sailing alarms for traffic & weather....
 

are there systems on the market, that would allow crusing sailors to
hear
a alarm for approaching squalls, heavy weather, and traffic...say
within a
5 mile radius of the sailboat?

thanx


richard

sailing alarms for traffic & weather....
 

On Tue, 8 Jul 2008 14:29:36 -0700 (PDT), "~^ beancounter ~^"
wrote:

are there systems on the market, that would allow crusing sailors to
hear
a alarm for approaching squalls, heavy weather, and traffic...say
within a
5 mile radius of the sailboat?

================================

They all show up very well on radar.

sailing alarms for traffic & weather....
 

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 8 Jul 2008 14:29:36 -0700 (PDT), "~^ beancounter ~^"
wrote:

are there systems on the market, that would allow crusing sailors to
hear
a alarm for approaching squalls, heavy weather, and traffic...say
within a
5 mile radius of the sailboat?

================================

They all show up very well on radar.

To answer your question, No, they are no foolproof system available.
However, you may start by programming your VHF for weather alert.
Next, you may want to subscribe to a satellite weather receiving station for
about $20.00 + per month plus the cost of the receiving equipment and
installation.
As for the traffic, first start to get your boat registered for an MMSI
number see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritim...rvice_Identity and
get an VHF with a DSC (Digital Selective Calling) see
http://www.searoom.com/dsc_info.html
Then you should have a radar integrated to the new generation plotter. This
way you can set an Intrusion alarm to a range you want. The AIS see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat...ication_System is on most
recent electronic gears and very handy to have.
As for collision avoidance I like to use MARPA (Mini Automatic Radar
PLOTTING AID) see http://www.raymarine.com/default.asp...=371&Section=2
Not to mention that I always make my presence known to the Maritime Traffic
Control of the area I am in.
This way they know where I am and see my MMSI data on their radar monitors.
There is a lot more to it. The best thing is if the weather forecast is not
too good or there is a weather alert before I leave with my boat I stay in
port and wait for better conditions. This may not be always true, one time
a storm (tail end of Felix) turned back on me after waiting for and
receiving "all cleared" from the weather forecast and confirmation that the
storm was over.

sailing alarms for traffic & weather....
 

cool...thanx everyone for the tips....

sailing alarms for traffic & weather....
 

Digital barometers have a function where when they detect a noticeable
decrease in pressure in a short time, and set off an alarm to warn of
impending high winds. It is an attempt to detect an oncoming low
pressure system. I had one, and the alarm went off fairly frequently,
but it is not a very reliable system. I never had it inform me of
something I didn’t already know. The RADAR alarm, even on an
inexpensive system, seems to work very well. I never saw a large
squall or a ship that the RADAR didn’t see first.

sailing alarms for traffic & weather....
 

" The RADAR alarm, even on an
inexpensive system, seems to work very well. I never saw a large
squall or a ship that the RADAR didn’t see first."

interesting...what type of set up and systems did you use? i am
concerned for off shore and ocean crossing situations.....200+
n miles off shore and more....the radar will act as a backup system,
of course primary systems are watches 24/7.......

thanx















On Jul 12, 5:56*pm, John wrote:
Digital barometers have a function where when they detect a noticeable
decrease in pressure in a short time, and set off an alarm to warn of
impending high winds. It is an attempt to detect an oncoming low
pressure system. I had one, and the alarm went off fairly frequently,
but it is not a very reliable system. I never had it inform me of
something I didn’t already know. The RADAR alarm, even on an
inexpensive system, seems to work very well. I never saw a large
squall or a ship that the RADAR didn’t see first.

sailing alarms for traffic & weather....
 

On Jul 13, 9:34*am, "~^ beancounter ~^" wrote:
" The RADAR alarm, even on an
inexpensive system, seems to work very well. I never saw a large
squall or a ship that the RADAR didn’t see first."

interesting...what type of set up and systems did you use? i am
concerned for off shore and ocean crossing situations.....200+
n miles off shore and more....the radar will act as a backup system,
of course primary systems are watches 24/7.......

