Electronics ! How Much is Enough ?

[kismet424]

The nx series won't translate the autopilot stuff without the at10, alas. I had gone through this issue myself and fellow members were kind enough to point me in the right direction. It will do some nmea2000 without it but the at10 has to be connected to the 0183 whit wire on the back or it won't work. I'd link the thread but don't know how with the iPhone app... If you look up threads I started you will see it.

I'm sure the nse however will do it just fine!!!

[kismet424]

The at10 is in the 80-100 dollar range though so its not bad. My nx45 worked fine with nmea2000 depth, speed, wind, temp and gps, the autopilot was the only thing that doesn't work without the at10. I have no idea why they don't clearly spell this out for us users in their docs / website. The nx series is kind of a halfway point from 0183 to full 2000 which the nse is.

[EricGrab]

Get AIS integrated into your chart/radar. Being able to see a ship's name, speed, and heading is a magically thing for stress reduction. I consider it one of the best bangs for the buck on electronics I spent on my boat.

[roger.waite]

Originally Posted by EricGrab

Get AIS integrated into your chart/radar. I consider it one of the best bangs for the buck on electronics I spent on my boat.

As the man says ...

Bare essentials are lights, DSC VHF (with input from GPS), echo sounder. Given you are talking trawlers, with a sheltered helm station and power consumption under way is less of an issue, I would think a laptop with a GPS dongle, OpenCPN and local charts is a no-brainer. Add an AIS receiver to this setup, or better still go for a AIS transponder.

Most of that can be done reasonably cheaply. Then you get to more serious money. Windlass, radar are well up the list. You may or may not want a "brand name" chartplotter. But what you need (or want) is going to depend on what you are doing, and what you have to spend.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by roger.waite

As the man says ...

Bare essentials are lights, DSC VHF (with input from GPS), echo sounder. Given you are talking trawlers, with a sheltered helm station and power consumption under way is less of an issue, I would think a laptop with a GPS dongle, OpenCPN and local charts is a no-brainer. Add an AIS receiver to this setup, or better still go for a AIS transponder.

Most of that can be done reasonably cheaply. Then you get to more serious money. Windlass, radar are well up the list. You may or may not want a "brand name" chartplotter. But what you need (or want) is going to depend on what you are doing, and what you have to spend.

To each his own, of course, but I personally would never use a laptop with a GPS dongle as my primary navigation. I use an IPad with INavX for planning, bedside anchor alarm, etc., but I would never use it as a primary navigation tool, and I would never want to be without a true marine-grade chart plotter with a fixed installed GPS receiver. Your life might depend on it, and Windows crashes, laptops fail, $5 GPS dongles are not fail-safe, and can fall out or get broken off -- imagine that on a dark stormy night off a lee shore with rocks all around -- yikes! Marine-grade plotters are made to a different standard of reliability.

But don't listen to me -- I'm conservative about this -- besides the marine-grade plotter, I always keep paper charts, handheld GPS, and hand bearing compass close to hand, which I think is already not the norm these days. But despite growing up and sailing in the pre-GPS era, I find a reliable chart plotter to be an essential safety item.

We've had this discussion before, and a lot of useful information pro and con can be found in the archives.

[roger.waite]

As I understand the OP's posts, he will have an NX40 (inc. chartplotter) on the flybridge.

[Potuguese]

Originally Posted by roger.waite

As I understand the OP's posts, he will have an NX40 (inc. chartplotter) on the flybridge.

That's correct Roger. I also have full collection of electronic and paper charts and a 62 years old bronze sextant which I inherited from my grandfather. At least, I will have the NX40 inside if the finances don’t run parallel to my wishes.

Anyway guys, thank you very much to all of you who gave me your attention and experience. I hope I can of help to reattribute your help!

Fernando

[David M]

There are two schools of thought.

An integrated system and an isolated system...or a hybrid of both.

The advantages of an isolated system is that one component is not reliant on another component working. Build in a little redundancy, like having two GPS receivers and you are pretty well off.

Integrated systems are really nice in that you can get all your information on one screen, or multiple screens in different places. With integrated systems you do not want to go with a brand that historically causes a lot a people a lot of problems. I think everyone here knows who that is. The only integrated system for pleasure boats that I trust is Furuno NavNet. Garmin isn't bad either although we have had trouble with one of the Garmin electronic chart units at work.

