence switch installed. Working nicely. Question, would the alarm work for TCPA and CPA?

Not yet.

ReneJK · 19-10-2016, 03:50

I have just ordered the Vesper Marine XB 8000 because of the raving reviews and because I am planning on a plotter / radar upgrade as well for nice integration

Currently many (Raym Lighthouse) plotters have wifi capabilities

If I get a new wifi capable plotter and wifi radar , can the XB-8000 be connected to the plotter through wifi as well ? or do I need to run NMEA2K cables from the XB8000 to the plotter ? , would be great if I can just install 12 volt to the plotter and connect the XB8000 through wifi

maybe this was discussed already but I could not find any info on this

**jeffrobbins** · 19-10-2016, 16:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReneJK

If I get a new wifi capable plotter and wifi radar , can the XB-8000 be connected to the plotter through wifi as well ? or do I need to run NMEA2K cables from the XB8000 to the plotter ? , would be great if I can just install 12 volt to the plotter and connect the XB8000 through wifi

First off... thanks for choosing the XB-8000.

It would certainly be good, but unfortunately I don't believe that Ray or the others provide for this. The XB-8000 can join any WiFi network and deliver the data stream but it requires the other side to accept it this way.

So, yes the best thing is to connect them via N2K. That way the XB-8000 will also pick up your instrument data (wind, depth, etc) and send that out over WiFi to any app on a mobile/tablet/etc.

NewMoon · 20-10-2016, 17:03

Hi Jeff,

Would the best way to connect the XB-8000 to a PC chartplotter program be with the USB connection, rather than N2K?

**jeffrobbins** · 20-10-2016, 19:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewMoon

Hi Jeff,

Would the best way to connect the XB-8000 to a PC chartplotter program be with the USB connection, rather than N2K?

You can use either USB or WiFi which is nice because no cables are needed of course. When using USB you have a serial port created on your computer (eg. COM5) and configure your PC software to use that. In the case of WiFi, your PC software needs to be able to connect via TCP to an IP address/port. If you are using openCPN, it works great in both configs.

Either way, if the XB-8000 is also connected to your N2K network (or other 0183 devices) then you'll also get data fed into your PC software (eg. wind, depth, heading, etc) in addition to GPS and AIS.

rgleason · 25-10-2016, 04:15

Jeff I'd be interested in your thoughts about bdbcat's observations. I thought I'd ask Adrian too.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/....php?p=2242522

trantor12020 · 05-12-2016, 16:34

Jeff,
I think there was a recent (4-Dec ?) upgrade to firmware (which?). I ran the WatchMate on my Android Tablet and it downloaded a firmware upgrade. So is this firmware upgrade for the XB8000 or WatchMate app? If for XB8000, can I upgrade it just by wifi connection with my Android Tablet?

**jeffrobbins** · 05-12-2016, 17:19

You're right, you're seeing our latest Android or iOS app in action.

It knows you've got an XB-8000 and so when it's on the internet it finds there is an update for your XB-8000, downloads it and holds onto it for you for when you are next on your boat's WiFi network. It will then prompt you to install the update and the app then performs the update for you. No need to manually download or install it with a PC or Mac anymore.

As for Android and iOS app updates themselves, they take care of that via the Play Store and App Store in the usual way.

trantor12020 · 05-12-2016, 17:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffrobbins

You're right, you're seeing our latest Android or iOS app in action.

It knows you've got an XB-8000 and so when it's on the internet it finds there is an update for your XB-8000, downloads it and holds onto it for you for when you are next on your boat's WiFi network. It will then prompt you to install the update and the app then performs the update for you. No need to manually download or install it with a PC or Mac anymore.

As for Android and iOS app updates themselves, they take care of that via the Play Store and App Store in the usual way.

FANTASTIC !!! Thank you

CaptTom · 06-12-2016, 06:14

Any way to find out what's new in the latest XB-8000 firmware update?

My big interest is re-broadcast of more NMEA 2000 packets, particularly engine data.

Being able to do a firmware update from the Android app is a nice feature, thanks! Still, mine won't do it until it detects the XB-8000, which I'll try when I'm down at the boat later today.

**jeffrobbins** · 06-12-2016, 14:20

We post update info in the announcements section in our support area at https://support.vespermarine.com/

We also email all registered owners with update notifications. If you aren't getting these, please register at https://www.vespermarine.com/register

And Carl wrote a little article about the new app capabilities for doing firmware updates at: https://support.vespermarine.com/hc/...mware-upgrades

We are indeed interested in further extended the NMEA 2000 translations but can be restricted by what NMEA 0183 supports. We'll take a look.

Snore · 09-12-2016, 09:49

WOW.

Thanks just updated my firmware. First thanks for now supporting firmware updates through the iPhone app. The iPhone-device upload was slower but easier. I was able to download the update and install it without using a Windowz machine.

The app and firmware seem to have added some needed functionality including pushing NMEA 20000 sentences to 0183. Now I can see my NMEA2000 heading on my old 0183 plotter.

Could up-converting autopilot sentences from 0183 to 2000 next? That opens a whole door for 0183 products.

Thanks guys---- well done.

CaptTom · 09-12-2016, 11:12

Love the ability to update the XB-8000 firmware from within WatchMate, thanks!!

It looks like the latest XB-8000 firmware, per the Vesper support page, is 3.1.14135, dated August 20. Is this correct? That would explain why I never heard about a December update.

With the boat out of the water for the season, I'm in no hurry. But there always seems to be something new and exciting with the XB-8000 updates.

Vesper should make chartplotters; those manufacturers never seem to care about updating last year's model.

Snore · 10-12-2016, 17:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Love the ability to update the XB-8000 firmware from within WatchMate, thanks!!

It looks like the latest XB-8000 firmware, per the Vesper support page, is 3.1.14135, dated August 20. Is this correct? That would explain why I never heard about a December update.

With the boat out of the water for the season, I'm in no hurry. But there always seems to be something new and exciting with the XB-8000 updates.

Vesper should make chartplotters; those manufacturers never seem to care about updating last year's model.

I am 99% sure I did the August one. The iPhone app and it told me to do an update to this newer release.