Understanding Boat Electronics

by John C. Payne

Overview

From John C. Payne, one of the foremost international authorities on marine electrical systems and electronics, comes a new series of easy to understand yet thorough treatments of technical issues facing every boat owner, whether sail or power. Each volume is concise, compact, and fully illustrated.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781574092288
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/01/2006
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

John C. Payne is a cruising sailor and professional marine electrical engineer and surveyor with a 28-year career in merchant shipping and the offshore oil industry. His unique combination of technical know-how and practical experience at sea has made him a much sought-after authority.

Editorial Reviews

John C. Payne, a sailor and professional marine electrical engineer, has combined his knowledge of marine electrical systems and electronics into two books: Understanding Boat Electronics and Understanding Boat Communications.

The first guide, covering electronics on your boat, is sectioned into nine topics from position-fixing systems (GPS, LORAN) to entertainment systems. For example, Payne looks at repeatable vs. predictable accuracy and selective availability before going into more detail about GPS, addressing such issues as, "how accurate is GPS? What causes GPS errors? And "how to troubleshoot your GPS."

"The reliability and accuracy of your GPS system depends on a proper installation," Payne writes, advising the reader to check the aerial installation, cabling, connectors, and power supply to ensure that the navigation source can properly function.

The second guide covers communications and is sectioned into ten topics, including GMDSS Communications, echosounders, sonar, and WeatherFax. Other topics discussed in this volume include: selecting the best frequency preferences, which details characteristics of the best ocean frequencies with two charts illustrating the SSB optimum transmission times depending on the time of day. Payne also lists both national and international radio and weather frequencies.

Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal

The stuff we put on boats today is a lot more complicated than the clock and sextant that was used in the last century. GPS, Loran, electronic charting and even sonar and autopilots are now an everyday item. Feel like you are in the Stone Age when you look at these items? Then you need this handy guide to just what it is these goodies do for you, before you buy them!

Latitudes & Attitudes

John C. Payne, a sailor and professional marine electrical engineer, has combined his knowledge of marine electrical systems and electronics into two books: Understanding Boat Electronics and Understanding Boat Communications.

The first guide, covering electronics on your boat, is sectioned into nine topics from position-fixing systems (GPS, LORAN) to entertainment systems. For example, Payne looks at repeatable vs. predictable accuracy and selective availability before going into more detail about GPS, addressing such issues as, "how accurate is GPS? What causes GPS errors? And "how to troubleshoot your GPS."

"The reliability and accuracy of your GPS system depends on a proper installation," Payne writes, advising the reader to check the aerial installation, cabling, connectors, and power supply to ensure that the navigation source can properly function.

The second guide covers communications and is sectioned into ten topics, including GMDSS Communications, echosounders, sonar, and WeatherFax. Other topics discussed in this volume include: selecting the best frequency preferences, which details characteristics of the best ocean frequencies with two charts illustrating the SSB optimum transmission times depending on the time of day. Payne also lists both national and international radio and weather frequencies.

Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal