Errol Cain – Director of R Electronics

Marine electronics, desalination and navigation specialist Errol Cain has supervised the installation of marine electronic systems into thousands of Riviera luxury cruisers in his 29 years experience. In this issue, the latest releases from marine technology giants, Garmin and Raymarine.

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The Miami International Boat Show this year produced another exciting display of new vessels, accessories and electronics and there are some very interesting electronics developments from Garmin and Raymarine that may be quite handy for Riviera owners.

Garmin Panoptix

Garmin revealed for the first time their new Panoptix all-seeing Sonar. Panoptix offers two very useful under-water viewing options being LiveVu and RealVu 3D.

These exciting new options are currently only available for smaller vessels with either a trolling motor (forward) or transom-mount (down) transducer option.

Garmin advises that through-hull transducers will be released around September this year.

LiveVu offers a real-time image of fish swimming around your boat and it is even possible to watch a lure cast and retrieved right on the display.

RealVu creates a 3D picture below your boat which covers side to side and front to back. Previously this kind of technology was only available in much larger commercial vessels and cost in excess of $30k.

Panoptix is a black box plug-and-play system for any of the current new multifunction displays like 8000 series.

Video of the new Panoptix can be viewed here http://sites.garmin.com/en-US/panoptix/ on Garmin’s US website.

Garmin 7400/7600 series multi-function displays

Garmin also showed off the next-generation multi-function displays – the 7600 (USA) and the 7400 (rest of world) series which are available in 7”, 8”, 10”, 12” and 16” models.

The 7400/7600 series come in two variants, either as a 7400/7600 multi-function display only, or 7400xsv/7600xsv version with built-in dual channel, 1kw Chirp sonar plus Chirp SideVu and DownVu.

All 7400/7600 series multi-function displays feature a high bright LED display, built-in 10hz GPS antenna and built-in Wifi antenna for use with Garmin Helm on a phone or tablet.

Additionally, all 7400/7600 size and model variants can network into existing 8000 series systems as well as the premium GSD26 3kw sounder module and Garmin xHD radar scanners.

The Garmin 7416xsv with built-in sounder makes for a very good value 16” multi-function display.

Full specs for the 7400 / 7600 series systems can be found at https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/GPSMAP%207400/7600/on-the-water/cOnTheWater-bBRAND10120-p1.html

Garmin Reactor Autopilot

Garmin are about to offer a complete new autopilot line-up called the Reactor series.

One of the most critical components of any autopilot is the heading sensor. With the Reactor autopilot, Garmin have joined Raymarine’s Evolution autopilot series with a solid-state, 9-axis heading sensor.

Autopilot heading sensors have historically been a 3-axis fluxgate coil compass which can be sensitive to pitch and roll in less-than-ideal sea conditions. With the Reactor 9-axis heading sensor, there are no moving parts which allows for much more stable heading information.

The Reactor autopilot is available for all types of steering systems including hydraulic, mechanical, drive-by-wire and outboards. It fully integrates with all N2k multi-function display systems.

One of the big features of the Reactor hydraulic autopilot is shadow-drive, which enables a skipper to take the wheel when auto is engaged and steer the boat, with autopilot taking control once the boat is heading on a straight course again.

The new autopilot also comes with a new GHC20 colour control head.

Raymarine Wi-Fish

Also at Miami, Raymarine launched a raft of new products including four new sounder options, a new charting partnership and new thermal camera options.

The new Wi-Fish is a black box Wifi Chirp sounder that makes a perfect partner for any tender – simply fit the transducer, download the app and any phone or tablet becomes your sounder.

The Wi-Fish uses wide-spectrum Chirp down-vision to create a photo-like image just like the Dragonfly. One of the most impressive aspects of the Wi-Fish is the ability to scroll back through the history of a bottom scan.

New Raymarine CP370, CP470 and CP570 sounders

The new CP370 takes away a lot of manual adjustments required previously on the CP300 to clearly understand what is below with Raymarine’s next-generation ClearPulse™ digital sonar processing.

The CP370 has 1000w of power output at 200kHz for inshore and 50kHz for offshore fishing.

The new CP470 is designed for the serious fisherman with up to 2000w output, 10000-feet range.

According to Raymarine, the CP470’s advanced Chirp transceiver can see through dense schools of baitfish, identify thermoclines, and simultaneously target desired game fish.

With 10 times the resolution of ordinary sonars the CP470 delivers sharper, more defined fish targets.

The new CP570 is a professional sounder module with up to 4000w of power output over two independent channels.

The CP570 automatically recognises connected transducers and adjust sonar parameters for optimised performance which leaves the crew to get on with reeling in the catch.

Zoom magnification mode reveals extra target detail without any loss of resolution. The CP570 allows users to search for fish in different parts of the water column with the CP570’s two fully independent 2kW sonar channels.

Full specs can be found at http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=478

Raymarine Lighthouse V13 software

Since the introduction of Lighthouse user interface in Dec 2011, Raymarine has been very proactive in updating and adding features with some 19 software update releases.

The latest, v13.37, allows users to run Jepperson C-Map charts as well as Navionics charts. Both charts can be run together for best charting experience available.

Some nice C-Map features include shading in the green zones which cannot be fished.

The latest Lighthouse v13.37 software can be downloaded here http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=3764 for free.

It’s worth the update.

Ocean Scout thermal cameras

Ocean Scout is a rugged, compact, hand-held thermal night vision camera that lets users see other vessels, landmarks, buoys, and floating debris in total darkness, making time on the water safer and more relaxing.

Ocean Scout has two available models – 240×180 resolution and 320×240 resolution; the 320 model also features a live video output, and extended range performance

• A new high resolution LCD display and the power to detect human-sized targets up to 600 yards (550m) away.

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For further information on any of the above, please contact:

Errol Cain
R Electronics
+61 7 5561 7900
ecain@relectronics.com.au