KEY POINTS:
For marine electronics manufacturers, the "Holy Grail" has long been to deliver PC-like power, performance and graphics, coupled with the robustness, reliability and ease of use of traditional systems.
While there have been PC-based navigational systems in the past, these have never been embraced by the major electronics manufacturers, nor really by the public. While their graphics and some of their features were excellent for the time, there was always a question over their ability to perform when things got tough. There was also the issue of how easy (or in this case, hard) these systems were to use. They were fine for the young gung-ho navigators on round-the-world racers but tended to overwhelm those with a few more grey hairs and a desire for a lot more simplicity.
It now appears, however, as though that match of power, simplicity and reliability is at hand. And it is being driven, as are so many major electronic advances these days, by a move into the digital world.
Raymarine's new G Series system has at its heart a high-capacity hard drive called the GPM400 processor module. This enables the G Series to operate at 10 times the processing speed of a conventional marine electronics system and allows it to act like a powerful network hub, delivering information from a whole range of sources on to specially-designed high definition screens.
Virtually any information a skipper or owner wishes to see can be displayed, provided the appropriate "front end" unit is connected. That means radar, depth sounding and sonar displays, GPS chart plotting with digital charts, engine or electrical system information, on board or underwater cameras, signals from satellite TV, DVDs, video cameras or even gaming consoles can all appear on the screens. What's more, they all appear or disappear either alone or in a split screen display with any other input, all at the users' command and all at the push of a clearly marked button or two.
It is that combination of highly sophisticated technology and ease of use that so excites local Raymarine product manager Mark Milburn.
Milburn, from New Zealand Raymarine distributor Lusty and Blundell, says the new system mirrors the way clever technology is presented in today's top end cars.
"Under the bonnet, the level of sophistication is so high that few, if any, drivers understand it at all. However, that doesn't stop them using and enjoying all of the benefits because of the simple way in which they are presented.
"Compare that to a PC. To get the best out of it requires quite a lot of training and the way things work in one program often isn't the way they work in another."
Milburn says what Raymarine has done with the G Series is to offer the power and sophistication of a PC combined with smart screen technology, making it easy to operate.
What's more, he says, the operation is basically the same whether one is working with radar, fish-finding or chart-plotting or even a combination of all three.
A key component of the new G Series system and further evidence of the "digital revolution" is the new HD (high definition) digital radar.
Milburn says anyone seeing the new HD digital radar alongside a traditional one will be stunned at the difference.
"It is literally like comparing images from an old black-white screen to those on a new high definition colour TV," he says.
This is not only due to the addition of high definition colour; the digital nature of the "front end" signal and the unit's performance are at least as important.
Not surprisingly, the emphasis is on target detection, especially the detection of small targets that are often clustered together.
Milburn says that, because of the way Raymarine has developed and handled the processing of their digital signal, the HD digital radar is able to differentiate between targets with different echo characteristics. It is also able to clearly show these on its multi-level colour target display.
"This means often-confusing signals, such as those from a vessel in front of a rocky island or rain over vessels or navigational buoys, are clearly displayed in different colours and are easy to identify."
The new digital technology also allows the radar to process two distinct ranges of data at the same time, effectively giving users two separate and independently controlled radars in one package. This means skippers can monitor short- and long-range displays together, without having to switch between the two.
Any queries regarding Weekend Marine contact marine editor Mike Rose on (09) 483-8284; (021) 735-015 or email: mrpr@xtra.co.nz
