The software-defined wide-area network from Videoworks is a way of combining various technologies to link yachts to the internet with a signal similar to the one at home or in an office. SD-WAN uses several third-party-built connections—including 4G/5G cellular, Starlink or OneWeb, VSAT-GEO and shore-based Wi-Fi—to yield fast, stable, reliable and cost-effective data transmissions.

SD-WAN uses two software-based virtual machines (one is yacht-based; the other is cloud-based) to create a two-way communications tunnel with the internet. SD-WAN also can bond discrete protocols to yield a georeferenced connection with increased bandwidth and stability.

Alessio Musetti, Videoworks’ yachting sales manager, says the company faced numerous challenges while creating SD-WAN. These include combining different connectivity technologies that have different bandwidths in different regions, optimizing cloud services, guaranteeing 24/7/365 service and creating an at-home-like internet experience aboard yachts at sea.

While these hurdles were high, Musetti says Videoworks cleared them by creating a platform that harnesses the best connectivity technologies afloat, including virtual machines, the Linux OS and various web interfaces.

Behind the Connection

SD-WAN can channel-bond discrete communicators’ protocols with similar latencies (such as 5G and Starlink) by splitting internet packages across all connections and then reaggregating them on the opposite end. On the back end, Videoworks maintains a network-operations center that allows it to monitor and improve the network. The SD-WAN is flexible, and, because it’s software, it’s easily upgradable by Videoworks.

Take the next step: videoworksgroup.com

The post Videoworks’ SD-WAN Reliably Connects Boaters appeared first on Yachting.

They’re the stuff of dreams, legend, maritime lore: the Northwest Passage, the Drake Passage, Greenland, South Georgia Island, Cape Horn. Cruising these fabled waters requires a capable and prepared yacht, a seasoned and adventurous crew, the right communications and safety tools, and a pinch of luck. In this sense, the ancient Roman philosopher Seneca was right: Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Satellite connectivity isn’t new. The first very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT) satcom systems rolled out in the late 1970s, giving mariners the ability to send and receive information at sea. Contemporary VSAT systems typically operate on the Ka-frequency or Ku-frequency bands to offer high-speed performance and bandwidth.

The problem, however, is that VSAT networks typically concentrate their coverage beams on populated areas and commonly cruised waters. Moreover, these systems utilize high frequencies that often suffer from rain and snow fade when the weather sours.

Iridium’s Certus network doesn’t deliver the kinds of data-transfer speeds that enable video or social media streaming, but it does provide global connectivity that isn’t affected by weather. The largest Certus terminals are built with multi-element patched antennas that can simultaneously listen to—and evaluate the signal strength of—multiple satellites for trustworthy connectivity. Certus terminals also can be paired with a VSAT terminal, and long-range cellular and Wi-Fi antennas, to provide out-of-band management and lowest-cost routing. For adventurous cruisers, Certus’ connectivity improves the farther north (or south) from the equator one cruises.

Iridium began work on its Certus network in 2015. Today, the system is composed of 66 cross-linked low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites that circle the globe in near-polar orbits that are each roughly perpendicular to the equator. (Imagine the segments of a peeled orange coming together at either end.) At any given time, there are more LEO satellites concentrated at the north and south poles than at the equator. And Iridium’s LEO satellites operate on the L band (1 to 2 GHz), which is a much lower frequency than the Ka and Ku bands, and which isn’t frazzled by rain or snow.

As with all forms of satcom, orbiting Certus-enabled LEO satellites communicate with an onboard terminal. That terminal, in turn, is networked to a wireless router that makes the satcom signal available for all connected devices. While Iridium builds and maintains its LEO constellation, it partners with third-party hardware manufacturers—including Cobham, Intellian, Lars-Thrane and Thales—that build consumer-ready terminals.

While Iridium allows five terminals of different sizes to operate on its Certus network, 700-level terminals—with data-transfer uplink speeds of up to 352 kilobits per second and downlink speeds of up to 704 Kbps—offer Certus’ highest throughput speeds.

For example, Intellian’s C700 terminal is a solid-state device that uses a 12-element patch antenna. “It is then able to track multiple satellites and always select the strongest signal,” says Paul Comyns, Intellian’s senior director channel sales Americas. This setup, he adds, “avoids any issue of blockage, whether that be from onboard obstructions like a sail or mast, or if you happen to be cruising in a fjord where there are big mountains and trees.” Given that the C700 has a 12-element patch antenna, some are still likely seeing satellites even if others are blocked.

The 700-level terminals are monogamous, which means they only transmit and receive data to and from a single satellite at once. However, they’re opportunistic in that they’re often simultaneously auditioning two to four other satellites.

“Because each patch antenna is pointing in a different direction, it has the opportunity to pick up a signal from a different satellite,” Comyns says. “It’s always listening to different satellites and then picking which is the strongest signal and utilizing that one.”

During a 10-minute voice call, a 700-series terminal might change satellites several times. These transitions are nearly seamless to the end user, and the multiple data pathways mean that 700-level terminals on Iridium’s Certus network offer some of the highest reliability levels of any satcom solution.

Certus terminals also can be paired with VSAT systems to deliver an out-of-band management solution for the yacht’s primary satcom system. Additionally, third-party long-range cellular and Wi-Fi antennas can be added for lowest-cost data routing.

This ability to play nicely with others, coupled with Certus’ reliability and global coverage, makes these terminals ideal companions for high-latitude cruisers or for those transiting the South Pacific, where it might otherwise be impossible to download email, GRIB weather files and chart updates, or to transmit and receive emergency communications.

“If you want a reliable connection that’s going to get through whatever the weather, then Certus is a perfect solution,” Comyns says.

As with all technology, Certus service has its pros and cons. As mentioned, speeds aren’t fast enough to stream video or upload it to social media, and Certus is not the least-expensive form of satellite communications (see Iridium’s website for airtime costs). That said, the system is global, there are no moving internal components, and the equipment is relatively small and easy to fit aboard. Factor in Certus’ ability to provide out-of-band management and lowest-cost data routing, and the network presents itself as an intriguing communications solution for anyone who is interested in plying the dark spots on most VSAT coverage maps.

One doesn’t need to be an ancient philosopher to see how adding a Certus system might generate its own kind of luck.

The post Iridium Keeps Boaters Connected Anywhere appeared first on Yachting.

My friend recently posited that if forced to choose, he’d rather lose his wallet than his iPhone.

After pondering, I had to agree. Communication is key everywhere, and, at least ashore, the smartphone has become the most important nexus of modern culture’s holy trinity (wallet, phone, keys).

On board, however, the argument changes, especially when cruising outside of cellular coverage. At that point, the VHF radio and its ability to communicate with multiple nearby vessels and shore stations juggernauts its technology to the top of the importance pyramid. While there’s no question that a fixed-mount VHF radio is a must-have for every helm, few electronic tools are a better universal fit than a reliable and fully featured handheld.

Marine-band VHF communications arrived in the 1950s, giving mariners the ability to talk, either ship-to-ship or ship-to-shore, over line-of-sight distances using radio-frequency transmissions. The first VHF radios were fixed-mount systems. As technology improved and demand grew, handhelds arrived. Recent years have seen new features, such as embedded automatic identification system, digital selective calling and GPS receivers.

Marine VHF is a tightly regulated technology; in the United States, it’s overseen by the Federal Communications Commission. Fixed-mount systems are limited to 25 watts of transmitting power, and handhelds to 6 watts. Depending on how they’re spec’d, marine VHF radios can use more than 40 channels that fall between 156.050 and 157.425 megahertz, and 161.6 and 162.550 MHz. As with all RF communications, transmitting power and antenna height equate to greater range.

The comparatively simple handhelds of the 1990s allowed for voice communications over distances of about 3 to 5 nautical miles. Their rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries delivered good performance for the era, but they were prone to discharging if they were left unused. Worse, they could develop chemical memories that made recharging complicated. Screens were small and tough to read in direct sunlight, and user interfaces involved hard, tactile keys, dedicated volume knobs and awkward software.

Today, while the frequencies and power outputs are unchanged, modern handhelds are far more sophisticated than even a decade ago. Integration has been key. Higher-end handhelds now have built-in DSC, GPS and AIS receivers.

“DSC is the biggest advancement,” says Hans Rooker, Standard Horizon’s national sales manager. “It delivers the capability of position-sharing, poling and distress-calling.”

Provided that owners properly register for—and program—their nine-digit identification number (called a maritime mobile service identity), all receiving parties can ascertain information that’s valuable and possibly lifesaving. “The combination of the DSC and GPS tells first responders like the Coast Guard vital information on who you are, what type of boat and where you are located,” says Ray Novak, Icom America’s senior sales manager.

DSC also has nonemergency features, most notably the ability to create buddy lists and directly call friends via their MMSI. Provided that the vessels are in range, this technique often saves time and allows users to treat their radios much like they do their smartphones ashore.

While fixed-mount radios have long sported AIS (listen-only receivers as well as listen-and-transmit transceivers), Icom’s flagship M94D is the first and only handheld to offer a built-in AIS receiver. AIS data is shown on the handheld’s display, atop a simplified navigation system. This adds a new level of functionality in handhelds, Novak says: “Not only can you see AIS traffic around you; you can make direct calls to vessels in the area, if there is an issue.”

AIS also lets users set up proximity alerts and receive notifications, if other vessels with AIS transceivers enter their designated watch area.

One of the biggest pitfalls involving DSC and AIS transceivers and fixed-mount VHF radios occurs when users fail to properly network their vessel’s GPS with their radio. “Seventy-six percent of the unanswered DSC calls are due to no GPS coordinates being transmitted,” Novak says. While handhelds don’t have the same punch as fixed-mount versions, one inherent advantage of all AIS- and DSC-enabled handhelds—and their hard-wired GPS receivers—is that they’re self-contained, so all AIS or DSC transmissions always include real-time GPS information.

It might seem obvious in hindsight, but the first floating handheld (Icom’s M34) didn’t arrive until 2007. Today, all reputable handhelds float (some face-up) and offer some water-ingress protection. Many contemporary radios also have a water-activated light or strobe that simplifies retrieval missions, and most have a water-shedding feature to protect their speakers. Other newer features include voice scramblers for making private calls, and scanning features that can monitor multiple channels for incoming RF waves.

Today’s flagship handhelds—Icom’s M94D and Standard Horizon’s HX890—have large backlit screens and intuitive user interfaces. Today’s budget-conscious radios also have easy-to-read displays and intuitive software, even if the tactile buttons have yet to be replaced by touchscreens.

