[PUP] Electronics Equiptment, needs etc.

[John Marshall]

I would add that electronics from the top-end suppliers (I use all  
Furuno except for AP's) gives you pretty good environmental  
protection. Furuno's gear is mostly rated to 55C (131F) (to  
compensate to some degree for bad installations where you have  
restricted airflow). I don't think many of us would be watch standing  
(or even standing) in an ambient temperature of 55C/131F. From  
everything I've heard from long-time Furuno users, their equipment  
lives up to its specs.

To Bob's points, which I've snipped below, bad power and lightning  
are the real risks.

I find chart-plotters to be very useful in coastal work, and to me, a  
good radar is a no-brainer.

I can't count the number of times I've heard sailboats asking for  
help in the Pacific Northwest because they are having trouble  
navigating or avoiding traffic in the fog. I can be out there in the  
same conditions with excellent 'electronic visibility', able to  
travel safely and with high-confidence (well, other than the damn  
logs in the water).

Personally, I love having an AIS. Big ships are no longer a worry. I  
know within .01 miles how close they are going to pass and when, and  
they can see me on their screen at the same time with the same  
resolution (since I use an AIS transponder). I can track them before  
they even show up on radar. If I have a worry, I can call them by  
name and they can just look at their scope and see my boat name  
displayed and all the data regarding our passage. I've always had big  
ships answer me on 13 or VTS frequencies if called by name,   
especially when I know they are staring at my boat's name displayed  
on their chart plotter and radar displays (which I also know will be  
flashing red on their chart plotter if our Closest Point of Approach  
is below their alarm threshold), but I hear other boats being ignored  
who are hailing "northbound freighter off Spud Point" or whatever.  
Some of those boats are a lot closer to the freighter than I am.

I'd put having at least an AIS receiver on the must have list, if not  
a transponder. Definitely useful for the coastal portions of trips,  
but even on open ocean, it  can ensure that you'll see and be seen  
given the way most chartplotters have proximity alarms off AIS.

Traffic wise, you then just have to worry about the little stuff...  
especially the fishing parangs that don't use lights at night or show  
up on radar. That and logs and nets in the water.

John Marshall



On Nov 17, 2007, at 5:39 PM, bob Austin wrote:

> <snip>
> I don't understand the cooling and moisture proof enclosure.  How  
> does one use
> the electronics?  You have to get to the knobs and switches.  I  
> agree with
> simple systems, and with large screens, plus a back up, kept in a  
> sealed steel
> container (GPS, VHF and EPRIB).  Not mentioned, is the desirability  
> of easily
> disconnecting antennas, grounds and power cables in the event of  
> lightning
> storms.  In many parts of the world, lightning is a far more  
> frequent cause of
> electronics mortality, than "inadequate cooling, or moisture".
>
> Left out of the electronics is an EPRIB--which I feel is  
> essential.  We carry
> two EPIRBs.  I also feel that AIS is a valuable tool which should  
> be strongly
> considered as a suppliment to radar.
>
> <snip>