Christmas shopping at the Nautic Paris

For the first time since 5 years I'm not moving to the Paris Nautic boat show. And for the first time I am not "glued" ten hours a day to a 9 m². And so for the first time I take the time to be interested - remotely, without jostling, without air conditioning, without pollution in Paris – to various products related to my field of investigation and which have caught my attention.

Some concern security, others useful accessories, all of them have to do with mobile devices, smartphones or tablets, and some are really innovative.

Safety

To all lord all honor, I will start with a French innovation that has just received the DAME Design Awards (¹) 2016 at the last METS TRADE in Amsterdam, and which is also designed by Securitag SAS in Nantes : the Sea Tags strap.

• Sea Tags

March, the Sea Tags is a man overboard warning system, presented in the form of a watch strap which communicate in Bluetooth with a specific application on smartphone (iOS, Android). The Sea Tags emit a continuous signal, with a range of up to 100 meters and at a frequency of 4 times per second, picked up by an application installed on one (or more) smartphone. If the signal is interrupted, by immersion or by exceeding the distance limit, the app triggers an alarm and records the instant GPS position at the time of the incident.

We can set the application to an SMS to be sent to one or more phone numbers preset with the position of the vessel at the time of the incident. We can also call for help by a SOS button in the application to display a quick access to the main distress call numbers. In case of Man Over Board, the Sea Tags application displays on a map the position of man over board, the boat's position in real time and it constantly updates the course and distance to be followed to recover it.

If a solitary Navigator falls over board, the phone remained on board will send a message with the position of the vessel at the time of the fall. The person on the ground receiving the SMS can contact the rescue and provide them with the GPS position of the man over board.

The strap weighs 13 grams and it is totally waterproof IP67 (²). It is provided with a 3 Volts battery giving autonomy up to 600 hours in continuous broadcasting. However, some restrictions are brought by the designers :

• Boat size limited to 15 meters high (to take into account limitations of propagation of the Bluetooth from the outside to the inside of the boat).
• Not compatible with carbon or metal boats.
• Even if the application is intended to run in the background and/or in standby, It is better to keep the app active and the smartphone powered on the 12V. onboard power.
• SMS can only be delivered if a cellular connection is maintained.

The Sea Tags therefore primarily target crew boaters who will be able to move instantly to a crew member fell overboard, in coastal as offshore sailing. Other functions related to the cellular network will be effective only close to the shore, which already represents a large majority of both sailors and boaters.

The price is set at 79 € TTC for one strap, then degressive by 3 or 5 Units. Taking into account that the system is completely autonomous (no need for navigational instrument as with OF) It remains today the security "man overboard” most affordable, for a lower cost than a good inflatable lifejacket, in example.

• TiFiz

With a radically different purpose and principle, TiFiz is a GPS tracker perfectly adapted to nautical seaside activities, even short coastal navigation. TiFiz is a product designed by the Breton company Ticatag SAS based in Lannion, Specialized in connected objects (You know, Iot, The Internet of Things, Beacons, etc,…).

TiFiz works with the network SIGFOX, a low-band network designed in France for the internet of things, which allows communications in all France and part of Europe. It's a small and completely waterproof box, with an autonomy of 6 months up to 1 year depending on usage. It sends its GPS location to the network, who relayed it on a dedicated application on all mobile devices and the web. It allows to follow a loved one at sea for a stand-alone nautical activity, dive, Inshore fishing, Sea kayaking, etc,. However, the maximum rate allowed of sending the location being only one time each ten minute to SIGFOX network, it will be difficult to follow a fast craft as jet-ski, Kitesurfing, windsurf or other.

A major advantage of this tag is to send an alert in case of emergency (windward drift, inability to return to the beach, weakness, …) by a single button to press : Long support (5 down to 10 seconds) sends an SMS to a pre-defined call number, with a GPS link that displays the location of the beacon on Google Maps. You can configure the phone number of the person to send an alert to.

If the coverage of the SIGFOX network seems excellent for the coasts of France and neighbouring countries, The offshore limits remain difficult to estimate. It can be assumed that a shore line 15 down to 20 nautical miles should be covered, certainly more than cellular 3G/4G coverage .