RADAR is great but nowhere near perfect. For instance, just a couple
hundred miles off the CA coast while in patchy fog we had a box ship
slip through both a 12 mile and a 2 mile radar alarm. It finally set
the alarm off at about 1.5 miles moments after we had spotted it
visually. I'm not sure what was up with that one but it may have been
the speed of closure (they were going 22 ish and we 10ish on more or
less reciprocals) and there was a fair bit of sea clutter... Also,
typical marine radar can't pick up dry or mostly dry squalls and these
are plentiful in some places. IME, radar is best near shore or in
calmish conditions, off shore even big boats will occasionally hide
behind the waves... I am planning on adding AIS to help with spotting
the big boats.

-- Tom.

sailing alarms for traffic & weather....
 

" I am planning on adding AIS "

whats AIS? it that the service you register with and watch
traffic on a web site?









On Jul 13, 11:27*am, " wrote:
On Jul 13, 9:34*am, "~^ beancounter ~^" wrote:

" The RADAR alarm, even on an
inexpensive system, seems to work very well. I never saw a large
squall or a ship that the RADAR didn’t see first."

interesting...what type of set up and systems did you use? i am
concerned for off shore and ocean crossing situations.....200+
n miles off shore and more....the radar will act as a backup system,
of course primary systems are watches 24/7.......

RADAR is great but nowhere near perfect. *For instance, just a couple
hundred miles off the CA coast while in patchy fog we had a box ship
slip through both a 12 mile and a 2 mile radar alarm. *It finally set
the alarm off at about 1.5 miles moments after we had spotted it
visually. *I'm not sure what was up with that one but it may have been
the speed of closure (they were going 22 ish and we 10ish on more or
less reciprocals) and there was a fair bit of sea clutter... *Also,
typical marine radar can't pick up dry or mostly dry squalls and these
are plentiful in some places. *IME, radar is best near shore or in
calmish conditions, off shore even big boats will occasionally hide
behind the waves... *I am planning on adding AIS to help with spotting
the big boats.

-- Tom.

sailing alarms for traffic & weather....
 

On Jul 13, 2:15 pm, "~^ beancounter ~^" wrote:
" I am planning on adding AIS "

whats AIS? it that the service you register with and watch
traffic on a web site? ...

Well you may be able to see AIS on a web site, but it is a digital
networking system deployed over VHF radio used by vessels to transmit
their identification and navigational particulars and to receive the
IDs and particulars of other vessels, virtual nav aids and
navigational warnings. A voluntarily equipped vessel may deploy a
transceiver in either "A" or "B" types (though "B" is not yet legal in
the USA) or may choose a receive only unit. A receiving station
should be able to "see" all transmitting vessels within VHF range.
While the system is dependent on the quality of the transmitted data,
when it works it should be much better than even the best stabilized
ARPA radar for collision avoidance.

-- Tom.

sailing alarms for traffic & weather....
 

so, its in development?







On Jul 13, 4:12*pm, " wrote:
On Jul 13, 2:15 pm, "~^ beancounter ~^" wrote:

*" I am planning on adding AIS *"

whats AIS? it that the service you register with and watch
traffic on a web site? ...

Well you may be able to see AIS on a web site, but it is a digital
networking system deployed over VHF radio used by vessels to transmit
their identification and navigational particulars and to receive the
IDs and particulars of other vessels, virtual nav aids and
navigational warnings. *A voluntarily equipped vessel may deploy a
transceiver in either "A" or "B" types (though "B" is not yet legal in
the USA) or may choose a receive only unit. *A receiving station
should be able to "see" all transmitting vessels within VHF range.
While the system is dependent on the quality of the transmitted data,
when it works it should be much better than even the best stabilized
ARPA radar for collision avoidance.

-- Tom.