I test and review equipment and devices in real-world scenarios and only publish a review after having decent time to evaluate things. I do not work for a vendor, nor am I paid for any of my reviews. I pride myself on having accurate, in-depth, and straightforward reviews for others to benefit from.
Victron has had a lot of impressive connectivity products, but one area they have had challenges with is in getting all of that data onto NMEA 2000. In their recent v2.40 release, that has changed for the better.
I'm always on the lookout for new LTE antennas that could help improve my signal while on the water. Poynting has a couple of interesting marine antennas...
NMEA 2000 networks are part of any connected boat, and can be problematic by nature of their design. Troubleshooting an N2K network can be done very easily.
Furuno released the FM-4800 VHF radio in late 2018, and I have been using it since then, and really like it as my primary boat radio.
weBoost released the Drive Reach recently which is a more powerful and refined version of the venerable Drive 4G-X, the gold standard for cellular amplifiers since 2014. I have been using mine for a few months, and have some observations
These are my recommended system designs for getting high quality Internet on your boat. There are several different choices depending on your budget.
NaviSafe dinghy lights are easy to add to your dinghy or other small boat. They run a whole season on one set of batteries, and can be configured in many ways.
Managing your internet data usage on the boat is important both for a quality experience, and because of limited WiFi and cellular networks.
As part of the project to update Rendezvous electronics, I planned on replacing the older Furuno open-array radar, which required looking for a new mounting solution on my arch. I started searching for mounts, and came across a lot of solutions.
One of the most important pieces of technology on any boat I own is the autopilot and systems that drive it. Rendezvous came with a partially functioning autopilot that I was not able to rely on, so I started searching for a new solution.
Your engine is a critical part of your boat. Monitoring it with the Actisense EMU-1 gives you peace of mind and better visibility.
Wacaco Nanopresso is a great way to make espresso on a boat without using tons of power. You can even get an adapter to use Nespresso pods which makes for easy cleanup!
