Same as yours. http://www.pappalini.com/40PH/40PHpages/electronics.htm
I have two control heads: one in the pilothouse and one in the cockpit.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-baba-l@ballreich.net [mailto:owner-baba-l@ballreich.net] On
Behalf Of John Gordon Hill
Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 2:41 PM
To: baba-l@ballreich.net
Subject: Re: [Baba-L] AIS plotting

Hi Bruce,

Oh well. It sounded good. The autopilot is one system I think I'll stick
with until it gives up the ghost, funky though it may be. What does
"Whisper" have?

John

On Mar 2, 2007, at 11:33 AM, Bruce Pappas wrote:

> In short, the Alpha 3000 is not upgradeable to connect to GPS and nav
> software. You must buy all new electronics.
> http://www.alphamarinesystems.com/
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-baba-l@ballreich.net [mailto:owner-baba- l@ballreich.net]
> On Behalf Of John Gordon Hill
> Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:32 PM
> To: baba-l@ballreich.net
> Subject: Re: [Baba-L] AIS plotting
>
> Thanks Harvey,
>
> I'll nose around for places that I can get a hands-on look at the
> hardware in question. "Bulletproof" was of course metaphorical, since
> I doubt any of us could afford the DOD version. It may be that the
> redundancy of having two separate independent units for each steering
> station would make both economic and prudent sense, especially if
> there's a substantial premium for a dual display unit.
>
> Speaking of integration, Cantata has a robust Alpha 3000 autopilot,
> with its crude but effective analog control. The compass heading
> calibration on the control dial is largely fanciful. You just turn
> the dial until you're heading where you want to go and, weird magnetic
> anomalies and electronic burps aside, you continue in that direction.
> I have no idea if the control portion could be updated to GPS and
> integration with the nav software, but it's an attractive idea. I'm
> very satisfied with the strength and power draw of the mechanical
> portion of the system.
>
> John
>
>
> On Mar 1, 2007, at 10:35 PM, Harvey J. Karten wrote:
>
>> Hi John,
>> I don't know yet if the new Standard Horizon series will integrate a
>> display at two locations. I have my system wired so that I can plug
>> in my new Standard Horizon 180i chartplotter at either the helm or at
>> the nav station. It can receive and send equally at either location.
>> But I don't know if it can handle a second equally integrated
>> chartplotter display at both places. This worked very well, perhaps,
>> in part, because the 180i and an internal GPS antenna.
>>
>> I have heard from a very reliable friend that his new Raytheon system
>> permits mounting two displays of the same data on a chartplotter at
>> the nav station, and also at a satellite display in the cockpit.
>> Either of them can control the chartplotter, zoom in/ out, set
>> waypointss, control the autopilot, etc. I have not yet seen this in
>> operation, but it sounds ideal.
>>
>> These new systems are adequately waterproof for use in the cockpit,
>> but I don't know if they are truly "bulletproof". I expect that
>> things will obviously continue to improve, add more bells and
>> whistles, better charts, etc. But they have definitely reached a
>> level of performance and reliability that is most impressive.
>> Hope this helps,
>> regards,
>> Harvey
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Gordon Hill"
>> <jghill@hillfilm.com>
>> To: <baba-l@ballreich.net>
>> Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 10:26 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Baba-L] AIS plotting
>>
>>
>>> Harvey,
>>>
>>> Thanks for such a lucid explanation of the laptop/chartplotter
>>> conundrum. I have been following this thread with avid interest
>>> since my boat electronics are at that point of being back to square
>>> one. Is it wise to get an integrated chartplotter/AIS/ radar/
>>> depthsounder system? And if so, which manufacturers do you like?
>>> On the computer side, I have used Windows for many years and so I am
>>> now firmly in Mr. Jobs' camp. I was very interested in the Mac Mini
>>> solution discussed in this thread.
>>>
>>> I should say that Cantata is a Panda 40 Pilothouse, so the ideal
>>> solution would be a principal display at the inside steering station
>>> and a satellite display in the cockpit. At present I have a 14 year
>>> old Panasonic radar that functions just fine, two handheld GPS units
>>> (one a chartplotter) and a desk full of paper charts. I've been
>>> waiting for marine electronics to become more fully integrated, low
>>> power, and bulletproof, and it seems that moment has arrived.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> John Gordon Hill
>>> Cantata
>>> '82 Panda 40 PH
>>>
>>> On Mar 1, 2007, at 9:58 AM, Harvey J. Karten wrote:
>>>
>>>> I just received a copy of Beth Leonard's new edition of Voyager's
>>>> Handbook in yesterday's mail. Her chapter on electronics,
>>>> navigation, etc., useful and succinct.
>>>> When is comes to fancy toys, she tends to sit somewhere in the
>>>> middle between the Pardeys and the Dashews. She and her mate have
>>>> been sailing the high latitudes (including the infamous Southern
>>>> Ocean). She is tending to more and more enthusiasm for AIS when
>>>> combined with a good chartplotter. She even feels that for much
>>>> long term cruising, it is higher on the scale of importance than
>>>> Radar. Radar is obviously of great help when close in to shore,
>>>> helpful in weather spotting, small vessels, etc. But the small boat
>>>> radar (e.g. 6" screen LCD) uses a lot more power, so many cruisers
>>>> tend to either turn it off or keep it in standby mode.
>>>>
>>>> The drawback to AIS on the chartplotter is that the symbol
>>>> representing an AIS "hit" is not easy to spot on a small 5" or 6"
>>>> chartplotter, especially against the clutter of depths, buoys, etc.
>>>> But the nice feature is that you can set an alarm for vessels at