As with all electronics, most handhelds now also employ compact, lightweight lithium-ion batteries that recharge quickly, sans memory issues.

And in terms of pricing, the difference in cost between high-end and entry-level offerings is minimal, especially compared with the electronics normally discussed in these pages. Case in point: Standard Horizon’s entry-level HX210 costs $100, while its top-of-the-line HX890 fetches $200. Icom’s M94D, at $350, is the outlier, but the added benefits of AIS can justify its costs.

Given the features of today’s handhelds relative to their affordability, there’s zero reason to cling to an old clunker. Size is a fair argument, especially for portable electronics, and the flagship handhelds from Standard Horizon and Icom are admittedly bigger (especially the M94D) than pared-down offerings. That said, most good foul-weather jackets have large pockets for a reason.

So, while I don’t plan to deep-six any member of my holy trinity anytime soon, a lifetime of sailing has demonstrated the value of my trusty handheld VHF radio, especially as that last bar of cellular connectivity vanishes.  

There’s an App for That

While today’s economies of scale (or lack thereof) discourage manufacturers from innovating touchscreen-driven handheld VHF radios, owners of Icom’s fixed-mount IC-M510 radio can turn their smartphone into a wireless CommandMic via Icom’s free RS-M500 app. It lets smartphones broadcast at 25 watts and leverage the yacht’s main VHF antenna too.

The post Safer Boating with Handheld VHF Radios appeared first on Yachting.

Call it a first-world problem, but rain can cause performance issues for some satellite-communication frequencies. This isn’t because onboard satcom equipment is faulty or inadequate—it’s not. Rather, certain bands of radio-frequency energy physically attenuate as they travel through precipitation-streaked time and space.

Fortunately, not all satcom frequencies suffer from rain-fade issues, and hardware—including Intellian’s recently unveiled FB500 terminal—already exists to help leverage this bandwidth.

Supporting Intellian’s hardware is Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband (FBB) service, which delivers a near-global (99.9 percent availability) rain-fade-free service by harnessing the lower-frequency L-band (1 to 2 GHz) range. The trade-off, however, is speed: FBB delivers speeds—up and down—that are measured in kilobits per second (Kbps), a comparatively pedestrian pace that’s fine for most applications but still a long row home from VSAT’s metrics.

While Inmarsat debuted FBB service in 2007, and while Intellian has manufactured FBB terminals since 2010, the fourth-generation FB500 antenna ($15,800) has the company’s latest hardware innovations and refinements. This includes Inmarsat’s latest L-band modem, plus the ability to connect to shore-based 4G/5G/LTE cellular networks to deliver lowest-cost routing for coastal cruising.

With regard to equipment, an FB500 consists of a radome-enclosed antenna (called an abovedeck unit, or ADU) that’s stabilized across three axes and that delivers unlimited azimuth rotation, a belowdecks unit (a black box that is typically rack-mounted), coaxial cabling and a power cable (either DC or, if AC is required, via Intellian’s AC/DC power supply adapter) that powers the BDU.

A network operator’s SIM card slots into the back of the BDU, which broadcasts its connectivity to networked devices via a built-in Wi-Fi antenna. The system has an embedded and software-based Private Automatic Branch Exchange, which supports multiple telephone lines, as well as a firewall. Owners (or the yacht’s network operator) can configure their system using Intellian’s Aptus LX terminal-management software. This management tool delivers the ability, for example, to whitelist and blacklist individual wireless devices from leveraging L-band connectivity; furthermore, once a device has been greenlighted, owners (or admins) can assign data and quality caps and permissions (such as the ability to place phone or video calls) to each individual device.

“This all helps ensure that owners have control over their airtime,” says Paul Comyns, Intellian’s director of sales and business development.

Yachts, after all, are never democracies.

An FB500 connects to Inmarsat’s constellation of I-4 satellites, and the terminals play nicely with Inmarsat’s next-generation I-6 satellites, as well as Inmarsat’s upgraded L-band service, ELERA, as they come online.

FB500s can be employed in several ways. Each FB500 can be leveraged as a stand-alone L-band terminal for lower-bandwidth communications at speeds of up to 432 Kbps. “For yachts that have room for one antenna and less demand for such bandwidth-intensive applications, L-band is ideal,” says Comyns, adding that the FB500 “enables users to have high-quality voice and video calls, internet access and file transfers.”

Caveat emptor: 432 Kbps may be fast enough for downloading email or weather GRIB files, but it’s not quick enough for streaming Netflix (read at least 5 Mbps of downlink speed). When faster speeds are required, and when there’s more abovedecks and belowdecks space to work with, an FB500 can be paired with an Intellian-built GXNX-series VSAT system and a belowdecks Intellian GX Mediator, the latter of which determines which network and antenna to leverage and when,  to create a dual-antenna Fleet Xpress installation. Depending on the size of the antennas and the airtime provider involved, Fleet Xpress can deliver downlink and uplink speeds of up to 16 Mbps and 4 Mbps. However, 2 Mbps and 512 Kbps are more realistic metrics when airtime costs are considered.

In this situation, the VSAT terminal delivers high-speed service for high-bandwidth applications, while the FB500 adds reliability and helps populate the connectivity map. “When it comes to larger yachts and superyachts, L-band is more commonly installed as a VSAT backup,” Comyns says. “Configured in this way, the GX [antenna] can reliably fail over to the L-band terminal when environmental conditions severely impact the GX [terminal’s] Ka-band data connection.”

Installation depending, Comyns says, the FB500 can sometimes also serve as a back door for off-site  technicians to investigate, and possibly fix, onboard VSAT issues.

The FB500’s third operational mode is that of a safety tool. Thanks to the proven reliability of L-band frequencies, an FB500 can also act as an emergency safety tether that connects a well-equipped yacht with one of Inmarsat’s global Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres and—thanks to Inmarsat’s distress-priority chat feature—to multiple nearby vessels.

While the FB500 builds on previous generations of hardware and software refinements, it also introduces cellular connectivity to the picture. “Intellian’s L-band BDUs have a [wireless area network] port that can be configured to connect via a different network connection than the default satellite link,” Comyns says. “For example, a [third-party] LTE/5G modem that can provide a more cost-effective connection when in range.”

As for its target audience, the FB500 is aimed at any yacht that can accommodate its size (28.85 by 31.38 inches), heft (65 pounds for the ADU) and belowdecks equipment, and any yacht owner who wants to access email, data and voice calls, globally and irrespective of the weather. Factor in the FB500’s ability to provide L-band connectivity for a Fleet Xpress installation, and its capabilities for emergency communications, and the FB500 is ready for off-piste waters.

So if you’re a yachtsman seeking a global, durable communications setup and don’t mind L-band’s pedestrian-like pace, or if you want Fleet Xpress’ speed, bandwidth and L-band coverage, Intellian’s FB500 could be worth close attention. First-world problems like rain fade, after all, don’t really matter with a weather-proof satcom system.

Little Brother (is listening)

If the FB500’s radome exceeds the aesthetic or physical sensibilities of a yacht’s skyline, a smaller-ride option is Intellian’s FB250 terminal for L-band connectivity. The FB250’s ADU measures 11.5 by 11.6 inches, and it weighs a mere 11.6 pounds. The trade-off? Pace: The FB250 moves data at speeds of up to 284 Kbps.

The post Intellian’s Global Communicator: The FB500 appeared first on Yachting.

It’s not every day that you see a ship hovering above the sea. Of course, it’s also not every day that you find yourself sailing from Ketchikan, Alaska, to Seattle under warm and sunny solstice skies—but there I was. And there was the gravity-defying ship.

Just as I began to question my watch-standing skills, Erden, my friend and shipmate, explained that fata morgana is an atmospherically triggered optical illusion that can make distant objects appear to hover. We checked the AIS, and our mirage was an actual ship plying actual brine.

Given that we had hundreds of miles to go, there was time aplenty to ponder whether AIS could also experience situational-awareness hiccups. The answer is yes, and the solution is already being developed. The VHF Data Exchange System (VDES), once operational, should make boating a better, safer and even more information-rich experience than it is today.

To understand why, we need to start with AIS. On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez found the bricks in Alaska’s Prince Williams Sound, triggering one of history’s worst environmental disasters. A year later, as part of the Oil Pollution Act, lawmakers tasked the U.S Coast Guard with creating a vessel-tracking system (VTS) for tankers operating in the U.S Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service in Alaska. The resulting system was based on VHF radio communications, as well as shore-based monitoring and polling systems.

This system evolved into what became global AIS. By 2000, the International Maritime Organization began mandating that most sea-bound ships carry Class A AIS transmitters for collision-avoidance purposes and as a VTS tool. These transmitters broadcast information—including the vessel’s name, position, course, speed, navigational status and unique MMSI number—on dedicated VHF channels 87B and 88B every two to 10 seconds, depending on vessel speed, while also listening for incoming AIS transmissions.

In 2006, the AIS standards committee released specifications for a Class B-CS AIS system, which is a “polite” system that’s interoperable with Class A AIS on a non-interference basis, for voluntary users. The Class B-CS employs the same two VHF channels, but it broadcasts every 30 seconds.

In 2013, Class B-SO transmitters arrived. These operate on the same self-organizing bandwidth scheme as Class A systems; however, they transmit every five to 30 seconds.

Overall, while there are many differences between Class A and Class B AIS transmitters, all AIS transmissions operate on just the two VHF channels: 87B and 88B. Given the amount of critical data that flows across these channels on crowded waters, bandwidth emerges as AIS’ limiting factor.

Enter VDES. The VHF Data Exchange System bundles existing technologies into one communications hub.

VDES is composed of four key components: AIS, VDE Satellite, VDE Terrestrial and ASM channels. Much like modern smartphones that seamlessly tackle roaming and multiple frequencies, an onboard VDES box (once the system is operational, circa 2025 to 2035) should be able to listen to 12 different frequencies. These include two frequencies for satellite-based long-range AIS, two frequencies for sending and receiving AIS-based messages, six channels for receiving terrestrial or satellite-based data, and six channels for transmitting satellite data.

“The goal with VDES is to move non-ship-to-ship traffic off AIS so that AIS is primarily for collision avoidance, and for other marine-safety information to migrate to the other VDES channels,” says Jorge Arroyo, a U.S Coast Guard program-and-management analyst. While all AIS devices will continue to work, unchanged, the overall system will be more efficient, robust and broader. “What I’m talking about today will hopefully be seamless in the future,” he adds.

While the ability to send updated navigational chart corrections or certain marine safety notifications via VDES offers a glimpse at the future, Arroyo envisions bigger dividends. “Real-time weather could be the killer app,” he says, adding that he hopes ships will share real-time weather information with other VDES users on the high seas via mesh networks that also share the information with satellites.

