Once upon a time, one of the most tedious things we boaters and fishermen attempted was to figure out exactly where we were on a lake map or chart. Few freshwater fishermen bothered to mount a compass on their boat and just used shoreline sightings and depth soundings to figure out where they were.[…]
Whoever said that familiarity breeds contempt was not talking about their marine electronics. The plain and simple truth is that the better you know your electronics, the more they can do for you.[…]
Underwater video cameras have been around for decades without gaining the popularity they deserve. They have always delivered decent picture detail, but the older cathode ray tube (CRT) screens used by earlier models suffered visibility problems from glare and grayed out in bright sunlight.[…]
It is midnight at the marina where your boat is moored, and water is slowly rising in its bilge. The float switch turns on your automatic bilge pump, but it can’t stay ahead of the leak and the water level creeps upward.[…]
Fishing and boating tend to slow down during the winter months, but letting your battery maintenance slow down can be expensive.[…]
Keeping up with developments in sonar, radar and GPS over the last few decades hasn’t been easy, and the evolution of marine electronics seems to be speeding up.[…]
Sonar’s job is to show us the depth, composition and shape of the bottom below our boats and reveal suspended objects like fish. The basic principles governing how sonar works don’t change, but manufacturers keep developing neat, new ways to manipulate them that make units easier to operate and bring picture-like displays to screens that even new users can understand at a glance.[…]
There is a list of risks I won’t take with my electronics, and it starts with leaving them installed while trailering to and from the launching ramp.[…]
Operation Waypoint is a not-for-profit organization that turns donations into free handheld GPS units equipped with Middle Eastern mapping chips for deploying soldiers.[…]
Here’s a hassle-free substitute for that kill-switch lanyard you stopped wearing because it was always in the way.[…]
Industry experts say that excessive sulfation can stop batteries from working long before their internal components wear out.
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The secret to eliminating 90 percent of electronics problems is getting the installation right.[…]
The button under the plastic safety cover on the front of your VHF radio can help save your life, or it can do nothing at all — it’s up to you.[…]
Two common misconceptions can have you wondering where your trolling motor’s battery power went.[…]
A few issues back, we looked at emergency locator beacons that use the international search and rescue satellite system, and I mentioned that there is another choice, the SPOT satellite GPS messenger.[…]
About the time my report on Lowrance’s new down-scan imaging (DSI) units reached these pages, Humminbird announced a new series of down-scanning units with both its Down Imaging and traditional sonar technology built in.[…]