Article by Pat Schrawder
CURRENT TRENDS IN MARINE ELECTRONICS
I am occasionally asked when I am going to write an article about a certain model of equipment. The fact is that I never write about any specific brand or model. My articles are designed to be of interest to a large and varied audience of readers. Unless you have the particular model, the information would be of no benefit to you. That said, I do try to cover all the various categories of technology.
I sympathize with you when it comes to learning a new piece of equipment. I sometimes think the qualifications for writing a manual on an item of equipment is to make sure the writer has never actually used it. In their defense, however, we have to keep in mind that they must cover every feature even if a large number of owners will never attempt to use them. Still, there is that one person who will try it and the feature must be covered in the manual. There are also some videos available on particular models but I find them to be an overload for most people as well.
The ideal solution is to employ the use of more “cheat sheets” or short forms. These are scaled down versions of the manual that cover just the basic operation and the explanation of the various controls. If you have purchased your equipment from an authorized installing dealer, you have a right to expect that they will offer you some form of “hands-on” instructions. You may pay somewhat more for the item but the free instruction more than makes up for the small difference in price. Of course, if you are very good with computers and written instructions, you may not need help with the operation of your equipment.
While we are not covering isolated items, over the years, certain new technologies emerge and various trends take the forefront. We can see these trends develop and some will remain for a while.
Such is the case with the combination GPS/chart plotter/radar/sounder combination. There is still some reluctance by a few to put all their faith in one piece of equipment for fear of losing everything at once. However, the reality is that these items have proven themselves to be very reliable. The obvious advantage of a combo unit is the savings in money and space required for their mounting. Their operation is usually easier to master as well. The only real disadvantage is the screen size when displaying multiple items. That is minimized by the introduction of larger screens, additional “slave” screens and outputs to other video displays.
All of the major “players” in the marine electronics field now offer some version of these combo units. Add a good VHF radio and an autopilot (if possible) and you have everything you really need for a well equipped boat.
Along with these combo items, we have seen a trend developing for the chart information to be built-in and able to be upgraded via the internet. There is a charge for this upgrade but that is to be expected as there is a cost incurred by the manufacturer for keeping their data information current. The fact that you can access it at any time, however, is a major convenience. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the various chart companies who still provide SD and CF hardware chips with chart information.
As this season begins to come to a close, we will be looking for new items to emerge and will bring them to you in future issues of this paper. In the meantime, if you have a question on a topic of a general nature that you feel would be of interest to a large number of people, let me know and I’ll try to cover it. You can contact me at [email protected].
Pat Schrawder and her husband Larry are owners of L&L Marine Electronics on Golf Course Road in West Ocean City.
