gCaptain.com

Related Forum Discussion.

| Stumble It! | Del.icio.us

The above video is just a preview of what’s to come later this week…. stay tuned for all the details on Golden Shellback coatings!

Many thanks to Patrick, Rodger and the crew at Revision 3 for inviting us in to tape this video.

(P.S. our part is about 21minutes into the video, check it out then subscribe to the full tekzilla via iTunes)

gCaptain reader and Meteorologist Brad Snook writes:

I spent 13 years as a Meteorologist, recommending routes and forecasting seas and swells for merchant ships around the world. During those years, I witnessed incredible changes in technologies, in changes to Communications (cable to sitor to fax, telex, e-mail), in the coming of GPS and position polling, in the rising prices of bunkers and daily charters, and in changes to the way shore-based operators coordinate their efforts with ship captains over the entire globe. I also witnessed changes to the way our weather routing product could be delivered to the client and captain.

Over all those years, however, one thing remained the same: Most of our clients were operating large vessels on long, mostly east to west (or visa-versa), routes. So, a great majority of ship captains never had the benefit of fully exploring the weather forecast differences, anticipated ship motions, or ship routing options.

So, for all the Masters and Skippers alike, how do you see weather forecasting technology benefiting you in the future?

If you have an answer for Brad post it as a comment below. If you would like to ask our community a question head over to our forum… an excellent rescource that’s really been impressing us lately with the quality of responses from all corners of the maritime community.

Panbo, the marine electronics blog, brings us today’s gCaptain Holiday Gift Suggestion. The unit is the SPOT Satellite Messenger & Emergency Locater and it’s fairly amazing.

First a note. This is not a substitute for the most important safety item aboard ship an EPIRB. If you are looking for the best personal emergency solution we recommend the ACR - ResQFix 406 GPS Personal Locater Beacon (PLB) . (EPIRBS are know as PLB’s when used for personal use and ELT’s in aviation).

So what can the SPOT do? Basically it is a unit that updates your position on a google map which your friends can log into and track your position. It also has extensive emergency locating features at a fraction of the price of a PLB or EPIRB. Panbo tells us;

The just announced Spot is a waterproof Globalstar messenger and GPS combo that will purportedly let you alert the authorities (at least the U.S. ones) [we know it uses GEOS SAR but doesn't have global coverage) with your position, or ask for help from your friends or just notify them of where you are, or build an online track of your travels. It will be available in November for $149 with an annual service contract ranging from $99 upwards depending on what features you want to use. There’s not much detail on the Spot site yet, except for some pretty extreme fear marketing, but I’d guess that this product will get some real attention, even from some boaters. And I’m glad that, unlike TracMe, Spot is not confusing the market place by using the term Personal Locator Beacon (PLB).

For $149 at Amazon this seems like a bargain to give your family some extra peace of mind and let your kids track your position at sea from your home computer (check with your ISPS DP for your company's policy). [Continue Reading →]

Panbo, our favorite marine electronics blog, brings us Standard Horizon’s new Bluetooth Enabled Headset for marine VHF radios (amazon link). They tell us;

Standard Horizon plans to introduce this Bluetooth wireless VHF headset some time this winter (plus a VHF/GPS handheld). There isn’t a brochure or web link yet but these are the specs I recall: waterproof, 150 foot range, can be used either voice-activated (VOX) or push-to-talk (PTT), will sell for around $150, and will fit many S.H. radios. Read More…

This comes on the heals of Motorola’s similarly priced HHLN4125 bluetooth remote speaker for their line of industrial UHF radios. While I’m envious of anyone who may have this accessory I will not be adding it to the order list anytime soon. First I need to know it’s reliable and won’t drop the signal during shipboard emergencies. Second I will be using the entire 2008 communications budget on another Motorola gem, the EX500 Portable UHF Radi, successor to the industry workhorse HT750. With it’s lithium ion battery, diminutive battery and half the weight of its predecessors this purchase is a “no-brainer”.

I was recently on deck with a mate I work with and while faking a mooring line his USB stick fell out of his pocket and onto the deck. After being stepped on by an AB and serendipitously finding a puddle of saltwater the look on the mate’s face was priceless. He knew that moment his data was lost.

My first reaction was “What idiot brings his valuable computer information on deck?” but my second thought has proved more productive… “Is there a USB drive made to the same standards as the Panasonic Toughbook“.

Luck for the mate’s future data the answer is yes. The device is the “Cosair Survivor Flash Drive” and from the test I’ve seen it works.

Here’s what Maximum PC says about the drive;

The 8GB Flash Survivor GT, after all, is shock and water resistant—and if your service automatic runs out of ammo, you can even fling its hard aluminum body at someone’s head. But how does it perform?

Quite well, actually. Older keys can deliver great speeds with medium and large files but are painfully slow when transferring small ones. The Survivor GT, however, is speedy with all file sizes in both reading and writing tests. So if you need to copy that PowerPoint presentation off of Salazar’s laptop before the building explodes, this is the thumb drive for you. The Survivor GT handily beats the original Flash Voyager GT in all our read and write tests.

We also tested the Survivor by dunking it in boiling water, freezing it, flinging it against a concrete wall, burning it with a butane torch, dropping it down four flights of stairs, and attaching it to a car muffler during a lunch outing, and it, well, survived. It didn’t look pretty in the end, but the data was still intact. Read More…

While the Corsair Survivor seems like the perfect solution for professional mariners, boaters and sailors it does come at a high price. The 8gb model sells for $99 and the extra large 16gb drive will set you back $199.

Amazon Links:
“Cosair Flash Survivor 8GB USB Flash Drive” (Corsair)
“Corsair 64816 Flash Survivor 16GB Flash Drive” (CORSAIR VALUE SELECT)

Video: