Malo37
Well-known member
I guess that YM staff scan this forum for ideas for the magazine. Does anyone have suggestions for what they would like to see articles on etc?
Yachting Monthly features
- Thread starter Malo37
- Start date
dom
Well-known member
Commission Angus McDoon for a series to explain how those pesky NMEA protocols work and to provide practical advice on how to connect assorted bits of electronic kit together. I mean I kind of know how to coil a rope by now!
jerrytug
N/A
I would buy a copy with a feature article about the very worst popular production cruising yachts, say 1970's up to and including current production. With particular reference to iconic or very popular boats..
Various categories, such as
Build quality (eg J*nneau's use of chipboard, anything with no tank hatches, handrails held with self-tappers, Etc etc)
Dubious design features, eg rudder forward of propellor, (Albin), double beds unusable at sea, whatever.
Dreadful sailing qualities, sick-making motion and poorly arranged deck gear. Inability to point, and general piglike steering.
Lethality: Statistical history of sinkings, deaths, accidents, RNLI shouts, fires etc. (adjusted for numbers built)
Ugly duckling coefficient, the most hideous, ungainly looking yachts afloat (more subjective of course)
I think it would make entertaining reading, could be a regular mini-feature, dog of the month, or work through in alphabetical order starting with A, I think it would be a favourite.
No commision required, the satisfaction of seeing my ideas in print would be worth it, cheers Jerry
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JumbleDuck
Well-known member
Perhaps they could get Tom Cunliffe to write something for them? To be honest, I am a little surprised they haven't already thought of this.
Twister_Ken
Well-known member
What about an article on how to get a damn girt wooden fishing boat back into the water at - err, let's see, how's about - Preston Marina? With luck they might find a suitable candidate lurking there.
mjcoon
Well-known member
Ah, but would you pay them enough to compensate them for the loss of advertising revenue such a negative viewpoint would engender?
I remember a letter in YM suggesting that perhaps once a year they had an issue which had no catastrophe stories. That would be the issue left lying around for SWMBOs to read; all others would be hidden!
Mike.
LittleSister
Well-known member
robmcg
Well-known member
Any article that doesn't feature the same old same old Mr Blandly cruising yachts would get my vote.
Cantata
Well-known member
prv
Well-known member
I think PBO did that not too long ago.
Doesn't need Angus to explain how to connect a GPS to a VHF though, anyone with half a brain should be able to write that one. It's not rocket surgery.
Might be interesting to have some of Angus's actual projects in the mag (PBO rather than YM) but short of turning over the whole issue to a detailed primer on C programming for PIC controllers it's hard to see how the average reader would actually make use of it.
Pete
mjcoon
Well-known member
Parsonsheath
Active member
KTL "wherever I rest my head".
Cantata
Well-known member
Seems that way...:ambivalence:
dylanwinter
Active member
now that I have a centaur is is about time they gave me a column
then I could treally blag some good ****
dom
Well-known member
Maybe, but I can't help thinking there's a lot of clean and interesting air between half a brain tasks and a thesis in C programming!
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Robert Wilson
Well-known member
If you find my missing "half 'n' a bit" brain, please send it to me along with instructions to do said job.:nightmare:
Sandy
Well-known member
As the worlds leading rocket surgeon can you explain how to connect a GPS to a VHF? With a engineering degree in a related subject it is quite beyond me.
awol
Well-known member
The series would take several years just to get past "B"!
vyv_cox
Well-known member
See April's issue then. Starlight 35, surely the least bland cruising yacht ever built?
prv
Well-known member
Step One: Read the manual for both items. Plenty of people seem to post here saying, in essence, "I connected wires together at random and it didn't work". Do they also dial numbers at random on a telephone and expect their friend to answer?
From the VHF manual, identify the pair of wires that accept NMEA data in. There will be one positive (sometimes instead known as "A" or "Data") and one negative (aka "B" or "Ground"). Not infrequently, the negative wire is shared between multiple NMEA channels (if the VHF has them) or is also the negative for the power supply. It should all be explained in the manual.
From the GPS manual, identify the pair of wires that emit NMEA data. Again there will be a positive and a negative, with the same possible alternate names, and again the negative may be shared. If this is a large and complicated plotter rather than a simple GPS, it may have multiple ports, each with its own NMEA in and/or out. Pick one, and check with the manual whether you need to configure it to emit NMEA 0183 at 4800 baud or whether it does that by default.
Connect the GPS's output pair to the VHF's input pair, wiring positive to positive and negative to negative (you don't connect positive to negative in any other wiring, don't do it here either).
Job done.
Pete
