Bestevaer 49ST

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Regarding your Vesper anchor alarm: Before you get too excited about it, we also have a Vesper Watchmate Vision with the anchor alarm, but we prefer to use our INavx anchor alarm on the iPad which can be positioned next to me in bed providing on the spot visuals and alarm within a foot of my head.

Thanks for the feedback Ken. Can you elaborate why your prefer the INavx? Is it just the display next to the bed? The Vesper 850 did not have this capability, but the modern units can relay the information via wifi. Perhaps there is some other problem that I have not encountered yet.

Overall, tablet/smartphone anchor alarms such as INavx can be a good solution, but they have some drawbacks. The system is less dependable with occasional freezes from system crashes or things like automatic software updates. This is not a deal breaker. These problems are not common and the alarm is only a secondardy safety measure, but it is something that needs to be considered if you anchor frequently.

The other limitation is because there is no external GPS aerial the position fix is not as accurate. With a modern GPS engine this is barely noticeable for normal navigation, but it increases the number of false positive alarms unless the alarm radius is increased, which decreases the sensitivity. External aerials (such as the Bad Elf) can be used with a tablet/smartphone system, but it introduces further points of falure.

Traditionally the main advantage of a tablet/smartphone anchor alarm is that it can be seen while in bed. This is an important advantage. It is reassuring during strong winds to occasionaly glance at the screen and see the position holding steady. Wind shifts are also easily noticeable. However, the wifi capabilities of some of the modern Vesper units enable these same advantages. The alarm information and track plot can be sent to a tablet/smartphone but the alarm is controlled by the main unit so if the software freezes on the tablet/smartphone, the alarm is still active. A remote alarm can be fitted and can be as loud as you like. The Vesper unit allows a wired external marine GPS antennae for the best position fix, which is so important for a good anchor alarm.

In our previous boat I mounted a Furuno GP-32 next to the bed. I preferred this over any of the tablet/smartphone anchor alarms, although the latter are perfectly adequate. Initial testing suggests the Vesper will be superior to the Furuno, but I have not tried the system out on the water. I always set an anchor alarm so I will report back if it works as well as the the initial testing suggests.

[Kenomac]

The Vesper Wifi won't transmit beyond 8-12ft or so on our boat, so the signal won't reach our master cabin on the iPad. It also won't transmit through a closed door.

So, we have three iPads each with INax installed and one just kinda resides next to the bed with the anchor alarm set, providing a very accurate display as shown in the photo. The stray lines are usually caused when the unit it turned on or rather "wakes up," so don't be distracted by them.

At night, I have the IPad plugged into AC power or a battery backup, then I turn the screen brightness down to the minimum setting. So then if I wake up anytime on a windy night, all I need to do is glance over to the iPad to know things are OK or when to be concerned. The screen is always "ON." It becomes an anchor monitor as well as an alarm.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

Thanks for the feedback Ken. Can you elaborate why your prefer the INavx? Is it just the display next to the bed? The Vesper 850 did not have this capability, but the modern units can relay the information via wifi. Perhaps there is some other problem that I have not encountered yet.

Overall, tablet/smartphone anchor alarms such as INavx can be a good solution, but they have some drawbacks. The system is less dependable with occasional freezes from system crashes or things like automatic software updates. This is not a deal breaker. These problems are not common and the alarm is only a secondardy safety measure, but it is something that needs to be considered if you anchor frequently.

The other limitation is because there is no external GPS aerial the position fix is not as accurate. With a modern GPS engine this is barely noticeable for normal navigation, but it increases the number of false positive alarms unless the alarm radius is increased, which decreases the sensitivity. External aerials (such as the Bad Elf) can be used with a tablet/smartphone system, but it introduces further points of falure.

Traditionally the main advantage of a tablet/smartphone anchor alarm is that it can be seen while in bed. This is an important advantage. It is reassuring during strong winds to occasionaly glance at the screen and see the position holding steady. Wind shifts are also easily noticeable. However, the wifi capabilities of some of the modern Vesper units enable these same advantages. The alarm information and track plot can be sent to a tablet/smartphone but the alarm is controlled by the main unit so if the software freezes on the tablet/smartphone, the alarm is still active. A remote alarm can be fitted and can be as loud as you like. The Vesper unit allows a wired external marine GPS antennae for the best position fix, which is so important for a good anchor alarm.

In our previous boat I mounted a Furuno GP-32 next to the bed. I preferred this over any of the tablet/smartphone anchor alarms, although the latter are perfectly adequate. Initial testing suggests the Vesper will be superior to the Furuno, but I have not tried the system out on the water. I always set an anchor alarm so I will report back if it works as well as the the initial testing suggests.

