Traditionally most 200 kHz transducers have a narrow focused beam so fish swimming near the boat can not be seen because they are outside the beam. At 50 kHz, the beam is wider so they are more visible but the resolution and detail is not as sharp. Tightly-spaced fish normally appear on the fishfinder as one large target or “blob”. The SS264W, 200 kHz, wide-beam transducer gives the coverage and resolution so that you do not miss any fish or bait close to the boat. With the SS264W  closely-spaced fish show on the fishfinder screen more as individual targets and as arches.

Wide-beam, 200 kHz  is excellent when trolling or searching for fish in the mid to top of the water column. Ideal for marlin and tuna fishing.  The more normal narrow-beam, 200 kHz works best when bottom fishing in waters up to 120 metres, providing best bottom detail and separation between the bottom tightly-spaced fish targets. From this you can see a combination of wide and narrow beam options gives a versitile situation and a great degree of flexibility.

The addition of the new SS264 switch box to your fish finder set up can give you the wider performance for a 200Khz transducer for most of today’s popular fishfinders.

Airmar transducer switch SB264

The SB264 connects to your  1kW, transducer and SS264W to switch between your new wide-beam transducer and existing narrow-beam transducer. The switch box works with most of Airmar’s 1kW transducers including the B260, M260, B258, and B256 found on most sport fishing boats.

You can leave the existing model in place and add the new  wide beam SS264tilted element transducer. Once wired into the switch box it is easy to select the right transducer for the current application, you can easily toggle between 200 kHz wide (25°) or narrow-beam (6°) fish finding, together with the 50kHz low-frequency operation.

This provides a neat fix for those wanting to add the wide-beam transducer and have more options available.

Good Fishing

Phil

for more information contact us at Aquatronics Marine

I recently came across this article about a very lucky ocean sailing couple and it really brings home the importance of using and  AIS receiver when sailing ocean passages particularly at night. This couple we obviously very lucky to have been saved. I suspect if they had had an aisWatchmate VMR750  it is unlikely they would have been in this position to start with, one can always be wise with hindsight, but it goes to show that the accolades afforded Vespermarine‘s  WatchMate are well heeded.

Check out the story at Sail World in the link below and see what you think.

http://www.sail-world.com/cruising/index.cfm?nid=74229&rid=11

Thanks to sail-world from brining this to our attention.

Good sailing

Tony Cardew

www.aquatronics.com.au

Motion detection camera.

The GSM Secure Cam is a remote image capturing device. This product is the best security camera product I have seen recently for securing you boat, caravan or even your home. The Unit has a PIR (Passive Infra red detector) with built in 0.3 mega pixel  camera which transmits five images via MMS to your mobile phone when the PIR motion detector is triggered. It will also send standard text messages and email.

This system is ideal for marine security either on the boat or even the marina entry as it can be action remotely or set to operate only at specific times.

Remote sensors using the 433Mhz or 315Mhz can also be integrated to the system.

An advanced feature allows you to phone the unit and covertly listen to conversations as well as send up to 10 additional phones and/or email

The camera angle is 70 degrees so is ideal for close range operation. Pictures are best at below 8 meters.

The package contains a mains power supply and the internal lithium battery provides over 30 hours of back up operation in the event of power failure.

GSM Secure Cam Further information

Safe Boating

Tony and Phil

Aquatronics Marine

Fusion Electronics have released their new RA200 Marine radio . This head unit is designed to become the main interface for smaller marine entertainment systems.

New Technology

With the shift in technology  to storing music and videos (DVD’s etc) on small hard drives and solid state storage devices such as the iPod and MP3 players, Fusion has taken the bold step to produce a unit specifically designed without the CD/DVD player.

Fusion Marine radio RA200

The RA200 Marine Stereo, has interface for  iPod and iPhone connectivity and integration, USB compatibility, AM/FM tuner, VHF receiver for picking up weather forecasts.

