"engsol" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 9 Mar 2005 11:59:17 +1300, "Wout B"
wrote:


"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
news:zJ6Xd.54333$SF.21876@lakeread08...
Almost all GPSs have anchor watch alarms and radars have range alarms
but
they all put out a whimpy little beep. Is there a device that monitors
the
NMEA data streams (from say a multiplexer) and make a noise that will
get
your attention when it sees an alarm or MOB statement??

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or
lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com


Hi,
Talking about "decent" multiplexers, all our NMEA multiplexers have
"automatic GPS back-up switching" (plus many other NMEA sentence
management
features). Read about it he
http://brookhouseonline.com/gps_backup_switching.htm . I have been
playing with the idea to add a buzzer to warn the user when it switches
to
the backup GPS. As the "no GPS data" detection is already present, this
is
very simple to do. If there is sufficient interest, we'll include it as a
standard feature. If you want it NOW, we'll add a buzzer to the present
model for a small charge if you decide to buy one.
Wout




I think there's an important point being missed here, IMHO.
So far we have over-temp alarms, high water in the bilge alarms,
NEMA-driven device alerts, CO alarms, smoke alarms, low
oil pressure, and you can add to the list.

What's really needed is a thing called an announciator (sp) panel,
That's a 'thing' that tells you instantly what the alarm is, usually with
a big display (1 inch by 4 inch), and an audible 'sounder'.

Agree? Disagree?

Norm B

Sounds like a good idea, I'm sure it would be well received.
Wout