Dave Dunn, Garmin’s senior director of marine sales, says, “VDES is in the stratosphere, but it will trickle down.” And there’s less freeboard to this drop than one might think. In 2019, Vesper Marine, a New Zealand-based AIS company, unveiled its Cortex communications hub, which bundles AIS, cellular, digital-selective calling (DSC), VHF and Wi-Fi communications into a single hub. In early 2022, Garmin acquired Vesper Marine.

“As it stands, with no changes, we can receive and decode eight channels in parallel; we are currently using five, so there are three in reserve,” says Carl Omundsen, Garmin’s engineering manager of marine communications. “In 10 years, no one will know or care about AIS. It will just be cool functionality, along with VHF, DSC and VDES. It will just work.”

And VDES is a two-way communications system that should allow vessels, satellites and terrestrial-based shore stations to send and receive far more data than current AIS receivers and transmitters can deliver. “This will open up the killer apps,” Omundsen says. “It’s not just weather, search-and-rescue and for ships coming into ports; it’s also about data that’s on the ship.”

If this sounds like the kind of big data that’s currently transmitted via a sat-comms system, or if you’re pondering future autonomous vessels, you’re on the right tack.

Given that VDES will be employed on domestic and international waters, numerous international agencies are regulating the system. All parties seem to want the technology to thrive.

“The market will always drive the technology faster than we can on the regulatory side,” Arroyo says, adding that regulations provide the framework, while individual companies create the innovations.

All expectations are that, for instance, ships and commercial operators will have access to updated navigation and ice charts, while yachts plying the Northwest Passage or some other high-latitude waters will also get up-to-date cartography and ice alerts. Moreover, while traditional AIS is limited to line-of-sight communications (ballpark 5 to 20 nautical miles), VDES’s satellite antennas will extend this range a hundredfold. Factor in the coming ability to cloud-load systems data, and Arroyo’s vision for sharing real-time weather information, and it’s obvious that VDES will do much more than prevent collisions.

For yachtsmen thinking about upgrades: Garmin’s Cortex will eventually be able to support VDES, with an expected software update; and Saab and Kongsberg have pre-VDES upgradable systems available for commercial marine use.

Greener Pastures

Supporting two-way communications is among the strongest attributes of VDES and will be especially important as autonomous navigation systems and autonomous vessels come online. VDES information is expected to help human operators optimize marine traffic patterns, which should help lower ships’ emissions and fuel-consumption rates.

The post All-In-One Comms: the VHF Data Exchange System appeared first on Yachting.

The saying goes that necessity is the mother of invention. Robert Balog, KVH’s chief technology officer, experienced this firsthand a few years ago while cruising with his wife aboard their Viking Sport Cruiser 43. The couple was berthed in Nantucket, Massachusetts. While there were 20-plus Wi-Fi hotspots ashore, none offered serviceable bandwidth. The boat’s KVH-built LTE-1 provided cellular connectivity until the ferry arrived with data-starved tourists (think concerts). The couple could use their KVH-built satcom system, of course, but this was a more expensive option than shore-based cellular or Wi-Fi.

That’s when necessity met innovation as Balog pondered how a single radome could deliver next-generation connectivity.

After almost four years of hardware and network development, his idea is here. While these technologies aren’t new, KVH’s TracNet H-series terminals, which operate exclusively on KVH’s ONE hybrid network, are the first to bundle cellular, satcom and Wi-Fi antennas into one system.

In 2021, KVH unveiled its V30 satcom system, which operates on KVH’s HTS network and has ground-up architecture. This architecture is centered around an Ethernet-power-over-coaxial (EPOC) cable that shuttles data between the antenna and the system’s rack-mounted belowdecks unit (BDU) at a rate of 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps). To put this cable into perspective, V30 units transmit and receive data at up to 2 and 6 Mbps, respectively. That leaves a lot of untapped bandwidth.

Fast-forward a year, and KVH recently released its H30 ($20,000), H60 ($28,000) and H90 ($45,000) systems. The “H” stands for hybrid, referring to the ability to communicate via cellular, satcom or Wi-Fi. All three radomes have single-cable installation, allowing the stabilized satcom antenna to articulate freely inside the radome via a commercial-grade rotary joint that eliminates cable-wrap worries. All three send data to their BDU via a super-fast EPOC pipeline.

The single-channel H30 uses a 37-centimeter aluminum dish that’s stabilized across two axes. It can send and receive satcom data at up to 2 and 6 Mbps, respectively. The dual-channel H60 employs a 60 cm aluminum dish that’s stabilized across three axes. It sends and receives data via its high-speed connection at up to 3 and 10 Mbps, while its unlimited-use channel (read: crew and guests) delivers data at up to 3 and 8 Mbps. The H90 uses a 1-meter carbon-fiber dish that’s stabilized across three axes; it transmits and receives satcom data on its high-speed channel at up to 3 and 20 Mbps, while its unlimited-use channel delivers speeds up to 3 and 8 Mbps.

H60 and H90 customers seeking faster download speeds can select KVH’s Elite network, which yields speeds up to 25 Mbps (H60) and 40 Mbps (H90).

