Geeksville: electronics musings

[Peter]

My iPhone talks to my internet wirelessly. My Kindle reader, my printers, and my computers: the same. There are a dozen tablet PC's out there in price range from a few hundred buks to more than a thousand. Any one of them could run NEMA stuff.... Has anyone gotten their act together to run wireless networks for on-board electronics? It seems like all the pieces exist already, save maybe a daylight visible water proof tablet PC... but we do have daylight visable waterproof displays.

Wouldn't it be cool to be able to pick up your tablet and pick out whatever info you wanted from engine instruments to the radar display to the chart plotter from anywhere on the boat? Think of the implications on a larger yacht. The mate or capt could just flick on his personal tablet PC (like a Kindle Fire or an iPad or Azus) and display whatever nav, weather, or other information he wants from a CCTV of the galley to the side scan sonar wherever he happens to be on the vessle... in his bunk, on the bridge, or in the head! You could literally walk around the boat with one of these and always be constantly in touch with vital information of any sort.

For us who drive more modest sized yachts it could amount to a display we have on the bridge, but take below with us when we take cover from weather, or lock up, or just lay back for a nap. Tuck that tablet under your arm and hit the bunk. Or Velcro it to the overhead.... You will always be able to check your vitals.

You don't need the whole darn internet, just local information. Radar, sonar, engines, GPS, maybe a camera or two.

They already have ethernet based systems that come close. Most of the newer electronics "talk" to one another.... they just happen to use wires. It doesn't seem like a huge leap to make it wireless.

I was wondering if anyone knows of any compaines making any in-roads on this front?

Peter

[Rocket]

We recently built a control system for a recycling plant and we use a webgate to wirelessly control the HMI (Human Machine Interface). My electrician knows the details, but our software was from Schneider, The hardware we are using is a Panasonic toughbook that has both a touch screen and a keyboard. I will talk to my electrician on Monday and see what he has to say about your question, because I think it is a good concept.

[PeterPalmieri]

It's already there take a look at the Raymarine E series

http://www.raymarine.com/default.aspx?s ... &page=2044

Your not using the "internet" per se but connecting your electronics to your ipad via wifi. If your engine is hooked into your electronics using NMEA you'd be all set and can view all functions, radar, sonar, chartplotter, AIS, sirius weather

[Bruce]

or just lay back for a nap. Tuck that tablet under your arm and hit the bunk. Or Velcro it to the overhead.... You will always be able to check your vitals.

?

[Peter]

Bruce,

If it seems odd to you that a captain or navigator would want to be able to keep tabs on things from his bunk then I suppose you have never been on deliveries with crew who are suposedly reliable, but when you come back on watch you find out they have not held to course, or messed with the sails or ignored the low oil pressure or rising water temp on the starboard engine or whatever. Don't tell me it doesn't happen. the crew ALWAYS denies it, but the navigation doesn't lie.

One of the oldest instruments is the compass. About the second oldest is a compass that hung upside down above the captain's bunk. It was caled a "tell tale" and the captian could glance up from his slumbers and assure the helmsman and mate were maintaining course..... why do you suppose they needed to do that? So yeah...tuck that sucker under your arm or velcro it to the overhead and check whatever you need to whenever you want. Keep the crew honest

Peter

[Bruce]

I've done a ton of deliveries from US coastal to Mexico, Bahamas, Netherland Antilles and else where and never thought twice about leaving the watch to someone else. Why? Cause I'm bright enough to not go on a trip with people that I wouldn't trust my life with.

And yes I've cancelled more than one trip for that very reason including a Florida to Canada trip on a 82 Burger cause the reputation of the senior captain sucked. Off N Carolina he ignored heavy storm warnings, got caught in 15 footers and busted the helm windows out and came damn close to sinking it with 4 people on board. Did more than 3/4 million dollars in damage.

We all have a brain. Not many utilize it.