The faceplate measures 157mm x 68mm, so is easy to fit most trailer and smaller boats, but could also be incorporated in to larger vessels.

Versatility

To add to the versatility of the  the RA 200 has an USBIPDOCK which can playback video from your iPod or iPhone to any video monitor. Full control of the iPod is available on the front face of the Ra200 or from the WR600 wired remote.

The RA200 has 4 outputs for front and rear speakers with a punchy 50Watts per channel. The system can also control 2 separate zones to have different level for the cockpit and the cabin.

Quality

Built on an aluminium chassis with IPX5 waterproof front face, the radio is well worth looking at as an alternative to the usual car CD player usually found in most smaller boats.

Happy listening – Tony

Aquatronics Marine

iPod and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc.

This is third of a video series showing some of the features of the Vespermarine Watchmate WM650 and WMR750 models

MMSI

The primary information transmitted by the AIS transmitter is the MMSI (it is worth visiting the AMSA website for a good explanation of what the MMSI is and how it is implemented amongst the various transmission services.

The Watchmate and other displays will give you the MMSI number before any other information.

For further information keep watching this space

Safe sailing – Tony

Aquatronics Marine.

The explosion of communication systems has required most boats and sailing vessels to be fitted with an extensive number of marine aerials. This often means a large number of RF cables and connections to masts and targa arches, which can both look unsightly and be difficult to maintain. This is particularly so when need to add another service.

A good marine antenna is vital to successful communications. and there are also significant benefits for yachts where the aerials can be located at the top of the mast.

One company who specialises in marine systems has produced an “ALL IN ONE” antenna design which can operate one only 2 cables but give up to 9 different services.

This innovative approach allows the owner to grow the system as required. An initial system would be fitted with 2 cables and the basic system  to enable growth at a later date as required.

Pacific 3G antenna

Antenna building blocks

Starting with a  Delta 163 VHF  mounting and windex and building to a Pacific 3G AIS system  is quite easy once the 2 cables are installed. The fist building block is the mast mount fitted with a VHF antenna from here it is easy to add AIS , TV omni directional  ,AM/FM Radio, Next G , 2.4Mhz LAN connection and SSB receiving. Each system comes complete with full installation instructions and all the  interface boxes and appropriate connectors to feed the various pieces equipment.

Product Quality

All the components are made of high grade stainless steel and Polymer construction, with stainless steel connectors. The system is lightweight so suitable for racing and cruising yachts as well as providing a neat appearance for power boats, particularly where space is at a premium. Cross interference is minimised by the use of high quality components and filters in the system. It is important to use quality Low Loss cable and connectors to ensure trouble free operation. The product quality is very high and will stand up to the harsh marine environment.

Manufactured in Germany by RR Electronic “All in one” marine antenna system can be supplied ready configured or parts can be ordered to add on to an existing system. A useful tool on the “All in One” modular aerial system section of the RR Electronics website has a system builder which provides the most suitable antenna for your application, alternatively get in touch with us and we can give you the advice you need.

Those considering an expansion route or with limited mast space should look at the system as a viable alternative to the current system of fitting one antenna and cable for each service. There are considerable cost and quality benefits to this “All in One” aerial approach.

The idea behind this is to give you a basic understanding of what will be required to start a NMEA2000 instrumentation system. In future articles I will add ideas for expanding your system, integrating across different manufacturers systems and integration with your existing NMEA0183 products.

A New Standard

This new standard is now followed by most leading marine electronics equipment manufacturers around the world. Some of them having their own name for basically the same thing. Raymarine have the  “SeaTalkNG” network , Simrad use  “Simnet” and Lowrance Net,  products being part of the Navico group. Both  Garmin and Furuno and others have generally opted to use NMEA2000.  A relative newcomer to the marine electronics market, Maretron have been at the forefront of allot of high quality NMEA2000 products.

I have used the Maretron WS100 solid state wind sensor with Raymarine ST70 and E series displays with great success.

