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On board Wi-Fi – how to stay connected at sea

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Andy Johnson gets the lowdown on everything you need to stay connected at sea

On board wifi

Anyone replacing their electronic navigation equipment, or adding new kit to their boat, will have found the routing of all the cables and connectors to be by far the biggest headache. Power cables are easier compared with the data cables, which cannot be cut and re-joined with any great ease, and manufacturers advise against it. This is where wireless transmitting equipment becomes invaluable, especially when solar powered.

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY

There are typically two technologies in use: wifi and Bluetooth. Both are radio frequency transmission systems.

Bluetooth tends to be used for controlling audio equipment and wifi for large amounts of data transfer between equipment such as radar, fishfinders and displays.

Wifi operates on an ‘Access Point’ (AP) and ‘Station’ principle where the AP effectively collects data transmitted to it from outlying stations, for example the radar, passing it through to the appropriate network, which then controls data distribution around the other displays and chart plotters in the system.

Bluetooth operates on a principle where the master unit (for example the music system) controls transfer of data from up to seven units such as a chart plotter, iPhone, Android tablet and so on, which can be used to remotely select and control the music.

PAIRING

In every case the wifi access points must be paired with the correct station and the Bluetooth units paired with the ‘master’ to ensure data is transferred to the right place. In wifi, the access point issues an SSID (name), which the station selects and there may then be a password for added security.

For Bluetooth, you have to discover other devices and make the connection. Once paired, the connections are subsequently made automatically.

A number of manufacturers have started introducing wireless versions of existing products. Raymarine has the most comprehensive product range following its acquisition of Tacktick some years ago. Most of these are also solar powered, further simplifying the installation. Raymarine also has Quantum radar and a few remote controllers to add to its wireless list. Simrad and B&G offer a wireless handset for their VHF/DSC radio, which is a neat solution.

GARMIN

Garmin’s solar-powered masthead wind vane, gWind, communicates with its GNX Wind instrument (powered from the NMEA2000 backbone via a drop-down cable), or directly with its chart plotters that have wifi built in.

If you already have a non-Garmin NMEA2000 network, a drop-down adapter cable (DeviceNet to
STNG or Micro-C) can be used instead.

The gWind and GNX instrument can be used as a standalone set giving wind information, however you will need to set up a minimal NMEA2000 backbone with two terminators and at least two drop-down cable sockets, one for the GNX cable and one for a 12v supply.

One company, Actisense, has already thought of this, offering its A2K-RSK RIB starter kit.

NASA MARINE INSTRUMENTS

This company makes a good range of straightforward, simple-to-use equipment. It has introduced two wireless products, firstly the Clipper Wireless Wind, and then the BM-1 Bluetooth battery monitor.

The wind instrument comprises a solar powered masthead transmitter which communicates wirelessly with a below deck mounted base unit (powered from 12v and ‘paired’ with the masthead unit at the factory).

The base unit is wired to the instrument display (and a repeater display if required) and outputs an NMEA0183 data sentence containing the wind data.

The BM-1 battery monitor measures the charge/discharge current and calculates the battery charge state for one lead acid battery bank (typically the domestic bank) and displays the information on your tablet/phone via Bluetooth. Apps are available for both iOS and Android.

CTEK

Its Bluetooth battery monitor also displays the state of charge of a lead acid battery on an iPhone/Android device, using appropriate apps.

The way it calculates the state of charge is quite different from the NASA device though, relying on battery terminal voltage, temperature and some extremely clever software, resulting in an even simpler installation as no shunt resister is required.

The sensor is simply clipped across the battery terminals and the data transmitted to your phone/tablet via Bluetooth.

RAYMARINE

A large number of its products have wireless capability built in. All of the chart plotter multifunction displays (MFD) have Bluetooth and, with the exception of the entry-level version, also have wifi. The wireless range of instruments and transducers allows wind, depth, speed, heading and mast rotation to be displayed on a comprehensive range of solar powered displays.

The mast head wind and mast rotation transducers are also solar powered and transmit their data wirelessly, greatly simplifying their installation (no wires required).

The through hull depth and boat speed transducers, along with
the electronic compass, are hard wired to a hull transmitter unit which then transmits their collective data.

These three transducers can be closely located to each other and the separately powered hull transducer unit, so the cable routing is not difficult.

The wireless product range is effectively a closed system using a different ‘micronet’ data protocol to the MFD and STNG (NMEA2000) instruments such as i50, 60 and 70 products. The introduction of the ‘Micro-Talk Wireless Gateway’ completes the job, allowing bi-directional data transfer between STNG and the wireless micronet network and is powered via the NMEA2000 drop-down cable.

RAYMARINE QUANTUM RADAR

Quantum radar can operate in wired mode, requiring an Ethernet type cable along with the 12v or 24v supply cable, or in wireless mode with just the supply cable.

Having installed a Quantum on our own boat, it only took about two minutes to decide to go wireless as routing the Ethernet cable and its connector back to the chart plotter presented a considerable challenge. The pairing process was straight forward, each radar having a unique SSID and passcode and you should keep these in case you need to complete the pairing process again.

OTHER RAYMARINE CONTROLLERS

The ‘RCU-3’ is a Bluetooth controller that is configured by the user. It communicates with the chart plotter/MFD and can be set up to range (zoom) in or out in both chart and radar mode, change between apps from the home screen, control the music app or, perhaps most usefully for those into fishing,
‘drop’ waypoints whilst underway so you can return to those positions again. It can clamp onto the steering wheel or be strapped to your wrist.

VHF RADIO VIA WIFI

It is extremely useful to have a VHF radio available at the steering position as well as down below. Simrad/B&G offer wireless remote handsets for some of their radios, making life much simpler.

The Simrad version is the HS35 for use with its RS35 VHF/AIS radio and for B&G, it is the H50 to go with its V50 and V90 radios. The features include a built-in speaker and mic, intercom function with the base radio, AIS display, and MOB function. The battery lasts up to eight hours between charges.

AUTOPILOT

B&G also has its WR10 wireless remote autopilot controller for the Triton and H5000 pilots. It communicates via Bluetooth to a base station, which is plugged in to the NMEA2000 backbone. Up to four remotes can be paired to one base station.

AIS BY WIFI

First, the Vesper Marine XB-8000 AIS transponder: like all AIS transponders, the XB-8000 requires a GPS antenna (included) and a VHF aerial. If you already have a fixed VHF/DSC radio on board then you can fit an aerial splitter unit, also available from Vesper, that shares the one aerial between the VHF and AIS units. Alternatively, you can fit a separate aerial wired directly to the XB-8000. AIS and GPS data are then displayed wirelessly on phone or tablet (iOS and Android) along with an anchor watch feature to warn of anchor drag. Available in the UK via Plymouth based distributor, Cactus Ltd.

With the AMEC CAMINO-108W AIS transponder, again, this is a class B transponder.

In this case the GPS antenna
is not included but can be
purchased separately, although some dealers will package the two together.

European distributors are listed on AMEC’s website (alltekmarine.com) under the contact and where to buy drop-down menus. Make sure you ask for the 108W version for the wifi feature – iOS and Android apps are available.

The Digital Yacht iAIS receiver is an AIS receiver as opposed to a transponder – it only requires a VHF aerial. Digital Yacht also does an aerial splitter if required. Apps are available for all the latest phones and tablets.

CONCLUSION

There are many options to help you stay electronically connected while at sea – you just need to identify the requirements of your how far you wish to travel.

The post On board Wi-Fi – how to stay connected at sea appeared first on Sailing Today.

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