Re: [Cal_Boats] Re: Afforable Electronics

There was a time when I felt the same way. But I was so disappointed with Raymarine's integrated system @ $5,000+ that I replaced most of it within 3 years. What I learned was that I want each onboard component to be fully functional as a standalone unit and optimally to be interfaceable with other components and systems. EX: A component supports NMEA2000, if it does ' t earlier standards (NMEA0783) then it's not coming onboard. I chose the AirMar WeatherStation because of no moving parts and it works with various NMEA displays and controllers like tecnautic etc. It also adds another GPS and fluxgate compass which can talk to the autopilot. The sum of the components is greater than their individual value. That's not necessarily true for many packages. With a lot of the packages, if one part fails the whole package is down. In fact many packages are more expensive than better quality individual components. Raymarine's network hub ($400) is in fact a non-weatherized ethernet hub ($50 @ bestbuy). northbrit <co… [at] compassdesigns.net> wrote: Right, I have considered the ipad/phone/android/laptop option... But, I'd still have to buy all the transducers for wind/depth etc so I figure might as well get a compete system.

On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:17 AM, Wyatt Hendricks <wh… [at] avtechmed.com>wrote: > Raymarine's network hub ($400) is in fact a non-weatherized ethernet hub > ($50 @ bestbuy). > Any GPS device will output enough signal for three devices. So if you limit your output to three devices: ie: chartplotter cp180i as the source, then it can feed, your autopilot, vhf radio and one more device. I bought the X-5 autopilot from raymarine nothing else from them. The control head as inputs for various NMEA devices (2000 and 0183) so you can use it as a hub if you limit your electronics to three additional devices. /ch

Trying to learn. Sounds like the Airmax is partially software driven. Is this correct or can you use it as a standalone unit independent of any software? On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:17 AM, Wyatt Hendricks <wh… [at] avtechmed.com>wrote: > > > > > I chose the AirMar WeatherStation because of no moving parts and it works > with various NMEA displays and controllers like tecnautic etc. > > -- /ch

Mine is the AirMar PB100 which out of production and was replaced by the PB150 which is a standalone instrument with NMEA 0783 serial output. I bought it from Otto Holborn @ www.tecnautic.com <http://www.tecnautic.com/> . He provided a custom length cable. The PB200 is NMEA 2000 compatible and can speak both NMEA 0783 and NMEA 2000 with the addition of a splitter of some sort. Software is available for all of these units that provides indicator gauges for the various readings. These are fairly unique in that they can calculate true wind without a separate GPS. Cost: range of $700-$1200 http://airmartechnology.com/uploads/brochures/PB150.pdf Also marketed by Foruno. From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of chris123 Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 8:06 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Re: Afforable Electronics Trying to learn. Sounds like the Airmax is partially software driven. Is this correct or can you use it as a standalone unit independent of any software? On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:17 AM, Wyatt Hendricks <wh… [at] avtechmed.com> wrote: I chose the AirMar WeatherStation because of no moving parts and it works with various NMEA displays and controllers like tecnautic etc. -- /ch