Additionally, all three systems bundle high-gain 5G/LTE and Wi-Fi antennas and radios in their radomes. This “modem in the dome” architecture is critical because cellular and Wi-Fi work on a line-of-sight basis, so having the antennas mounted up high enables better performance than systems with rail-mounted or belowdecks antennas. The radome-mounted cellular-communications equipment contains a built-in SIM card, and the BDU has an additional two SIM slots, one of which can be used by customers who want to purchase third-party cellular connectivity (say, for cruising the Bahamas). And Balog says the EPOC cable doesn’t suffer typical radio-frequency signal loss between the radome and the BDU.

All H-series systems run their cellular, satcom and Wi-Fi connections as discrete virtual local area networks (VLANs). “The [BDU] box has access to all three [VLANs], and the box decides which to use,” Balog says, adding that the BDUs employ a form of artificial intelligence to ensure lowest-cost data routing. “There’s a rules-based AI that’s looking at things like trends,” he says. The system attempts Wi-Fi connectivity first, then cellular, then satcom. “It ranks connectivity and calculates a score for each connection,” he says. “If it sees [this score] sliding, it will change connections.”

Each BDU includes a display with an intuitive graphical user interface that gives at-a-glance information about the system’s connectivity status.

H-series antennas operate exclusively on KVH’s ONE hybrid network. Satellite communications are handled by KVH’s proprietary network, while KVH partners with a global carrier for SIM cards and 5G/LTE airtime. Wi-Fi connectivity is provided locally and, like with smartphones, is typically free. Users pay a single monthly bill to KVH for their cellular and satellite communications.

Balog says it took KVH’s engineers three and a half years to create the H-series systems and ONE network. “Both were equally challenging,” he says. “We have equal-size teams working on both. It’s a mixture of hardware and software. There was nothing commercially available that could get it done, so we built all [the hardware] in-house.”

While KVH can’t optimize traffic over cellular and Wi-Fi networks the way it can with its own satcom network, Balog says the company still monitors third-party metrics, including packet loss, latency and jitter, to ensure a good user experience.

Cybersecurity is a growing concern, and KVH took big strides with the V30. This same thinking about building in protections went into the H-series antennas. “We incorporated state-of-the-art cybersecurity, from the lowest level of the bios all the way through the network security,” Balog says. “It’s so protected that even if a hacker had the box in hand, took it apart, and flashed code to change the antenna to get into the [KVH] network, it won’t run.” H-series cybersecurity includes encrypted system-level internal communications; interested owners can optionally build even taller cyber walls.

Balog says customers should see strong Wi-Fi performance with this setup, even on notoriously bad marina Wi-Fi networks. He cited a recent visit to Newport, Rhode Island, where he realized speeds of 60 to 70 Mbps using his H60 over a marina Wi-Fi network; the speed (or really, lack thereof) plummeted to less than 10 Mbps when he bypassed the H60 and just used his iPhone.

So, if you’re interested in bolstering your onboard communications and like the idea of an end-to-end satellite-communications network that’s piggybacked with cellular and Wi-Fi communications, KVH’s latest offerings are worth considering. The gains can be huge (pun intended), even if a ferry full of data-hungry tourists arrives just as you’re settling in for some après web surfing.

Rack-Mounted Cybersecurity

While KVH’s TracNet systems provide robust cybersecurity, yacht owners seeking enterprise-grade network security could consider adding a FortiNet firewall. This rack-mounted white box and attached subscription service ($250 per month) works with KVH’s hardware and network, and can, among other capabilities, determine whether an infected device is attempting to join a network.

The post Staying Connected with KVH’s TracNet and ONE Hybrid Network appeared first on Yachting.

Liveaboard life can be ideal, so long as zoom works. Mark and Julie Altman learned this lesson earlier this year while anchored aboard Unruly Julie, their 22-year-old Caliber 40 LRC, near Panama City Beach, Florida.

He was on a conference call with multiple people, while she was screen-sharing with a California-based colleague. They simultaneously ran their communications through their Digital Yacht 4GXtream, which uses cellular networks to deliver onboard internet. Paired with a $20-per-month AT&T SIM card, it gives them unlimited data and unthrottled speeds.

“It just works,” Mark Altman says of their kit, which includes an AIS transmitter and an antenna splitter. “We’ve made a few other mistakes, but Digital Yacht is one that we got right.”

Nick Heyes, an electrical engineer and marine-industry veteran, founded Digital Yacht in 2011 in Somerset, England. He caught what he terms a lucky break. The automatic identification system was just reaching recreational yachts, Apple’s iPad was brand-new, and Digital Yacht’s first product—the iAIS wireless AIS receiver—fused the two with perfect market timing. The flooding AIS tide allowed his company to innovate across a range of technologies and become an international exporter.

The business—built alongside chief technology officer Paul Sumpner, director of business development and marketing Nicolas Guerin, and head of hardware engineering Akos Keleman—quickly expanded its product portfolio. Marinized black-box PCs were first, followed by data gateways, navigation software, sensors, long-range cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity solutions, TV antennas, and recently, vessel-monitoring systems that use artificial intelligence.

Digital Yacht’s products have always been open-source and certified by the National Marine Electronics Association, which lets them play nicely with third-party apps, software and hardware. In some cases, the company’s alerts and devices can be displayed on, and controlled by, third-party multifunction displays.

While Digital Yacht sells a high-definition display, Heyes has long believed that consumer-grade tablets and smartphones can be wirelessly networked via data gateways with older onboard systems to create information-rich environments for a fraction of the cost of an electronics refit.