Im using the vesper wifi unit your talking about with external alarm and think its great. I believe another upside is future features will be a mere app update, they did this recently and the unit was suddenly better again.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Our biggest surprise this season was being able to use the NuWave infrared oven off the 450w solar capacity. Usually able to cook stuff up to 30 minutes without any excessive draw down on the capacity.

That is very encouraging. I have learned to adapt cooking techniques to minimize the use of gas (and the amount of steam produced), so to be able to reduce gas usage further will be wonderful.

I will have to wait for spring/summer before I can try it our though . With wintering so far north the days will be short and the sun low when we take delivery.

SWL

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The Vesper Wifi won't transmit beyond 8-12ft or so on our boat, so the signal won't reach our master cabin on the iPad. It also won't transmit through a closed door.

Thanks Ken. That range is disappointing. It is WiFi rather than Bluetooth, which normally does better. The problem is potentially solvable with repeaters or a central router so if anyone has fixed this issue it would be great to hear.

[Panope]

I sure wish I could keep a phone/tablet anchor alarm next to my bunk, but the GPS signal will not penetrate the aluminum decks and house top. Is there a trick that I am missing?

Steve

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Panope

I sure wish I could keep a phone/tablet anchor alarm next to my bunk, but the GPS signal will not penetrate the aluminum decks and house top. Is there a trick that I am missing?

Yes, you need an external GPS aerial with a metal boat, although I also think this is a good idea for a fibreglass boat, especially for an anchor alarm, which ideally wants to have a very accurate and stable position fix.

You can add external GPS aerials to tablets usually via bluetooth. The other method is to use the tablet to mirror a unit like the Vesper or chartplotter. Only modern chartplotters or the Vesper offer this feature. There are also options with Open CPN which has a very good anchor alarm.

It is worthwhile setting up a system that works and preferably draws little power.

[poiu]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The Vesper Wifi won't transmit beyond 8-12ft or so on our boat, so the signal won't reach our master cabin on the iPad. It also won't transmit through a closed door.

So, we have three iPads each with INax installed and one just kinda resides next to the bed with the anchor alarm set, providing a very accurate display as shown in the photo. The stray lines are usually caused when the unit it turned on or rather "wakes up," so don't be distracted by them.

At night, I have the IPad plugged into AC power or a battery backup, then I turn the screen brightness down to the minimum setting. So then if I wake up anytime on a windy night, all I need to do is glance over to the iPad to know things are OK or when to be concerned. The screen is always "ON." It becomes an anchor monitor as well as an alarm.

I use INavX too, but on my IPhone 7. It works well and I like the anchor positioning feature. If I set it up in flight mode and with the screen on minimum brightness it uses about a third of a battery charge per night. I have a DC iPhone power supply, but haven't installed it yet.

Updates can be disabled.

It is important to turn on the 'disable auto-lock' in settings and leave it with the chart displayed or the app will turn itself off.

It doesn't seem to get random positions or glitches like noelex was concerned about. It shows a horizontal position error of 8m inside the cabin. 5m outside, so not bad.

Positioning under a deck hatch or an external antenna may be the solution for a metal boat.

[Juho]

I have often used iSailor as my anchor alarm system. Key reasons why I often use this particular solution are: 1) a loud alarm noise that is guaranteed to wake me up, 2) simple user interface and simple parameters that will be set right even when I'm tired and busy, 3) an app that I use often for other reasons too, 4) it is in the tablet that I keep next to me and powered up anyway, 5) the alarm sound doesn't disturb others too much since I can turn it off quickly in my personal tablet.

[jeffrobbins]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The Vesper Wifi won't transmit beyond 8-12ft or so on our boat, so the signal won't reach our master cabin on the iPad. It also won't transmit through a closed door.

Something isn't right here. The range should be much greater. Have you tried with another device than the iPad? Is your boat metal? Any other thoughts or explanations on what might be going on?

[a64pilot]

I have a Vesper Vision, had it a couple of years now. I put an external antenna on it as I have it mounted directly under the VHF radio at my Nav table, it worked without one, but position data is much more accurate with the external antenna.
It is more accurate that my B&G Zeus that is mounted at the helm with only its internal antenna. You can tell accuracy by the EPE or DOP and number of satellites received, I use the Vesper as primary for the B&G as they are both on the bus.
Anyway I have not tested distance of Wifi reception just know it works anywhere on my boat, but it's not 53' either.
I'll try walking down the dock tomorrow if I remember, but Wifi is of course a two way street, my Laptop for example has a far superior Bluetooth radio as compared to my IPad for instance.

I used to use DragQueen on an IPhone, but often in the middle of the night the phone's position would jump up to a couple of miles, then suddenly return to accurate, but of course it tripped the alarm in the middle of the night. The "snail trails" on the screen gave away what was happening or I would have never figured it out. I don't believe an App problem, I think hardware.

