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.

 Marine Navigation

When and how is it best to upgrade a navigation suite? Preferably, before a total failure of the system whilst out enjoying time aboard.

Marine navigation electronics are made up of many tiny electronic components just like, say, a cell phone or laptop computer.

The average lifespan of most marine electronics is in the region of 8-10 years due to many factors including the harsh environment within which they operate.

It is very interesting to see how far technology has progressed in the past 10 years and how value to the end user has increased substantially.

All multi-function displays (MFD) have chart-plotting capability and some have built-in sounders.

Here is a few examples of this from 2005 to 2015;

Garmin

2008

5012 12” display RRP $5480.00
GPS17 antenna RRP $343.00
Sounder GSD 22 RRP $755.00

2015

7412 12” display RRP $4899.00
GPS antenna built-in
Sounder built-in

Raymarine

2005

e-120 12” display RRP $7495.00
Screen resolution 800 x 600
GPS antenna RRP $575.00

2015

e-125 12” display RRP $4495.00
Screen resolution 1200 x 800
GPS – built-in, 50-channel

………

Another great benefit of updating to the current e-125 series is that there is no dash panel work to do.  Raymarine has a cleaver adaptor kit that fits either the E-120 or E-120w hole size straight up.

Control technology has also changed with displays having gone from button control only in 2005 (single touch 2008) to either dual-touch (same as iPhone) or hybrid touch which has touch display and button control. The touch-only displays can have a grid remote added for button control in foul weather.

Major changes in the past 10 years include features like:

Charting: Ease of creating and following routes with features like auto-routing. This is where you can start on one side of an island, place a waypoint on the other side of the island and the chart-plotter will keep you at a pre-determined depth between the two points allowing the autopilot to follow. Most major brands now also offer multiple chart formats like C-Map, Navionics, navigation and fishing charts.

Sounders: Sounder technology in the past 10 years has seen one of the biggest leaps forward. In 2005 all that was available was from 600w to 3000w in analogue sounder transmission. Today we have in most major brands clear pulse digital (Chirp), downvision (3D-like imagery), side-scanning sonar and forward vision technology. Never before has it been so easy to see what’s below your boat.

Radar: Once the most trusted source for reliable navigation information, the average radar has also transitioned from analogue to digital with high definition (HD) and super high definition (SHD) colour models available. Not only do we see a much clearer radar images, we also have units available that can spot flocks of birds at great distances. Today, however, radar is generally used for collision avoidance with other vessels in the 1.5 to 3nm range.

Other advances in integration, information and monitoring available with modern Multi-Function Displays (MFD) include:

• Automatic identification system (AIS) mandatory on vessels 300T and above
• Thermal imaging available on all major marine manufactures from FLIR
• Engine information displays right on the MFD
• VHF integration for distress situations
• Camera in both analogue and digital (IP)
• Stereo control with Fusion
• Autopilot control from on-screen

There has never been a better time to upgrade to the latest safety navigation equipment with current technology.

If you are considering any of the latest equipment for your current Riviera, come and see us during the Riviera Festival of Boating as we have some very exciting upgrade specials exclusively for Riviera owners.

………

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

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