Furuno Marine GPS System User Manual

F uruno's new NavNet
3D system sets the
new standard for inte-
grated marine electronic
navigation systems. The
NavNet 3D chartplotter
and radar provide a level of
capability and performance
that is superior to any pre-
Furuno's new
vious Furuno system and is
a challenge to the systems
NavNet 3D
offered by other manufac-
turers. Available with inte-
system leads
grated 8.4-inch or 12.1-
the way with
inch diagonal color LCD
screens or as a black box
top imagery
system that can support up
to 10 multifunction dis-
and features
plays, NavNet 3D will ful-
fill the electronic naviga-
tion needs of virtually any
size vessel, providing infor-
mation from system sen-
sors including WAAS,
GPS, AIS, radar, sonar,
Sirius Marine Weather,
Weatherfax, weather sta-
tion, sailing instruments,
engine instruments and IP
video cameras. The system
also interfaces with the
autopilot, a new GPS com-
pass system and the audio
program from the Sirius
Satellite receiver.
The display screen and
the controls for the most
often used functions, the
chartplotter and radar, are
the heart of any multifunc-
tion electronic navigation
system. The NavNet 3D
system is available in three
formats: integrated dis-
52
Impressive
multifunction
integration
By Chuck Husick
play/processor units with provide two SD cards on
8.4-inch diagonal, VGA their front panels.
(640 x 480 pixel) color SD card slots are also
LCD screen; a 12.1-inch provided on the Ethernet-
SVGA (800 x 600 pixel) connected control module
display; and a black box for the black box system,
version that is compatible eliminating the need to
with virtually any multi- access to the remote central
sync display. The black box processor unit when
system will support up to switching cards.
1280 x 1024 pixel, SXGA A chartplotter can be no
resolution. The LCD dis- better than its charts. The
play units can be flush or NavNet 3D system is
trunnion mounted and delivered with a complete
www.oceannavigator.com
U.S. coverage far exceed the sys-
Left, the
tem's memory capacity, the pic-
NavNet 3D
ture files for a defined planned
units use track-
navigation area, for example the
pads and a
coastline from northern New
rotary knob
Jersey to Cape Cod, are down-
called a
loaded and transferred to the
RotoKey to
internal memory. MapMedia,
select and con-
S57-based charts for foreign
tol display ele-
waters not covered by NOAA,
ments. Lower
are downloaded in similar fash-
right, Furuno
ion, however there will likely be
revamped both
a charge for the data since virtu-
the NavNet
ally all countries except the U.S.
software and
copyright and charge for their
its display hard-
charts.
ware. The result
The chart images are created
is a tight inte-
from the NOAA and other offi-
grated system.
cial cartography using GIS (geo-
graphic information system)
set of MapMedia's NOAA raster, technology. Information in GIS
vector and bathymetric charts form can be displayed at virtual-
for the U.S. (including Alaska ly any desired scale, with the
and Hawaii) stored in its inter- amount of detail information
nal memory. Charts can be continuously matched to the
updated at any time by down- resolution of the display system.
loading the latest versions from In the NavNet 3D system the
the Furuno website maximum range setting will dis-
(www.NavNet.com) onto an SD play the entire NOAA hemi-
card for transfer to the plotter's sphere chart. When zoomed all
internal memory. Satellite image the way in the chart will be seen
files appropriate for the planned at a scale of 1/8th nm.
navigation area are also obtained
Seamless zooming
from the Furuno Web site. Since
the satellite photo files for total
www.oceannavigator.com
Furuno's TimeZero technology,
a combination of software, a
high-speed processor and a pow-
erful graphics engine makes the
image flow smoothly, without
interruption and without the
need for screen re-draw. The
scrolling pad makes it easy to
move from the vessel's present
position to anywhere in charted
U.S. and Bahamian waters and
zoom in to examine the smallest
detail. Regardless of the distance
to the location you have chosen
to examine, even thousands of
miles from your actual location,
a short stroke of the ship/3D
key in the center of the scrolling
pad will instantly restore the
normal vessel-centered chart
view. A long stroke of the com-
bination ship/3D key in the
center of the scrolling pad tog-
gles the display between 3D to
2D. In 3D display mode the
combination of the range key
and scrolling pad provides com-
plete display perspective free-
dom similar to the image man-
agement found in Google Earth.
In addition to the display of
nautical charts, tide and current
information, the NavNet 3D
system's Satellite Photo Fusion
technology integrates satellite
images of terrain and shallow
water areas with both raster and
vector charts. The satellite pho-
tos are precisely geo-referenced
to the chart in use. The photo
image is presented so that all
land areas are completely
opaque to provide maximum
detail (photo image resolution is
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 53