The Vesper has never falsed.

[a64pilot]

I just tested range by walking down the dock with my IPad Pro connected and watching the data stream, as soon as I put another boat between us, I lost it. I assume it was the boat as opposed to distance that killed the reception, but distance was I'd guess about 75'.
Less than I would have thought.

[noelex 77]

Choice of controller :

Sizing solar controllers always causes confusion so I thought I would outline the reasons for picking the 100/20 units.

The first number (100) refers to the maximium input voltage. The panels have a Voc of 67.9 V and one controller will be used per panel. So at first glance the Victron 75 V models (which are slightly less expensive) would be fine. However, it is important to realise that panels can occasionally produce voltages over the Voc listed in the specifications.

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, solar panel voltage is related to temperature. The 67.9 V is for a panel temperature of 25°C. Lower temperatures will produce higher voltages. Secondly, the solar panel rating is for conditions of 1000 w/m2. This is very bright, but illumunation levels can briefly exceed this in some conditions. A sunny day with scattered cloud is the most common. The panels can briefly receive both direct sunlight and light that is reflected from a cloud. This is called "the cloud edge effect". Finally, good panels are sold with a guarantee of performance. The Sunpower panels have a 0 to +5% rating. This means you can be lucky and receive a panel that is 5% over specification. Most of this is in greater voltage.

The reason this is important is that if the input voltage is exceeded even briefly, the control unit is very likely to be permanently damaged. So most manufacturers recommend the input voltage of the controller is greater than the Voc by at least 15% (more does no harm), so the 100v unit is needed.


The second number is the maximium current the controller will handle. The panels will only put out a maximium 6.23 A and the Imp is 5.85 A. So many people make the mistake of using this number a thinking a 10A controller would be plenty. However, the contoller will take this input and convert this to higher current at a lower voltage to feed the batteries. The controller needs to be rated for the output, not the input current. The maximium output current can be easily estimated. With a 12 V system we take the rated wattage of the panel and divide this by the lowest battery voltage while the solar panels are charging. 13 V is a reasonable number. 335/13= 25.8 A. From this we should deduct at least 5% for losses in wiring and voltage conversion. So this is 24.5 A. This is the very highest you are ever likely to briefly see. The good news is that unlike voltage, most solar controllers will self protect if you try to exceed their current rating so you can size the controller smaller and accept there will be a slight loss of power under exceptional conditions.

With our 24 V system the above numbers are halved so each controller is very unlikely to put out more than 12.3 A even briefly. So the 100/15 unit would be suitable choice. I actually went slightly bigger and purchased the 100/20 unit. The 20 A unit was only slightly more expensive and it gives the option, in the event of one controller failing, of connecting two panels to one controller with very little loss of power. MPPT controllers are not fantastically reliable units so this redundancy is valuable. The other bonus is the controller is likely to have a longer, more reliable life. The 20 A unit has a larger heatsink than the 15 A unit and will run a little cooler. This is especially important for passively cooled controllers. MPPT controllers become very warm on occasions and this does not help their reliability.

Victron currently sell Bluesolar and newer Smartsolar units. The only difference I can find is that the Smartsolar units have the wireless communication to a tablet or smartphone built in. This can be added to Bluesolar units with a bluetooth dongle. The Bluesolar units are being sold on special at the moment, but if you want the bluetooth capability, the Smartsolar units are cheaper than buying the Bluesolar units and the dongle.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by poiu

It doesn't seem to get random positions or glitches like noelex was concerned about. It shows a horizontal position error of 8m inside the cabin. 5m outside, so not bad.

This is a typical result, with accuracy significantly improving with an external aerial

Different brands of GPS seem to report position error differently, but it is important to realise that if the error is listed as 8m, as in your example, then there will be occasions when the position error will be significantly more than this number suggests.

The best way to develop a feel for the real accuracy is to leave the GPS running and producing a track when the boat is stationary (for example, tied up to a dock). Preferably you want to pick an open spot so there is a clear view of the sky and little mutipath distortion, to simulate the GPS performance in an anchorage. The deviation of the track over 24 hours will give you an idea of how tight you can set the anchor alarm without disturbances from false alarms. You can easily do the same exercise with and without an external aerial by using a handheld GPS.

In many cases where dragging will take you out into open ocean an insensitive anchor alarm is fine, but in a few anchorages you want to be alerted as soon as possible. An external aerial usually makes a significant difference to how tight you can set the anchor alarm.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by jeffrobbins

Something isn't right here. The range should be much greater. Have you tried with another device than the iPad? Is your boat metal? Any other thoughts or explanations on what might be going on?

Fiberglass boat, doors open, range 8-12ft. The ipad is what we use for iNavx

We expected better range from the Vesper unit.