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communication and navigation equipment
- Thread starter jimb522
- Start date
pogen
Sailing canoe "Kūʻaupaʻa"
Yes. Some AIS transponders have a switch or signal input to make them go into 'stealth mode' where you are receiving but not transmitting, but this is not the default.
Now I'm wishing I had spent a few more bucks a couple of years ago and gotten a WiFi one like that Vesper, that looks like a nice unit.
See also my new thread on VHF antenna testing, I am seeing if we can get some interest in a live test.
http://sfbaysss.org/forum/showthread.php?1516-VHF-radio-antenna-testing
Tchoupitoulas,
Attached is a picture taken in mid-August, 2013, of all that was visible from the surface of Lake Pontchartrain, a lake next to New Orleans (although with a username like yours I am sure you are aware of that). That was when I flipped the boat. The other picture was taken from the masthead
while sitting behind my house in a happier day.
I am within a month of going sailing, and am now talking to the NKE rep, Bob Congdon, about purchasing an autopilot. Kind of like putting the Trrump Mansion in the ninth ward.
Jim
Attachments
Well, as Julius Caesar said, "Alea iacta est" or The die is cast. I ordered about half the NKE system today, so we could put in the parts calling for the most time consuming labor, and then get the rest of the parts in September in time for the Havana race. If all goes well, I will make the qualifying trip for the 2016 shtp from the dry tortugas to New Orleans in November, on my way back from Havana. OR, I could decide that the boat or myself is not up to the shtp. And then I will have the flashiest daysailor with the most sophisticated autopilot in the Gulf.
Chris, Bob Congdon told me the system is very similar to yours, other I would imagine then the changes made necessary by a rotating mast. He also said you were one of the most analytical customers he has had, which means to me that you did a lot of thinking this autopilot thing through, I kind of relied on that in rushing through this decision to get the NKE.
Jim
Chris, Bob Congdon told me the system is very similar to yours, other I would imagine then the changes made necessary by a rotating mast. He also said you were one of the most analytical customers he has had, which means to me that you did a lot of thinking this autopilot thing through, I kind of relied on that in rushing through this decision to get the NKE.
Jim
pogen
Sailing canoe "Kūʻaupaʻa"
Jim:
Have fun with it.....it sounds like your earlier questions have been answered. I have found with mast top antenna (can see and be seen at about 30 miles - by a large ship with their antennas presumably very high)....it could be hardly considered testing. Currently I use a splitter. BUT plan if I do the hawaii thing is to mount an antenna on stern rail (AIS mast, VHF stern for offshore.....reverse when closer)...this is not my idea...but one I picked up somewhere on the forums and seems like a good approach.
I would encourage you (if you can) to buy the rest of the NKE system.....or as early as you can. It is not like Raymarine stuff where you can walk into a local distributor and find it on the shelf. Bob/NKE have been very responsive but if something is backordered it might put your whole time line off......everything for me has worked of the shelf....but these are still electronics..and worse case you get a bad piece of electronics....delay....production in france.......delay.....and then you don't have time to really get used to the system. The earlier you can get it all installed and more time you can have with it the better.
Have fun with it.....it sounds like your earlier questions have been answered. I have found with mast top antenna (can see and be seen at about 30 miles - by a large ship with their antennas presumably very high)....it could be hardly considered testing. Currently I use a splitter. BUT plan if I do the hawaii thing is to mount an antenna on stern rail (AIS mast, VHF stern for offshore.....reverse when closer)...this is not my idea...but one I picked up somewhere on the forums and seems like a good approach.
I would encourage you (if you can) to buy the rest of the NKE system.....or as early as you can. It is not like Raymarine stuff where you can walk into a local distributor and find it on the shelf. Bob/NKE have been very responsive but if something is backordered it might put your whole time line off......everything for me has worked of the shelf....but these are still electronics..and worse case you get a bad piece of electronics....delay....production in france.......delay.....and then you don't have time to really get used to the system. The earlier you can get it all installed and more time you can have with it the better.
chris
I expect that the complete system will be installed by around the middle of September. Bob has agreed to come down and check it out and give me instructions in its use. The drive arrived yesterday. The thing is massive. I could drive a 30 ton shrimp boat with this thing. The cylinder is 3 inches in diameter, and it is about 25 pounds I estimate for the pump/cylinder assembly. I think I am getting everything from NKE you could attach to it . at least my budget feels like I have. I had decided to do the same thing and have two AIS/vhf antennas on the boat. I think that came from you earlier.
