prv
Well-Known Member
Hey I claim patent on the above
Actually you've just done the opposite
Now noone can patent it.Pete
What do we think of Smartfind?
- Thread starter oldvarnish
- Start date
Actually you've just done the opposite
Now noone can patent it.Pete
nimbusgb
Well-Known Member
Yup! Unfortunately no one will manufacture it now because it is unpatentable!Short sighted way of doing business really. These days you need to innovate continuously to stay in front in business.
The idea of coming up with a better mousetrap and resting on your laurels is so ....... 20th century!
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VicMallows
Well-Known Member
Rivers & creeks
Well-Known Member
From a review in a recent yachting mag they said there was an issue with most yacht AIS sets that these Smartfind signals only show up as a standard boat/triangle shape, the only way you know it's an SOS beacon is by clicking on the info and looking at the string of ID numbers for a particular set of digits. In other words no one else knows it's an SOS beacon and in crowded waters now every bloke with a boat has a class B transmitter you'll get lost in the clutter.
FishyInverness
Well-Known Member
I take it that's a bit tongue in cheek after all the mention of night crews and on-shift/off-shift crews?
Obviously the benefit to single handers of a cross PLB/AIS combined unit would be that in addition to the PLB signal (in my experience single-handers are often the proponents of carrying a PLB) there would also be an AIS alert sent to any ships within the broadcast area - belt and braces!Lazy, that is true to a point - some plotters will just show the arrow, some will show the red cross in a circle, significantly ECDIS plotters on ships over 300 tonnes will be displaying the cross in circle so commercial shipping would be alerted if in range.
Mcmurdo do state that you can user-configure a plotter to show MMSI numbers in addition to target plots (how many people do this, incidentally?) - and that you can then ID the MOB AIS signal by the fact that the (Kannad) MMSI begins 970 - I agree that this is an incredibly clunky approach at first glance.
Tradewinds
Well-Known Member
Bit confused here. Is Kannad & McMurdo now the same company or, are they 2 entirely separate companies sharing (with exterior differences) the same product?
FishyInverness
Well-Known Member
Hi TW, in post #18, ST599 told us that both units are made by McMurdo but under different trade names - and taking a look at the product literature, that is indeed the case..
Tradewinds
Well-Known Member
Ah, I see now. I didn't realise they had become conjoined.
From Kannadmarine website
From Kannadmarine website
boomerangben
Well-Known Member
AIS Beacon?
If sailing in crowded waters during the day, a day/night flare would be much easier to find than an AIS contact. At night a strobe light and a day/night.
If in remote waters a PLB + day/night and strobe at night.
I wear a day/night and PLB in my lifejacket at work and am not bothered that I have a pyro under my armpit. Much rather it was there than not.
If sailing in crowded waters during the day, a day/night flare would be much easier to find than an AIS contact. At night a strobe light and a day/night.
If in remote waters a PLB + day/night and strobe at night.
I wear a day/night and PLB in my lifejacket at work and am not bothered that I have a pyro under my armpit. Much rather it was there than not.
VicMallows
Well-Known Member
I take it that's a bit tongue in cheek after all the mention of night crews and on-shift/off-shift crews?
It was the suggestion that the PLB activation should be delayed by an hour that triggered my comment. Obviously as long as a dual device could activate both immediately that would be best of all in terms or rescue chances. However, if the added complexity compromised size/weight/cost significantly it might be self defeating due to increased reluctance to purchase and then actually wear at all times.
Vic
Talulah
Well-Known Member
I'm curious to know what these personal AIS beacons are like in real conditions.
Whilst there is a video demostration of the Kannad beacon it is done in the flat calm of the Solent just outside the Hamble.
If you go overboard in heavy seas where the casualty is frequently below the line of sight does the chartplotter keep losing the casualty and the display gets obliterated by a large message box that hides the very thing your looking at until you cancel the message?
If the Chartplotter/AIS does not get hampered by these or similar then I think the AIS personal beacon is a great idea. It straight away gives you a direction to be looking in through the rain and spray and then you can spot the strobe or whatever it is. In these conditions a hand flare can have very limited value.
It's these sorts of real conditions test that the magazines need to do. Not someone jumping over in flat seas.
FishyInverness
Well-Known Member
I actually thought as much just after i'd posted, valid point, though i'd doubt any PLB manufacturer would create a unit that didn't have a manual over-ride to a fitted automated system. (The AIS units aren't auto either, it seems the Kannad can be set up to trigger on a lifejacket firing, *provided it's fitted professionally)
snooks
Well-Known Member
Also Easy Rescue from Echopilot £362 inc VAT
Also this from Joton, but it's €650 Ex, it's a lot more money
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Seajet
...
Snooks,
ta, but this EasyRescue is then approx £110 more than the S10 & R10, and unlike those doesn't seem to have a light, which I'd think invaluable for final approach to the casualty ?...
ta, but this EasyRescue is then approx £110 more than the S10 & R10, and unlike those doesn't seem to have a light, which I'd think invaluable for final approach to the casualty ?...
snooks
Well-Known Member
Scotty_Tradewind
Well-Known Member
I can confirm that some of the latest EPIRB's give a GPS position when activated.
I'm at the point of having to renew my Mcmurdo battery and was wondering whether to bother or to keep it going for as long as the original lasts and buy personal systems to back it up along with the VHF DSC MOB button that could also be pushed.
I'm at the point of having to renew my Mcmurdo battery and was wondering whether to bother or to keep it going for as long as the original lasts and buy personal systems to back it up along with the VHF DSC MOB button that could also be pushed.
RichardS
N/A
Who do they give this GPS position to?
EPIRBs at the moment obviously give their position to the rescue services when triggered so I'm not sure what the GPS facility adds to the equation unless it's giving a GPS position to nearby ships or something?
Richard
Sandyman
Well-Known Member
But they are not likely to do that are they ?? Might just expose any weakness & failings in the system, which would effect sales. And to do so might cause the manufacturers to reduce
or cut their advertising budget with said magazine.
Do PLB' Tx the same as a Class B AIS ? What is the time period between transmissions ?
Looks like just another gadget thats been developed with sales in mind.
If & when they are proven in all conditions I will consider buying one.
FishyInverness
Well-Known Member
Who do they give this GPS position to?
EPIRBs at the moment obviously give their position to the rescue services when triggered so I'm not sure what the GPS facility adds to the equation unless it's giving a GPS position to nearby ships or something?
Richard
Hi Richard,
Nearly all EPIRBs or PLBs now purchased include a GPS signal for pinpointing accuracy - It is regularly transmitted (usually every minute) to the relevant SAR control centre that the EPIRB or PLB is registered to. So rather than relying on the MHZ signal to attempt a bearing, the precise GPS bearing signal is passed to the resource deployed which means a speedier contact time at the unit's position.
Seajet
...
On the other hand, it would be a bit much asking some magazine staff member to go overboard in 'realistic conditions' if that means rough, maybe at night...
WHEN it all went **** up and the bod got drowned, the chorus of disapproval ( here ) 'what were they thinking ?!' would be deafening !