Navigation & Communication.

Navigational instruments refer to the instruments used by nautical navigators as tools of their trade. The purpose of navigation is to ascertain the present position and to determine the speed, direction etc. to arrive at the port or point of destination. Nautical equipment mainly includes the following.

VHF-Radio System

Marine VHF radio is a worldwide system of two-way radio transceivers on ships and watercraft used for bidirectional voice communication from ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore, and in certain circumstances, ship-to-aircraft. It uses FM channels in the very high frequency (VHF) radio band in the frequency range between 156 and 174 MHz. In the official language of the International Telecommunication Union, the band is called the VHF maritime mobile band.

Gyrocompass with Auto Pilot

A gyrocompass is a form of gyroscope widely used on ships. It uses an electrically powered, fast-spinning gyroscope wheel, together with frictional forces, gravity and the Earth’s rotation, to find true north.

GPS Navigator

GPS has many uses for recreational and angling boaters. Modern GPS technology has the ability to network with radar, sonar, trolling motor, and autopilot systems. GPS navigators are available with or without a chart plotter.

Marine Radar

Marine radars are X band or S band radars on ships, used to detect other ships and land obstacles, to provide bearing and distance for collision avoidance and navigation at sea. This provides a combined view of surroundings to maneuver the ship.

Navigational Echo Sounder

Echo sounder is an instrumentation system for indirectly determining ocean floor depth. Echo sounding is based on the principle that water is an excellent medium for the transmission of sound waves and that a sound pulse will bounce off a reflecting layer, returning to its source as an echo.

Sonar

Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect objects on or under the surface of the water, such as other vessels.

Sub-Bottom Profiler

Sub-bottom Profilers are a special kind of single beam echosounders, that operate at very low frequencies, allowing them to penetrate and scan the upper layers of the subseafloor.

HF SSB

The Marine MF/HF-SSB radio is a combined transmitter and receiver much like VHF. Unlike VHF which is typically a line of sight radio, MF/HF radios are able to refract their signals within the atmosphere providing increased range.

Control & Monitoring Equipment

Marine automation systems provide a ship with one central way to control and monitor its equipment and operations. This system requires data acquisition from multiple pieces of equipment on a ship and the integration of that data into the automation system. Doing this effectively can save costs, energy and materials.