Jim
Attachments
That's great. Bob spent a couple hours with me and that made a huge leap in my understanding. One of your early challenges is to learn the speed with which to press buttons....not too fast....not too long. Quickly becomes second nature. Yup...it could probably drive a shrimp boat and that strength is part of the safety margin ....BUT..keep in mind your attachment points need to be equally strong (weakest link issue.......in this years Long Pac...attachment point failure lead to loss of autopilot ability in one boat). Double antenna is NOT my idea (just one I borrowed from some smart person on this forum....I just can't remember which post to give credit to).
Chris,
In talking to Bob Congdon, he told me that that apparently practically no one works in France in August, including the NKE folks, so I took your advice and ordered the rest of the operating system, save the remotes and spare display. Turns out that the main display is not immediately available either, but the rest of the system order is being processed for delivery, and I will certainly have it soon. Bob is tentatively scheduled for coming in on Sept 30th and leaving three days later. We are busting our butts to get the boat sailing before he arrives so he can teach me how fast to push the buttons. And the rest of it. I sent off the entry to the Oct. 31st Havana race yesterday to apply pressure on myself to get this project finished. My main help, Ryan Finn, just got back from Seattle where he was looking at a Proa to buy. Apparently buying a new boat for a man must be something like raging hormones in an 18 year old on first love. Its hard to keep his mind on my project as he moons around thinking of his new love.
Jim
P.S. I kind of think the French have it right. Its way too hot here to be outside in August. Better to be on holiday.
The bad news, I had to withdraw from the Havana race. I simply couild not, and cannot get the boat ready to start in 4 weeks, without taking off and doing nothing for the next month but working on the boat, which is not a possibility as I have several cases set for trial in the month. The good news is the concentrated effort to get the boat ready for that race has given me a huge leap forward in boat prep, and we will actually be sailing in a couple of weeks, although the interior renovation will be just getting started. The mast is being stepped Monday and the boat is coming out of the boatyard. The other good news is that when I do get to the starting line, the boat will be tested, and candidly, it would not have been completed if I started the Havana race. There will be other Havana races.
Jim
Jim
Hi all,
An autopilot observation that may be of some interest. As I have said, I have an NKE autopilot for the Prodigal Son, which has all the bells and whistles. My wife's health has stopped all progress toward my finishing the installation and actually going sailing with it. BUT, Ryan Finn is currently sailing his Proa, the Jzerro, from Seattle through the Panama Canal to New Orleans. He has the identical (almost) autopilot as mind, and it is very interesting to look at his SPOT tracking. You could draw a line on his tracks as straight as a ruler. He has had some rough weather, and is making impressive daily runs. It was so wet down below, he couldn't write on his charts at times because they were so wet. Many many 200 mile days. Now he is off Honduras headed to the Yucatan straits . I am encouraged by his autopilot performance. I suggest you look at "two oceans, one rock" website to see it. He is basically engaged in an effort to take that boat from New York (next Chritsmas) around Cape Horn to San Francisco sailing singlehanded. He sailed non-stop from Seattle to the Panama Canal, over 3100 miles. Whatever his time is, if he completes that endeavor, will be a record, as no one has done it singlehanded. Anyway, the NKE apparently can really perform.
Jim
An autopilot observation that may be of some interest. As I have said, I have an NKE autopilot for the Prodigal Son, which has all the bells and whistles. My wife's health has stopped all progress toward my finishing the installation and actually going sailing with it. BUT, Ryan Finn is currently sailing his Proa, the Jzerro, from Seattle through the Panama Canal to New Orleans. He has the identical (almost) autopilot as mind, and it is very interesting to look at his SPOT tracking. You could draw a line on his tracks as straight as a ruler. He has had some rough weather, and is making impressive daily runs. It was so wet down below, he couldn't write on his charts at times because they were so wet. Many many 200 mile days. Now he is off Honduras headed to the Yucatan straits . I am encouraged by his autopilot performance. I suggest you look at "two oceans, one rock" website to see it. He is basically engaged in an effort to take that boat from New York (next Chritsmas) around Cape Horn to San Francisco sailing singlehanded. He sailed non-stop from Seattle to the Panama Canal, over 3100 miles. Whatever his time is, if he completes that endeavor, will be a record, as no one has done it singlehanded. Anyway, the NKE apparently can really perform.
Jim