The Marine Electronics Hub
Editor’s Note: This column originally appeared in the May issue of Soundings Trade Only as part of my Getting Technical monthly column. covering all things technology. I welcome all feedback on these pieces. Feel free to...
I have big things planned for upcoming battery tests. I’m working to evolve my testing of LiFePO4 batteries to match their evolution. Battery capacities are increasing, physical size is decreasing, prices are dropping rapidly, and acceptance is increasing. New options hit the market regularly and keeping up with the pace of change can be challenging. In the coming months, I will review quite a few batteries in different positions in the market and try to help readers decide which price point and battery is right for them.
Yes, Panbo friends, the time has come. Gizmo is officially on the market as of today, though thankfully not due to health issues, financial distress, or any other problems. I simply decided last fall...
What voltage should I charge my LiFePO4 batteries? That seems like a simple question likely to have a single, direct answer. But, the actual answers are often unclear. Many LiFePO4 battery manufacturers recommend 14.6 volt absorption. But, that singular recommendation doesn’t account for numerous factors like managing a larger system, battery longevity, and more. Increasingly, we are seeing good reasons to lower charge voltages to 14 volts or below. But, what impact does that lower charge voltage have on capacity and charge time? Let’s take a look.
NMEA OneNet is the National Marine Electronics Association’s most recent standard, one of only three major electronics standards the organization has released in the past 40-plus years. First came NMEA 0183 in 1983, then NMEA 2000 in 2001, and now OneNet. The previous standards stood the test of time. In fact, despite being 41 years old, NMEA 0183 continues to be built into many electronics and remains the preferred standard for many light commercial vessels.
At the recent Miami International Boat Show, I saw an overarching theme. In years past, just about the only discussion of environmental sustainability came from electrification. This year, the focus shifted — to something that is, at best, unclear.
In January of this year, I published my review of the Epoch 460 amp-hour, 12 volt battery. My review was quite positive and reflected how the battery performed in my testing. But, once the battery was in the wild, reports began trickling in of troubles with some installations of the 460s. That lead to weeks of investigating the issues. At this point, I believe I have a solid command of what’s happening with these batteries and some of their limitations. While this better understanding of the batteries does serve to take a little shine off them, I still believe these are very solid batteries and capable of delivering excellent service. But, for best service, some tuning is required.
Will this be the year of autonomy? Will it be the year of electrification? Maybe the year of hydrogen? Or since it’s so popular everywhere else, the year of AI?
I’m hard put to name anyone more knowledgeable and passionate about marine navigation than David Burch, long-time director of the Starpath School of Navigation in Seattle. These days, David is especially concerned about the Electronic Navigation Charts rapidly replacing the official paper and RNC charts in the USA and elsewhere. So he recently followed up his comprehensive Introduction to Electronic Chart Navigation with a booklet titled ENC Essentials, whose preface and first chapter are excerpted below…
It’s been over six years since I got involved with Ben Ellison and Panbo. When I first started working with Ben E. timelines were one of my biggest struggles. I figured, the longer I do this, the better I’ll get at pacing things out, knowing how long a review and article will take, and scheduling things. Well, six-plus years later, I’m no better. In fact, my current project, the installation and on-boat testing of a Seakeeper 1, might be the longest in the making of any I’ve done.
