1
- IBM Desktop PC
There are many Marine Desktop and Laptop
machines on the market, and whilst they are
almost bullet proof, they come at a price.
The IBM Think Centre has proven reliability in
the workplace and is compact, but also has the
required USB ports and PCI slots for our needs.
The PC used is actually a re-conditioned office
PC, purchased complete with XP Professional for
£100 - E-Bay. When you think how many of
these you could buy for the cost of Marine PC
then there was only one option.
The machine
has already been put through its paces in
moderate sea conditions and freezing
temperatures. We also have laptops
available in case of failure of equipment or
loss of power.
Power is from a 240 volt
AC UPS unit. The unit maintains power
while switching between shore power, generator
and a 300W Inverter. |
2
- 15" Touchscreen TFT Monitor
Makes life so much easier
not having to worry about a mouse or keyboard.
|
3
- 14" TFT Monitors
An additional Matrox G200
video card provides the capability to support 5
display devices, with an extended desktop
all applications running are easily visible. |
4
- USB 3G/GPRS Modem
Primarily used for the
bespoke Live Data software to upload data to the
internet, but also extremely useful for weather
forecasts, tides, email, software updates etc. |
|
5
- USB Wireles Camera Router (+ 3 cameras)
Useful all weather, night vision cameras.
We have one permanently located in the engine
room and others can be located around the boat
when required. View astern from the helm
is limited when the cockpit cover is on and the
RIB is on the davits, so the cameras are an aid
to visibility. |
6
- 4 Port Hub
Ethernet connections for Wireless Camera Router
and Wireless Access Point. |
7 - Wireless Access Point
Remote desktop / internet connection router for Laptops. |
8
- USB Wireless Keyboard &
Mouse
Nice and easy stowage, no hazards. |
9
- USB GPS
Receivers
Marine grade all weather NMEA GPS
receiver (with USB adapter) located on the fly
bridge plus a secondary/backup Microsoft USB NMEA GPS receiver
located at the helm. |
10 - USB Video Capture
Device
Audio/video capture device to connect the wired Web Cam
located on the radar mast. |
11 - Wired Web Cam
This
camera is one of the wireless cameras, but to ensure no
interference affects the image captured this uses a USB cable to transfer audio, video and power
to/from the camera. |
12 -
USB Wireless Weather
Station
This
is a clever bit of kit! The wireless weather
station is located next to the PC. There are
wireless wind, rain and temperature sensors located on
the fly bridge which send data to the main unit.
The unit is powered by either batteries or mains and
stores all data received. The unit is connected
via USB to the PC and a software package synchronizes
the data. The data is stored in a database file
which the Live Data application interrogates to create a
file for the internet. The application provides
information on all aspects of the weather -
enough to be a weather forecaster? ... Maybe! |
