The Miami boat show was a blast, and as usual, we saw a whole new crop of crazy cool gadgets from the likes of Garmin, Furuno, and DeLorme, among others. Of course, there were lots of other cool intros beyond electronics: new boats, boating gear, lifts, fishing gear, and more. But … Continue reading
Category Archives: electronics
Choosing Chartplotters that Match your Brain
How do you choose a chartplotter? Most of us simply look for one with the newest and coolest features within our budget. Unfortunately, some brands fit some people better and others worse—whether you find a particular unit intuitive to use can be a real shot in the dark, until you … Continue reading
Getting DSC on your VHF Radio
What’s the number-one reason why the Coast Guard can’t find boaters, even though they have DSC equipped VHF radios on board? Because the radio wasn’t properly interfaced with their chartplotter. In fact, according to the Coast Guard even though all VHFS sold in the US are required by law to … Continue reading
Touch Screen Electronics for Boats
If you haven’t become familiar with touch screen electronics interfaces, you probably either live in a cave or don’t have any fingers. Thanks to iPhones, ATM machines, and airport check-in machines, just about everyone living in the civilized world has learned how to control electronics by getting all touchy-feely. But when … Continue reading
Save Money on Marine Electronics
If you’re looking for a bright side to the stinky economy try buying some new marine electronics, because now’s a great time to save money with the purchase of a chartplotter, handheld GPS, and more. The trick is simple: go to the manufacturer’s web site, before you buy. Check out … Continue reading
Humminbird Has Radar!
Yes Humminbird fans, you read that right – for the first time ever, this company is introducing a radar! This is going to be a four kilowatt unit, enclosed in a dome which networks with many existing Humminbird chartplotters and chartplotter/fishfinders. Four kilowatts isn’t a huge amount of power for … Continue reading
10 Tips for Side Scan Fish Finders
Side scan fish finders are a hot topic these days, and units from Lowrance, Humminbird, and now Geonav have been the talk of the town. But since few people have gobs of experience with them, there are a lot of questions floating around out there. Here are some side scanning … Continue reading
Inexpensive Satellite Communications for Boaters: Cellphone Text Via Iridium
Boaters can now take advantage of inexpensive satellite communications, and use their cell phone to text via Iridium anywhere, any time. Last year, the SPOT Connect (which uses Bluetooth to connect your cell phone with a SPOT satellite communicator, at $169 for the unit plus $99 a year to activate … Continue reading