>>>> distance that you define ("CPA" - closest point of approach), and
>>>> then it will inform you of Time to CPA (TCPA) based on reading your
>>>> Lat/Long and that of the other vessel, your SOG and that of the
>>>> other vessel, current course, etc, even when you are not paying
>>>> attention to the chartplotter. Of course, if you have the money
>>>> (and don't mind the increased demands on your batteries) you can
>>>> now buy a 10" or 12"
>>>> chartplotter with the same features for about $1,400, excellent
>>>> daylight visibility, but more current draw, and more space in the
>>>> cockpit.
>>>>
>>>> Obviously it would be best if radar, AIS, GPS, etc., were all
>>>> integrated into a single unit, such as the laptop software. But a
>>>> laptop still has the terrible vulnerability of having a device that
>>>> is not really meant for a small boat.
>>>> 1) It is not waterproof or even corrosion protected,
>>>> 2) hard drives with very poor MTBF (mean time between failures,
>>>> meaning that the probability of failure is very high in the marine
>>>> situation), and
>>>> 3) you are relying on a pissing contest for Operating System
>>>> reliability between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. (Yes, you can now
>>>> run Windows O/S in native format on any new Mac - as well as the
>>>> latest version of the Mac OS-X Leopard).
>>>> 4) Laptops consume a lot more power than I like - something in
>>>> excess of 60 to 80 watts, rely on use of an inverter or DC to DC
>>>> converter, since none of them can run at 12 Volts. Figure that they
>>>> use about 6 Amps per hour at 12 Volts. That is equal to 144 AMPS
>>>> out of your batteries every 24 hours. That's even more than your
>>>> refrigerator.
>>>> 5) Access: Then there is the bigger issue that since the laptop is
>>>> usually down at the nav station, and you need info from the
>>>> computer, you leave the cockpit "for just a second". But the second
>>>> turns into many minutes, with nobody on lookout.
>>>> 6) If you set your computer to go to sleep if unused for 10 minutes
>>>> in order to save power, there is always the delay before it comes
>>>> back on - and the all too common experience that it decided to shut
>>>> down, not just sleep, requiring a reboot - if you don't set all the
>>>> options correctly. In addition, it now has to remind itself to
>>>> query the GPS to get the Lat/Long, which kills another frustrating
>>>> minute or two.
>>>> 7) And one of the things that annoys me more than almost anything
>>>> else, is that the damned *&@# software is often copy protected. If
>>>> your computer has a crash, reinstalling all that stuff can takes
>>>> hours, and the copy protection scheme often makes it difficult to
>>>> carry a complete backup on a second laptop (a very expensive, labor
>>>> intensive solution).
>>>>
>>>> In comparison,
>>>> 1) your chartplotter is nearly completely waterproof and intended
>>>> for use in the cockpit.
>>>> 2) It uses memory cards, which are generally far more reliable than
>>>> any hard drive.
>>>> 3) The unit is designed for limited numbers of operations, thus
>>>> reducing the complexity of the device and increasing the
>>>> reliability of the unit. Chartplotters are also subject to failure,
>>>> but much less so than laptops.
>>>> 4) It uses something under 0.6 amps or 14.4 amps per 24 hours.
>>>> The AIS uses even less. The next big consumer of electricity for
>>>> navigation is the Radar (not sure of the numbers, but I think it
>>>> uses about 1-3 amps in standby mode, and much higher in transmit
>>>> mode.
>>>> 5) Access is immediate and right at the steering station.
>>>> Contemporary units even allow you to have a second unit down below
>>>> linked to the main unit. Either one can be designated as Master vs.
>>>> Slave. Because it is designed to operate in the cockpit, the modern
>>>> color screens have excellent visibility even in bright sunlight.
>>>> 6) It does not go to "sleep", with all those associated problems.
>>>>
>>>> When we are in cruising mode, and the motor is running, then I run
>>>> the laptop down below, and leave and set the Power Meter to be
>>>> constantly on. The reality of laptops for navigation is that
>>>> it's a great idea if your laptop is in the pilothouse of your
>>>> trawler, secured at the inside steering station, and constantly
>>>> running with power from your twin 350 HP Cummins diesels. It sits
>>>> in the shade, so the fact that it isn't truly daylight visible in
>>>> sunshine isn't a problem.
>>>>
>>>> The computer solution is excellent for viewing your overall course,
>>>> planning major changes in course that benefits from seeing a
>>>> larger screen, etc. It is superb when planning the next major
>>>> course change or the day's cruise. But it is ergonomically a bad
>>>> choice for moment to moment piloting. It is very difficult to
>>>> multitask when staring at a laptop in the isolation at the nav
>>>> station. A chartplotter does a much better job, and even that
>>>> carries the risk of "instrument hypnosis" - staring at the screen
>>>> as your boat is heading for a clearly visible hazard. Recently when
>>>> suddenly enshrouded in fog in a white-out, I could view our
>>>> position on the cockpit chartplotter (though I also immediately
>>>> turned on the radar, which is also rigged to be easily visible from
>>>> the helm.).
>>>>
>>>> I have cruised with friends who are so computer focussed, that when
>>>> he (the skipper) goes below to check something on the computer,
>>>> like a magnetic robot, he decides to also check on his latest
>>>> EMail, forgetting that he was originally worried about some
>>>> navigation hazard. His wife often has to remind him that she still
>>>> doesn't know the course and next waypoint distance.
>>>>
>>>> Solution: go with both a laptop and modern chartplotter.
>>>> regards,
>>>> Harvey
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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>
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Received on Fri Mar 2 13:31:24 2007