Automotive GPS units have leapt miles forward
March 2010
Have you ever missed a turn, decided to go around the block and found yourself in a part of town you didn’t know existed? Try that with a boat behind you, and everyone in the vehicle may find out how good you are at backing a trailer long distances.
At a time not long ago, today’s technology was unimaginable
February 2010
Back in the 1970s, there was so much standing timber in legendary southern fishing lakes like Toledo Bend on the Texas/Louisiana border that about the only way to get around on them was following boat lanes cut through the trees.
iPilot module makes trolling fool-proof
January 2010
Digital components have been creeping into electric trolling motors for years. Computer processors are now common in marine electronics and GPS receivers, and antennas are small enough to fit practically anywhere. It was only a matter of time until a company put them all together.
The single purpose vs. combo unit question
December 2009
Units capable of doing practically everything are available, yet some boaters still prefer single-purpose electronics. Is there a “best” solution?
The learning curve has been slashed
November 2009
Thirty years ago, a state-of-the-art fish finder had a round turntable with a light bulb mounted on its edge spinning behind a clear circular window. There were hash marks and depth scale numbers printed around the window. The bulb flashed steadily at two points on the scale: one marked the water’s surface and the other its bottom. Random flashes between these two points indicated fish and structure.
Redundancy makes a case for redundancy
August 2009
I seldom pass up an invitation to go fishing, especially from a friend with a new boat. Sometimes the invitation includes an opportunity to solve an electronics problem, but I don’t mind. It usually gives me grist for a column.
DSC invaluable in VHF marine radios
June 2009
Digital selective calling (DSC) features on VHF marine radios have been around for almost a decade. This feature lets you call other radios with the press of a button, using the called radio’s Maritime Mobile Service Identification number (MMSI) like a telephone number.
New radar takes worry out of being close
May 2009
Jokes about small-boat radars have historically run rampant: “Did you know you can either run radar on your bass/bay boat OR have children later in life?” and “I like having radar on my 18-foot boat. On cold days it keeps my head warm!” are two of my favorites, but they go on and on.
Water surface temp gauge leads to fish
April 2009
Fishing improves as spring shoves winter out of the way, and many of us spend more time on the water enjoying it. Newspaper and Internet fishing reports let us know when the fishing gets hot, but they are sometimes a bit light on telling us where.
Your owner’s manual is your friend
March 2009
If there is anything worse than a complicated sounder or chart plotter, it’s an owner’s manual that doesn’t give you the traction to climb the unit’s learning curve.
Parallel, serial battery wiring basics
February 2009
If you look at the top of a plain old flooded-cell, 12-volt marine battery, you see two widely separated metal posts and plastic caps lined up to cover six holes. The six holes let you replace water lost from each of the battery’s six cells during normal discharging and recharging.
Betting your life on a paperweight?
January 2009
If you have an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) for your boat and it’s old, you need to take a quick look at it. EPIRB’s that operate on 121.5 mHz or 243 mHz will become paperweights after February 1, 2009. The search and rescue satellite aided tracking (SARSAT) satellites will not process those frequencies after that date.
Pontoon pinging is a little different
December 2008
A friend showed me his new pontoon boat, and I was impressed until I saw how a sonar transducer was mounted on the back of a pontoon. I remarked that it probably wouldn’t work above idle speed, and he confirmed that as soon as he throttled up above fast idle the fish finder lost its reading.
Currents
Marine Electronics 
