Fiber optic for boat data networks

[Zanshin]

Originally Posted by SailingHarmonie

NMEA 2000 IS a Can-bus network, so pretty much every boat being built today has a can-bus network.

I'll be more specific - a CAN-BUS network for power supply applications, not for monitoring. So far only Hallberg Rassy has done this. It potentially saves a huge amount of cost for cabling and weight.

[bgallinger]

Why not fiber? That's easy....COST.

[George_SD]

A friend of mine actually installed the first fiber network on a navy ship many moons ago.

Fiber is great for a lot of reasons, but not very practical here.
1) fragile
2) has specific radius bending requirements, that are harder to obey in small spaces of small boats
3) more difficult to terminate if you are making custom length (not needed these days, but was back in the day. Today you just buy whatever length/mode you need)
4) more expensive connectors/switches (even more so for insulated/waterproof)
5) way more bandwidth than most boats need
6) much more likely to be damaged by a typical boat owner who doesn't know what he/she is looking at.

[RaymondR]

Fiber will become cheap ubiquitous.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Fiber will become cheap ubiquitous.

Fiber has been around for decades. The big advantage is high data transfer rates. Cheap isn't an advantage.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Fiber has been around for decades. The big advantage is high data transfer rates. Cheap isn't an advantage.

The fibre is relatively cheap but the gadgets one connects them to, such as addressable switches, are still expensive.

[PUDDLE JUMPER II]

Originally Posted by toolbar

I can fix a "copper" boat data network with stuff I already have on board. At the required data rates fixing stuff is possible with super-basic material and tools (or none at all, you could splice NMEA2k and slow ethernet with a sailing knive, and twisting the single leads together).



In our company's datacenter fiber optic has a place, but not on my boat.



Paul

As an IT Nerd-- 100% agree...

[Trawlerman]

As has been pointed out, but needs highlighting, copper can supply current as well as data signal. Imagine your laptop where you may plug in a GPS puck. It gets both the power and the signal path via copper. Sure, fiber could do the signal, but imagine what a PITA it would be to have to run separate power wires to the puck! Boats are perfectly willing to supply sufficient problems without any external effort towards (a) defining a solution, (b) creating a commensurate problem, and then(c) solving it.

[smacksman]

The biggest problem with fibre on a boat would be the requirement for large radius bends

[abarrow]

Originally Posted by mgrouch

Why fiber optic cabling is not a choice for boat data networks? Thin cable, isolated, great bandwidth, no heating issue, less fire hazard.
Seems could have been good choice

I would think that one of the biggest challenges of doing this on a boat would be the availability of power at the destination of the optical run. You still need optical transceivers at either end of an optical run, so you'll either have to bring power to that destination, or find it there somehow (and fuse it, protect it, whatever).

While signal isolation and bandwidth would be nice, I personally don't see the need for enormous bandwidths around a boat anyway. I suppose at some point you might want things like video and other things, but at the moment, the amount of data generated by things like sounders, speed transducers, stress gauges, and even radar just don't seem to warrant the level of additional infrastructure needed for optical fiber. Pair that with the fragility of fiber, the limitations on bend radius, etc. and I just don't think it's worth the trouble.

[kubota]

bend radius
fiber has severe limitations on bend due not only
to physically breaking the fiber, but transmission of light (it doesnt like going around corners).
imagine all those tight copper runs on your boat requiring a minimum 3" radius on every turn. even more if you go fast single mode rather than multimode fiber.

[team karst]

My theme for fiber is system survive ability from extreme surge events. Having designed anti-surge circuits, it is far easier protecting dc and low freq ac , than multi-hundred kbaud circuit paths.
Cats are proven to be more attractive to strikes than other boats. ( from BUS insurance claims)

[stimpsonjcat]

Fiber can have issues with very short runs where the power of the waveform at the receiver is 'too high' in the off state.

[NRG]

Same reasons fiber to home isn't prevalent.

[Morris Wilson]

I use fiber optic for my musical eguipment. It as great for keeping out interferance but is quite sensitive to bending, sharp corners or conection movement. It's agood thing but I would be hesitant to use it on my boat. You can't just splice it together. Good thought though. I use it a lot but in very stable situations.