£332.50 + VAT TOTAL £399

including Traced delivery

If you have a small boat, you probably have your VHF radio licence and without doubt, these devices are the next thing to add to improve your safety.

 

We have the smaller model from Matsutek, and these Marine 4" colour" have all you need to get you going. The main selling point is simple operation and a clear display.

 

These are very simple, offer lots of possibilities for the professional and amateur mariner  and are quite easy to install, just needing a power supply from your  boat and the connection of  the supplied GPS antenna and a normal VHF marine band antenna - available from many chandlers and internet sources to match your boat. The large display makes navigation much safer and collision avoidance easier to assess and take action.

 

The  full specification is at the end of the page.

 

For those unaware of them - here's a summary. They are small devices that contain a GPS receiver and with the supplied GPS antenna, know exactly where they are. They also have a built in VHF transponder which uses two of the channels we don't use for voice to broadcast your boats status. If you fully programme the unit it will send your MMSI, Callsign, Type of craft - from leisurecraft to tanker, and your current location and other GPS information. Other craft in the local area will receive this and you appear on their display. Their information is on your display. At the simplest - you can see on a radar-like display all the vessels within range. If you wish you can enter in warnings so that the device will alert you when there is a potential conflict - two courses crossing. It will show your heading and speed once underway, and is a huge aid to safety, making you visible to others, and equally making you aware of the locations of the other local vessels.

 

The built-in map shows coastal features and depths, plus navigation aids. Inland waterways are also displayed and assist navigation.

 

They are really your car GPS, but with all the other users displayed - incredibly useful. They come in various prices, sizes and features up to TV set size versions that can have maps displayed. This version has a modest footprint and easy to read display. It does have some very useful safety features - MOB - man over board being very handy in an accident situation - it grabs the exact position when you press the button so you can easily provide it in your Mayday message. Hit the MOB button and the exact point is displayed. Waypoints to help you plan can be stored - 12,000 are available and it will also store routes and tracks.

 

IS IT EASY TO SETUP?

Yes - you need to supply it with DC power (cable supplied) and install the small magnetic GPS antenna. To be able to receive and send AIS information, you need to source a new VHF antenna. These are available in the usual marine fibreglass style from a number of suppliers including Ebay and Amazon. The unit has an SO239 socket, so requires a PL259 type connector.

 

To set up, apply power and connect the two antennas. The range of the  other vessel indicators depends on the height and performance of the extra VHF antenna. Some of the images here were taken some distance from the sea and with a low antenna height the other  vessels are not in range.

 

All you have to do is add your own information that gets sent to others - including your vessel size. A handy little diagram assists you enter the right figures for length and beam etc.

 

You get the full package with the exception of a VHF antenna which you need to choose to fit your boat. These are available from around £40 via Google.

 

I'm pricing these at £480, and supplies are limited until the next delivery. I'll dispatch via 1st Class signed for or UPS which is currently very speedy.

 

REMEMBER - like VHF radios, you can only insert your MMSI number once, and it needs to be added to your licence. They do work unprogrammed and you will see the other vessels, but they will not know who you are - so register your MMSI if you can when it arrives.

 

Specifications:

 

 

Name: Marine Navigator

 

Model: HP-528A

 

4.3 "color LCD display boat GPS navigator for marine navigation (AIS display function)

 

 

 

To GPS

 

1. 4.3 "Sunlight Viewable color LCD (Brightness: 500 cd)

 

2. GOTO track navigation

 

3. Stores up to 10000 marks/waypoints, 100 routes and 3000 track points

 

4. Delicated Man Over Board Button (MOB)

 

5. Support NMEA 0183 ver 2.0

 

6.7 display modes available, including 2 user customized modes

 

7. SBAS capable for better measurement

 

 

 

Equipment list

 

Standard:

 

1. Display unit HP-528A

 

2. Antenna unit HA-017 with cable 10m

 

3. Power canle, 2m

 

4. Standard spare parts and installation material

 

5. Operator manual

 

 

 

Built-in Worldwide Tide Data

Position Format

Lat/Lon

Basemap

Worldwide

External Map

Compatible with K-Chart 2.0, K-Chart 3.0, C-Map Max and Navionics+

User Data Storage

Internal backup of user settings or external SD-card

Plot Interval

5secs to 60 mins or 0.01 to 10nm

Plotting Scales

0.001 to 700nm

AIS

700 targets display

AIS Target Tracking

1000 Automatically saved tracks (100 points each)

10 Manually saved tracks (300 points each)

Perspective view

On/off (available for C-Map only)

Celestial

Sunrise/Sunset Moonrise/Moonset

 

 

 GPS Receiver Characteristics

Receiver

50 parallel channel GNSS receiver continuously tracks and

uses up to 50 satellites to compute and update your position

Acquisition time

Cold start: 29 seconds

Hot start: 1 second

Update rate

1 second

Accuracy

Position:3 meters(95%) without S/A

Velocity: 0.1 meter/sec without S/A

SBAS

Supported

Satellite System

GPS and Beidou

Dynamics

Altitude: 18,000 m

Velocity: 515 m/s

Datum

WGS 84 & user defined

Antenna

GPS Patch Antenna

 

 

 GPS Interface

GSP Data

RS232 input/output, NMEA 0183 V3.01 and V4.11

GPS Input Baudrate

Auto Scan (4800, 9600, 19200 and 38400)

GPS Output Baudrate

Selectable among 4800, 9600, 19200 and 38400

 

 

 AIS Interface

AIS Data

RS232 output VDO, VDM, GGA, GSA, GSV and VTG

AIS Output Baudrate

38,400