“People walk around with $1,000 computers in their pockets that have way more processing power, speed and [screen] quality than any marine product,” Heyes says. “We can convert old and legacy data to a format that people want. … I fundamentally believe the customer is the key driver of what we need to do.”

Digital Yacht often innovates based on conversations with customers. An example is the second SIM-card port the company added to the 4GXtream. “We have a ‘make, don’t debate’ approach,” Heyes says. “If we see an idea and we think it could be successful, we bring [it] to market with 80 percent of the features. We can add features later, but we’ve got to have confidence in its reliability.”

This is where Digital Yacht’s relatively small size is advantageous. It can develop a product in less than a year, Heyes says, using a range of microprocessor libraries, an NMEA 2000 stack and a 4G interface. It’s all “a bit like Lego,” he says, with additions being made to existing products, creating new applications.

It also helps to understand boats. Heyes is a lifelong sailor, Sumpner lives on an all-electric canal boat, and Digital Yacht maintains a dedicated test boat called Gigabyte. (Heyes jokes that the next ride will be called Terabyte.)

“Globally, we have 35 people, and we do $10 million a year in revenue,” he says. The company exports to 70 countries. “We’re small, but not tiny,” he says.

While Digital Yacht’s head count is a market differentiator, so too is its production strategy. The company manufactures 90 percent of its product in the UK and 10 percent in France. It’s considering expanding manufacturing to the United States. “Shipping and freight are super-expensive,” he says.

Looking ahead, Heyes envisions ever-evolving user interfaces and increased use of artificial intelligence. This past November, the company unveiled NavAlert, a monitoring system that uses artificial intelligence to scrutinize any parameter on a yacht’s N2K network, allowing for smart anchor-drift alarms and AIS-based collision alarms. Should a default or customer-dictated threshold trip, the system records the data and triggers onboard audio and visual alarms. Users can pair a NavAlert with a 4GXtream cellular modem, allowing NavAlert to transmit notifications autonomously.

NavChat is expected to arrive this year, converting NavAlert’s ones and zeros into nouns and verbs. NavChat “takes the NavAlert alarm and turns it into a spoken alarm,” Heyes says. It should allow boaters to set alarm parameters using a single MFD.

These days, whether it’s AIS or AI, Digital Yacht makes a product for almost every type of yacht, so long as it involves data and DC power. After all, you just might find yourself at anchor, collaborating with co-workers while your first mate screen-shares with a colleague a continent away—all for a fraction of the airtime cost of an at-home connection. The upshot is that liveaboard life can be ideal.

Royal Approval

In 2011, Digital Yacht collected a DAME Design Award for its iAIS wireless AIS system. This year, it earned a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the most prestigious award the monarchy bestows upon British businesses. 

The post Digital Yacht Products Make Liveaboard Life Easier appeared first on Yachting.

ACR Electronics has dropped the price on its Bivy Stick two-way satellite communication device. The Bivy Stick’s pricing is now $199.

“Bivy Stick is the lightest and most efficient way to send a message, share a location, get a weather report, or initiate an SOS while adventuring off-grid,” the company stated in a press release.

Bivy and ACR Electronics also revised pricing on their data plans. New users of the Bivy Stick can access the device’s features with a four-month required period of Plus or Unlimited plans starting at $29.99 per month. After four months, users can keep their current plan, change to a Basic plan or suspend the service.

Where does the Bivy Stick work? Anywhere that users can see the sky, because of 100 percent global satellite coverage, according to ACR Electronics.

Take the next step: go to acrartex.com

The post Price Drop on ACR’s Bivy Stick appeared first on Yachting.

Icom’s M510 is the first fixed-mount VHF radio from a mainstream manufacturer that gives users remote command and control over their radios from an Android or iOS mobile device.

Icom makes two M510 models: the standard IC-M510 and the IC-M510 AIS, which has a built-in AIS receiver. Both models play nicely with Icom’s RS-M500 app, giving users control of their VHF radios—including the ability to make VHF voice calls using the app’s push-to-talk function—via Wi-Fi frequencies that are transmitted over the vessel’s wireless local area network.

“The biggest challenge was designing a product in a COVID-pandemic world,” says Ray Novak, Icom’s senior sales manager. Working remotely was one challenge for Icom’s engineering team; another was supply-chain issues. The engineers thought they’d completed the design, but then there was a semiconductor and microprocessor shortage. Icom’s engineers solved this problem, Novak says, through “engineering efforts to use parts that are readily available.”

Users can control the M510 from anywhere on board using up to three paired smartphones. Additionally, they can make VHF calls at the helm via the M510’s speaker microphone, or from an optional CommandMic HM-195GB.  

The Vitals

Icom’s M510 is 6.9-by-4.3-by-2.1 inches, making it possible to install the fixed-mount radio in tight spaces.

The VHF radio uses a thin-film transistor and has a color LCD screen designed for sunlight readability and 180-degree viewing angles.

The Icom M510 broadcasts at 25 watts. It also supports four-digit channels, has active-noise cancellation, and is built to IP68 standards.

Take the next step: icomamerica.com

The post Icom Offers Remote Radio Control from Mobile Devices appeared first on Yachting.

