Today it is super easy to view all the navigation data from instruments (even from different houses or generations of instruments) and all sorts of boat info on your smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches. It should be known, however, that this is not an “immediate” step: data transmission must take place via Wi-Fi transducers. Marine instruments have had a standardized communication protocol that allows them to interface, NMEA, for more than 20 years. Connecting the device to the instrumentation requires a transducer capable of receiving NMEA data (or other private protocols, such as Raymarine’s Seatalk) and transmitting it over Wi-Fi. Let’s look at five some transducer models on the market.
HERE ARE THE 5 WIFI TRANSDUCERS FOR THE BOAT
B&G / WIFI MODULE 1
Compact, waterproof, and designed specifically for sailors who have decided to rely on B&G instrumentation, the WiFi-1 module is a gateway with which you can view data provided by Zeus series instruments on smartphones and tablets. The module connects to the MFP via Ethernet and automatically (it is in fact a plug and play device) transmits navigation info to multiple devices. DISCOVER MORE.
RAYMARINE / MICROTALK
The new Performance Sailing Micro-Talk wireless gateway integrates seamlessly into Raymarine’s wired and wireless systems and enables rapid transmission of data, such as that for wind angle and speed, depth, cruising speed, temperature, heading, GPS data, time, date, and navigation information, between Raymarine and Tacktick wireless instruments and traditional wired instruments. DISCOVER MORE.
GARMIN / GNT 10
The GNT 10 transceiver connected to the NMEA 2000 network, allows Garmin wireless devices, your devices and the Quatix gps smartwatch to share on-board information. In addition, thanks to the system the GNT 10, the Quatix can automatically activate the MOB function. DISCOVER MORE.
ASTRA YACHT / GAMP 2000
To connect wirelessly to on-board instrumentation (via PC. tablet, smartphone and smartwatch) you can use via the Astra Gamp 2000 Wi-Fi multiplexer: it converts NMEA0183 data to NMEA2000 and vice versa. It allows all data to be transmitted via Wi-Fi and viewed using a smartphone or tablet. The GAMP 2000 has four NMEA0183 inputs. The control unit is equipped with Micro SD Slot, so you can record navigation data and review it using Astra Yacht’s iOS app. It is also available with a built-in GPS. DISCOVER MORE.
SHIPMODUL/ MINIPLEX-3WI
The MiniPlex-3 Wifi series is the third generation of NMEA 0183 Shipmodul multiplexers (it is also available with NMEA 2000 interface). All models have full galvanic isolation on all NMEA-0183 inputs and outputs. The MiniPlex-3 also connects directly to a Raymarine SeaTalk network and is capable of receiving and sending SeaTalk data. DISCOVER MORE.