[atoll]

if in doubt,switch every thing off and see what you really need,every thing else is a luxury............

[goboatingnow]

For the best integration raymarine is the best as long as you stick to only it's products. Garmin isn't bad but there are holes in it's integration. ( autopilot being a big one)

Furuno is quite good especially navnet3d mind you they really pissed off European customers with the charts issue.

Dave

[EricGrab]

Back to the original question, it is about framing the expectations and the changes that have occurred recently in electronics and systems. What is possible now in real-time:

Your position on a chart.
Your depth on that chart.
Wind speed and direction on that chart.
Current speeds, tides, and sunrise/sunset of that chart area.
Your course in a series of waypoints on the chart.
Your autopilot steering to those waypoints.
Radar overlay on that chart.
Other vessels represented as vector (speed, direction) on that chart, either by AIS signal or radar tracking.
Other vessels's name/number you can select and call via DSC.
Perspective change on that chart (3d, isometric).
Photos of areas of that chart.
Weather (GRIB) overlay on that chart.
Weather data (wind, waves) on that chart and how it will impact your route over time.
Underwater 3d view of bottom on that chart
Pilot chart data of winds, waves, and currents that calculate optimal route based on that data for planning.
Display and automatically log data: barometer, engine stats (RPM, temp, pressure, etc.), position, tank levels, camera images, or any other sensor.

Overall the technology is there to answer the major questions needed by mariners of who, what, when, where, and why. It used to take an entire crew and lots of moving parts to manage these things. Lots of stress can be relieved by having new systems. Given the amazing pace of electronics and computer technology, getting them is relatively inexpensive. However adding the words "waterproof", "sunlight readable", "shockproof", and "marine" do add a lot of cost.

I think a lot of people mis-trust these newer systems, since they have come out so fast. However done right they really can help with safety and situational awareness. And of course backups and alternative means for the newer integrated systems is a no-brainer. The only catch is you do need to know how to use those backups, and most likely they can be bit harder to use, such that you have to practice with them.

--
Eric

[doug86]

Too much? Until you have redundant wireless IR cameras in the engine room, and the ability to remotely start your engines from your iPhone when you are sitting in a distant airport, you probably don't have too much.

[ActiveCaptain]

Originally Posted by Potuguese

I wonder if I could find a guy who, ,looking at my boat plans and knowing my budget limitations and wish list, could design the system, even if I had to pay for this service.

First, it really shouldn't be much of a surprise that when you walk up to a manufacturer asking free advice that they're going to shoehorn a system for you based on their equipment.

You probably need, instead, to find an organization that specializes in the installation of a variety of marine electronics equipment. I know a place I like on the Chesapeake Bay (Midshore Electronics) - there should be similar places along other coastal places.

I really don't think you should consider OpenCPN as a primary navigation product. Someone said it's a "no brainer". I'd change that - you'd have to have no brain to have a laptop, a USB puck GPS, and open source software controlling your trawler. If you want to go the laptop route (and it's a great route to go), then pick a super-reliable, commercial software application that supports integration with autopilot, instruments, has wide chart capabilities, and is supported. The savings of a couple hundred dollars will cost you much more in the end.

Also someone mentioned Raymarine and Furuno as providing integrated systems. I would definitely not rule out Garmin. They have totally integrated systems with a worldwide support network. I especially like their touchscreen products. You can't go wrong by purchasing an integrated system by one of those 3 companies.

[Capitain Mike]

Originally Posted by Potuguese

[roger.waite;695268]As I understand the OP's posts, he will have an NX40 (inc. chartplotter) on the flybridge.]

That's correct Roger. I also have full collection of electronic and paper charts and a 62 years old bronze sextant which I inherited from my grandfather. At least, I will have the NX40 inside if the finances don’t run parallel to my wishes.

Anyway guys, thank you very much to all of you who gave me your attention and experience. I hope I can of help to reattribute your help!

Fernando

Get extension cables and a spare bracket and hook it up outside. Drop a 3 sided smoked perspex box over the top and you have a wind proof splash proof and sun proof resolution to your problem.

[goboatingnow]

Also someone mentioned Raymarine and Furuno as providing integrated systems. I would definitely not rule out Garmin. They have totally integrated systems with a worldwide support network. I especially like their touchscreen products.

Their autopilot offerings are very limited

Dave