Massachusetts Bay, August 2004: Huge square waves and stiff headwinds were reducing our boat’s velocity made good toward Canada’s Bras d’Or Lake to fewer than 2 knots. We reconsidered our plans and took shelter at a mooring off nearby Provincetown to wait for a better weather window, complicating an already-complex travel itinerary.

My dad’s J/44 was loaded with electronics, but we didn’t have a satellite phone or even iPhones—a lack of technology that made sorting out logistics tricky. We got it done, but not before wishing that a small, lightweight, affordable satellite-communications system was available for DC-powered boats.

In recent years, VSAT (very small aperture terminals) satellite-communications systems have gained popularity as their antennas have become smaller and less expensive to purchase and operate. KVH’s latest VSAT system, the TracPhone V30, is the same size and delivers similar speeds as its predecessor, the TracPhone V3-HTS, while operating on KVH’s mini-VSAT BroadbandSM network. However, the TracPhone V30 has new architecture and bolstered cybersecurity features, is priced at one-third less, and consumes DC power, allowing it to be fitted aboard smaller vessels.

The TracPhone V30 uses a 37-centimeter antenna dish that’s housed inside a radome measuring 15.5 inches wide by 17.6 inches high. It weighs 23.4 pounds. The antenna is stabilized across two axes, which allows the system to articulate its dish elevation from 7.7 degrees to 75 degrees while delivering unlimited azimuth rotation. Unlike KVH’s previous-generation VSAT systems, which have rack-mounted belowdecks modems, the TracPhone V30′s ($11,995) ruggedized modem is inside its radome, allowing KVH to spec a small belowdecks VSAT hub.

In terms of power needs, the TracPhone V30 uses 10 to 36 volts of DC power, allowing it to be fitted aboard center-consoles, sailboats, electric craft and vessels that don’t carry generators (AC-to-DC power converters are available). Power is sent to the TracPhone V30 across a single 50-foot Ethernet power-over-coaxial cable that also transports data.

“When we started the project, the number-one request was for DC power,” says Robert Balog, KVH’s chief technology officer.

TracPhone V30s send and receive data over Ku-band frequencies at speeds up to 6 megabits per second for downloads and 2 Mbps for uploads. This is an ample pace for making phone calls, running enterprise software, downloading GRIB weather files, web surfing, streaming high-definition content, or participating in Microsoft Teams or Zoom video calls.

Like all KVH VSAT systems, the TracPhone V30 operates exclusively on KVH’s mini-VSAT BroadbandSM network. While KVH customers can’t shop for cheaper airtime plans, they do get hardware and software engineered for the company’s global network, as well as tech support that can address hardware and network concerns.

“We offer two types of plans: metered and unlimited,” says Jim George, KVH’s director of satellite sales, adding that most customers opt for unlimited plans. “Metered plans cost 50 cents per megabyte and are for customers who use their boats on the weekends and want to stay connected.” As an example of usage, Teams meetings typically use about 1 megabyte per minute.

Alternatively, KVH offers six unlimited plans from $150 to $3,000 per month for 200 megabytes up to 10 gigabytes of data at (or near) the system’s top speeds.

“Once a customer hits their data limit, the system changes to slower speeds,” George says. Customers aren’t charged for additional data use, but their speeds are down-throttled once they cross their data thresholds. Customers can change their airtime plans any time and can winterize their plans during the off-season.

Irrespective of the airtime plan, KVH’s network-management toolsalso allow customers to control data usage. For example, networked wireless devices can be restricted from consuming background data, and customers can set data-usage alerts.

The TracPhone V30′s architecture, Balog says, is KVH’s antenna architecture for the next decade. “Satellite throughput on the V30 is 6/2 Mbps [downlink/uplink], but we’re running a 1,000 Mbps [EPOC] cable, so we’re ensuring all sorts of different things,” he says.

Down-the-road applications could include faster data-transfer speeds—should KVH upgrade its network—Internet of Things products, and transmitting networked NMEA 2000 data to third-party clouds for maintenance and performance monitoring. KVH already internally monitors its antennas’ data. “Every three seconds, the antenna [transmits] engineering data that tells us exactly how the antenna is performing,” Balog says. “We can look at coverage problems and, for example, show customers the mountains that are blocking their signal.”

This new architecture also means the system’s belowdecks VSAT hub can have a built-in Wi-Fi router, obviating the need for third-party devices to share connectivity with networked devices.

While future-proofing is a big reason that KVH created the TracPhone V30, so too is cybersecurity. “It’s absolutely jampacked with state-of-the-art cybersecurity,” Balog says.

In addition to architecture and cybersecurity, the TracPhone V30′s one-cable design is intended to simplify installation. It uses the same bolt pattern for the radome as older 37-centimeter KVH systems, Balog says. While TracPhone V30s ship with 50 feet of EPOC cable that’s terminated at both ends, customers can buy a KVH cable-adapter kit and reuse existing cable, say, from an old Inmarsat FleetBroadBand terminal.

As with all small VSAT systems, the TracPhone V30 may leave users encountering bandwidth issues if multiple people are streaming simultaneously or running video calls. “The V30 is perfect for email,” George says, adding that owners wanting to stream lots of content should consider a bigger antenna.

So, for those shopping for a small, DC-powered primary VSAT system—or a backup antenna for a bigger yacht—and who want the ease of bespoke hardware created for an end-to-end network, KVH’s TracPhone V30 can help take business and life interests aboard.

The post KVH’s Next-Gen VSAT System appeared first on Yachting.