I am in the process of finishing up a feature on NMEA 2000 and 0182 protocols which will be published soon and as part of that I have some new marine electronics on long term loan which I am linking together to show how a network is set up. I don't want to go into great detail here and you'll have to wait or the full story later but one of the major components in any on board system is the MFD (multi function display). Often called the chart plotter by many folks including me because not so many years ago that is they did was to display a chart they have since morphed into a truly do anything display that can display data from multiple sources and that is where the net work comes in. In the old days of NMEA 0183 there were what is known as 'talkers' and 'listeners' where essentially something like a depth transducer was a talker and the instrument at the helm was the listener – data was only sent in one direction. That changed with NMEA 2000 and now we have a situation where data can be transferred at much faster rates and in addition is bidirectional meaning things can be both talkers and listeners.
So back to the multi function display which is the heart of the system. At the risk of over simplifying things it helps to think of this as the brains of the network in much the same way as your computer is the hub of things on your desk to which other stuff is connected, scanner, printer, internet etc etc. Anyway the main thing that we want an MFD to do is to tell us where we are and where we are going so the main function is still as a chart plotter but then as we add other things to the network it can display such things as depth, radar, engine data and even control the stereo system aboard.
Announced at METS at the end of last year the Simrad NSS evo2 comes in a range of sizes 7,9,12 and 16 inches and as you might have guessed the evo2 moniker means that this is the second iteration of the NSS series of MFD's. Now you may be wondering why I am mentioning these almost a year after they were first introduced. Well the models at last years METS were early examples and deliveries to the press and retail markets did not start in earnest until a good way through this current year. I am not sure if that was a good or bad thing but I do know that folks like me who saw those early pre production models couldn't wait to get their hands on one for themselves. Simrad sent me a 16 inch and so far I am beyond impressed, the screen is super clear has a fast refresh rate thanks to a quick processor and the display is customizable to suit individual tastes. On the two smaller models the screen can be split in two for say a radar on one half and a chart on the other but on the larger 12 and 16 models there is the option of splitting the screen into 3 or 4 due to the extra real estate available. The displays use what they call 'touch sensible' which is very similar to the Raymarine Hybrid touch interface in that you can navigate around all the functions, access the menus etc using either the knob at the upper right of the display or the touch screen. I have found that the touch screen works well when at the dock or in calm conditions but when the wind and seas pipe up the knob is the better choice. One other thing that I like is that the the NSS has a glass bridge look. Although the displays can be trunnion mounted they look so much better when mounted flush into the boat dash and with only an 8mm protrusion just look so damn cool.
The 12 inch version which is likely to be the most popular model almost won the BWI technology award at this years recent NMEA conference at which I was head judge but was pipped at the post by a new camera from FLIR.
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