NMEA2000 is the new standard to replace NMEA0183 which has been around for a long time. The NMEA0183 standard has been useful if not at times very frustrating when trying to link several pieces of equipment together.

The NMEA2000 standard has gone some way to addressing the above problems. The standard is derived from the automotive world who developed the  J1939 standard.

Unlike 0183 There are 2 elements to the 2000 standard. A physical and electrical characteristic and a programming or data exchange component. The new format will transmit data at a much higher speed than the old system so the cable and connectors are an important part of the overall system components.

Setting up a NMEA2000 system.

Unlike 0183 the NMEA2000 system relies on providing a data bus or “backbone” for the system. This Back bone is essentially a long cable from one end of the boat to the other (possibly stating at the top of the mast) with a “termination”  at each end and a power source in the middle. All the senders and receivers are then “hung” of this line. The maximum length for the data bus (back bone) is 300 meters. The power must be injected about the mid point ( if the run is long). and the maximum spur length is 6 meters.

The terminators are important and will cause system failures if not working or have been removed.

As you can read from this there is a bit more design work required “up front” than a conventional 0183 system but it is possible to expand and modify a basic system if you have the back bone laid out.

Here is a basic system one might expect to construct. As part of the specification involves waterproof connectors – all connections are made using “spurs” . Do not cut and connect as you would have done with NMEA0183 cabling (there are field installable DeviceNet connectors for this use).

NMEA 2000 system

This drawing shows the back bone (highlighted in green) with the power inserted at the mid point.

I found this useful article from Panbo about the use of field installable  connectors.

NEMA 2000 issues

One of the main issues is that each manufacturer has their own proprietary sentences and this can cause some problems with interconnecting communications. You may find that some controllers will not able able to program the features or calibrate  senders made by other suppliers even though they can display the data. As well as this some suppliers will only display some of the data. This can be frustrating and it is therefore worth while careful consideration when mixing and matching products from different manufacturers.

Further information and products

The Mobilarm V100 PLB is now shipping and will be available from Aquatronics Marine  towards the end of June 2010.  This PLB (personal Locator Beacon) has a number of advantages over 406  PLB’s.

When the V100 is activated the signal is transmitted on the VHF band to all ships within the vicinity, this allows for an immediate response from the nearest ships crew without the need to wait for coordination from a land based receiver.

Benefits of the Mobilarm V100

• Ships crew can take action without the prior need for contact with Search and Rescue Authorities.
• All ships in the vicinity will receive DSC Mayday message.
• Multiple crew in water can be tracked with individual MMSI messages.
• In built GPS position transmitted with high accuracy down to 10 meters
• Search and Rescue can be coordinated by the ships crew immediately.

Loosing a crew member over the side is one of the most fearful experiences. The Mobilarm V100 reduces the stress of this potential event and significantly improve the chances of rapid rescue of  the  crew member.

If you are sailing short handed, racing or just cruising offshore a MobilarmV100 PLB is a wonderful safety device.

MobilarmV100 further information

Safe Boating

fro the Aquatronics Team

This is the second in the series of watchmate videos.  This is an introduction to how profiles allow you to customise your watchmate for different situations and make the best use of the alarms.

Reduced navigation stress

The Watchmate is a very versatile, designed to be easy to use and reduce the stress levels normally associated with marine navigation both on coastal passage making and offshore.  I am continually reminded of this by every WatchMate owner who always gives me examples of contacts with large shipping all over the world.

Here is a second video showing the profile system and alarm settings. More information about the Watchmate product.

I caught up with Jeff Robbins from Vespermarine at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show and recorded the first of a series of videos showing some of the unique features of the marine collision aid, which make it a very useful addition to any yacht or small commercial vessel.

Removing the clutter from the main chart plotter and presenting the information in a simple and easy to use form reduces the stress levels associated with navigating the increasingly busy harbours and coastal shores of many countries.

It was interesting to meet some existing customers who all agreed that the WatchMate was one of the best investments they had made for reducing the stress levels and increasing their safety at sea.