The Tifiz is sold 99 € inc VAT, in addition to a subscription to the SIGFOX network of 3,60 € inc VAT / months, or by prepaid cards or online top-ups : 20 € inc VAT (3 months), 30 € inc VAT (6 months) or 50 € inc VAT (12 months). The TiFiz app, for free, is available in 2 Versions : iOS and Android. A web interface is also available by access codes.

This product is so essentially intended for use of coastal geolocation to secure nearby nautical activities, and reassure loved ones remained ashore.

REMARK

I am surprised not to find new individual beacons based on AIS, other than those already present for several years with redhibitory prices – from 250 up more to 600 € /unit – in order to equip a whole boat. The AIS being the more reliable at sea to return to a transceiver system, it is the more widespread for its low cost, and managed today by the majority of the Multi-Functional Displays and the best applications on our mobile devices. I am sure that a device of the same format as the two products above would be able to integrate an AIS transceiver coupled to a GPS receiver with a range of several tens of hours.

Accessories

Protective cases iPad Case are no longer to present. The second generation called aiShell ” (unpronounceable word meaning andres iShell Industries, what imagination these Germans !) protège de nombreux modèles d’iPad. My partner and friend Dominique Gauthier – iTabNav.fr – presents two news :

• The long-awaited aiShell Pro for the large iPad Pro 13″, Finally available.
• Le pare-soleil orientable pour les boitiers aiShell.

The latter, Entirely designed by iTabNav, following a first version for the first iPad Case generation (iPad 1 down to 4). Ce pare-soleil pour aiShell 12 est composé d’un volet articulé permettant d’améliorer très significativement la lisibilité de l’iPad au soleil.

Cet article en exclusivité iTabNav est vendu à partir de 49 € TTC during Nautic 2016.

About the power of our beautiful tablets, Two new accessories are offered :

• X-MOOV-Panneau solaire 12W batterie intégrée

This new foldable solar charger, waterproof and shockproof, Now includes a built-in battery. It is used exclusively to charge its internal buffer battery, which can then be used to charge any USB device. A little less powerful than its big brother (12 Watt instead of 18 Watt), Its high-efficiency solar cells can effectively capture light rays even in adverse conditions (Incorrect panel orientation, Overcast weather) to recharge its internal battery. The panel has an adjustable kickstand to optimize its orientation, and still its four eyelets.

The internal battery of 10.000 mAh allows you to recharge 4 smartphone or 1,5 time such an iPad Air tablet. It has a switch on/off, a gauge at 4 Levels, and two USB outlets.

It is sold Nautic promo price 2016 109 € inc VAT.

• Waterproof 2-USB Scanstrut plug

This robust waterproof housing, powered by 6 to 32V, outputs 5V and allows you to connect 2 USB sockets : 1A for charging smartphones, 2,1A for tablets. Ideal for installing on a Zodiac console, a steering console, or any location subject to spray.

Through-wall mounting, with a standard size drum (30mm drilling – max thickness 25mm) Held in place by lock nut. Two additional screws compress a gasket by preventing the receptacle from rotating. Waterproofing is ensured by the opening hood which presses the cables in a channel whose shape prevents the rise of water. The whole thing remains waterproof even in the absence of a cable.

Excellent workmanship, like all Scanstrut products, it is sold 54,90 €.

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(¹) Design Awards Marine Eequipment is the most prestigious annual international competition for the creation of new equipment and nautical accessories for boating .
(²) Reminder about IP protection classesXx :
First digit : Protection against solid bodies (dust, sable)

• 5 = Protected against dust
• 6 = Completely dustproof.

Second digit : Liquid protection

• 7 = Protection against the effects of immersion (up to 1 meters). Ingress of water in harmful quantities will not be possible when the equipment is immersed in water under defined conditions.
• 8 = Protection against the effects of prolonged immersion beyond 1 meters. Hermetically sealed equipment, for some equipment, water can penetrate without causing damage.

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