Marine Electronics

As a follow-up to our August 2012 evaluation of budget-friendly marine audio systems, we recently tested five mid-priced marine stereos, three of which came kitted with speakers. The products in this round of testing retail for $180 to $350 and are a step up in quality, water-resistance, and features from the stereo-speaker packages ($200 or less) we reviewed last year. A quality marine stereo should be corrosion resistant, with coated circuit boards and no ferrous parts. We limited this test field to stereos rated IPX5 or higher.

Since we last looked at iPad navigation apps, there have-not surprisingly-been a number of new developments. One of the most interesting developments is Garmins introduction of the Garmin BlueChart Mobile nav app, which is proving to be an important addition to the field. The app is usable on iPads, iPhones, and iPods with the iOS 6 operating system. Testers also recently looked at the latest versions of iNavX, iSailor, and Navionics, which we previously reviewed.

About six months ago, I bought a Raymarine Smart Controller remote for my autopilot. It is a great unit that I have come to depend on, especially when single-handing. The Smart Controller plugs into the SeaTalk system and serves as a wireless remote for the autopilot. The weak point in the system is the lightweight lanyard. Recently mine gave way, and the remote bounced twice toward the rail, hung in mid-air, then disappeared overboard. You can imagine my anguish after failing to retrieve it. I contacted Raymarine (www.raymarine.com) and told them my story. I guess it was my lucky day: Long story short, they sent me a new one! Im a huge Raymarine fan now.

There are numerous portable marine electronics that can keep you connected while you get away from it all. But which device offers the most features-tracking, two-way communication, location sharing, etc.-at the best price? And which one can be counted on in an emergency? We began our look at these personal electronics with the January 2013 review of BriarTeks Cerberus Cerberlink and the SPOT Connect. This month, we evaluate the DeLorme inReach, another pocket-sized, satellite communication option for the cruising sailor, as well as the Iridium Extreme 9575 sat phone, which is capable of providing worldwide voice communication.

Being natural-born skeptics, Practical Sailor testers are always pleasantly surprised when we test gear that meets-or almost meets-the hype from its makers and marketers. And that was just the case with Navicos GoFree WiFi wireless networking device for Simrad products. We recently field tested it, and found that aside from a few niggles, the GoFree lives up to makers claims, is easy to install, and works well-straight out of the box!

I wanted to try a little experiment this week. Something safe, with little risk of getting hurt. Something I could do while drinking coffee and listening to Puccini . . . or the Rolling Stones . . . or Mumford and Sons. Something on the Internet. It got off to a bad start. I dropped in on one of those Internet forums where angry people wait to spring on innocents like me. The deeper I dug, the angrier they got.

Not long ago, one of our marine electronics testers, Bill Bishop, was faced with the task of transferring waypoints from an ancient Garmin 215 chartplotter to a Garmin 7215. There are several ways to do this, but Bishop found that one of the most convenient was to use Andren software on a PC computer. The software is so versatile that it even can be used to transfer waypoints from an old Loran receiver (remember those?) to a new GPS. Other formats it can support include Furuno, Garmin, Maptech, Northstar, Raymarine, Simrad, and GPX.

A new generation of satellite phones is making it easier to stay connected. The latest Satcom devices not only provide the satellite tracking offered by the original SPOT device, but also offer communication via text and email messaging. The focus of this test series was pocket-sized, satellite-based communication for the cruising sailor-devices that provide one- or two-way communications and tracking via the Internet, and can also serve as a backup to conventional personal locator beacons. This report, the first in a series, focuses on the SPOT Connect and Briarteks Cerberus CerberLink devices.

When we reported on Matt Rutherfords solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the Americas aboard his Albin Vega 27, we noted that one of the few electronics that survived the voyage was an email/weather satellite communicator from New Zealand-based PredictWind. We considered this high praise for an electronic device and decided a Practical Sailor sea-trial was in order. PredictWind, primarily a weather-forecasting company, supplied us with its PredictWind Satellite Communicator and 3G Communicator. The Satellite Communicator will be of interest to long-distance sailors. It allows users to receive PredictWind weather forecasts by satellite email, and to send and receive short emails-similar to other Satcom devices like the Cerberus CerberLink. The 3G Communicator will appeal to near-coastal cruisers; it is basically a modem with a signal booster for 3G cell and data service, plus an onboard router.

Practical Sailor has been following the developments of Simrads broadband radar since the BR24s debut in 2009. Just as we were setting up a 3G BR24 for field testing, Navico (Simrads parent company) announced the release of the BR24 4G, which promised greater range and better target resolution at close range. A head-to-head test comparing the 3G and 4G broadband radar was impossible to pass up. Testers also compared the units to traditional pulse radar. Our test location just north of Sydney, Australia, was at the southern end of an ocean anchorage for large commercial vessels, about 600 feet long. Using a Simrad NSS7 for a display, we worked 7 nautical miles offshore to ensure the radar had a good view of the ships.