Video on your chartplotter, night vision cameras up the mast, and wireless gadgets galore are now a reality on many cruising boats, but the digital networks they use are decades out of date, making them slow and open to hacking. It’s definitely time for a new kind of onboard network.
To date, sailors and equipment manufacturers have been able to link devices using the networking of NMEA 0183 and, more recently, NMEA 2000 (N2K). These options provide a data backbone by which all instruments are able to talk to one another. It means that no matter what make your echo sounder is it will be able to talk to your instrument display or chartplotter, even when it’s created by another manufacturer. However, NMEA 0183 and N2K are both relatively low-bandwidth systems that service a limited number of sensors and displays and can only support limited amounts of data. When N2K superseded 0183 it increased the data limit, but increasingly sophisticated technology onboard is far more bandwidth hungry.
This has not historically been a significant problem as the closed-loop, unconnected world of a boat in the middle of an ocean is extremely limited. But speed, bandwidth and networksecurity demands change dramatically when raw radar and sonar data feeds are being shared with networked wireless devices, alongside live video feeds, wireless cameras and linked online to the internet.
This story is from the Summer 2020 edition of Yachting Monthly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Summer 2020 edition of Yachting Monthly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Orford Sailing Club celebrates 100 years
Situated in arguably one of Suffolk’s prettiest villages and under the watchful eye of its medieval castle and church, Orford SailingClub celebrates its centenary in 2024.
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF AIS IN THE NIGHT-TIME
When container vessels mysteriously started keeping clear of Peter Webb's yacht, it seemed odd, but the answer to their unusual behaviour didn't emerge until they were safely in harbour
A sea change in lifejacket design
Mustang Survival introduces ils new ISO approved Atlas 190
Are you brave enough to have a go?
The flexing of spring’s muscles calls for a dusting down of my jobs list.
Translated 9 retires from OGR with hull damage
Translated 9, one of the leading yachts in the Ocean Globe Race (OGR), has been forced to retire from the round-the-world race with hull damage and has diverted to Madeira.
Tributes paid to boatbuilder lain Oughtred
Tributes have flowed in for renowned boatbuilder and designer Iain Oughtred who died on the Isle of Skye in February, aged 84.
Russia suspected of 63-hour attack on GPS signals in the Baltic region
Russia is suspected of launching a 63-hour-long attack on GPS signals in the Baltic region, starting on 31 March, Easter Sunday, in a move that affected more than 1,600 passenger planes, as well as other GPS users.
TECHNICAL KETCH TO SCHOONER
Roger Hughes explains why he swapped his masts to create an impressive brigantine square-rigger
TECHNICAL CHOOSING THE RIGHT PROPELLER
A change of propeller can dramatically improve a yacht's performance while saving money on fuel. Sam Fortescue reports on the latest options
10 BEST HIDDEN SCOTTISH ANCHORAGES
The sheer beauty of the Western Isles draws many yachtsmen, but cruising on the west coast of Scotland has always been for the brave.
