The Bench

As many of you may have noticed, most laptops (and even desktops!) don’t come with a DB9 connector for RS-232 serial anymore. That’s a problem, since so many pieces of electronic equipment use RS-232 as means of communicating with a computer. USB has pretty much supplanted RS-232 in the PC world, but I doubt it will ever do so in the industrial and wider electronic world due to several design considerations (I’ll leave that discussion for another day).

So how do you get RS-232 data into a computer that doesn’t have an RS-232 port? Currently, the simplest way is to use a USB to RS-232 adapter. These are widely available, but you’ve got to be sure to get a quality adapter for use on a boat. Don’t just pick up any old adapter from Radio Shack and expect it to work - my experience is that they don’t! I’ve assembled a list of adapters that have worked well for me in the past:

Edgeport For several years, Edgeport was the only way to go. Their apaters are mounted in robust housings, the electronics never seem to fail, and the software and drivers provided with the units are excellent. Other companies have caught on to the idea that a USB to RS-232 adapter needs to be well-made, but I’d say that Edgeport is still the best for multi-port adapters.

Sea Level Systems Although tailored towards the industrial end of the market, Sea Level Systems makes an excellent product. I have seen their products used extensively on board some very high-end yachts with stellar results. It’s not as common to find their products on your typical racing boat, but I see no reason not to consider them.

Keyspan If you only need one USB to RS-232 adapter, you can’t beat the USA-19HS for price. It’s the one I use myself. You can usually find these online for a bit less than the list price.

ShipModul The products from ShipModul require a little more effort to install (they use bare wires), but are capable of some pretty neat stuff. They can filter out unwanted data based on port source and destination, and some have Bluetooth connectivity.

Regadless of the type used, you should try to get the software driver for the adapter to always assign the same COM port number to the adapter. This way, you don’t have to reassign the connections each time you use the adapter.

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Every been stuck out at the boat trying to figure out what what’s gone wrong with your instrument system? Or looking for the phone number for your local dealer? Or forget what the command was to set the mast height in your instrument system? We have a mobile web page that gives you quick access to that information. It’s light on graphics to make load times fast when using a mobile browser, such as you might find on a cell phone with web access.

The troubleshooting section even makes it easy to figure out what’s wrong. It guides you through the appropriate questions, and links to the actions you should take to resolve the problem!

For those gear heads out there with a properly equipped cell phone, here is the Datamatrix and QR Code for the mobile web page link:

Datamatrix:

QR Code:

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Key West Race Week 2008 is rapidly approaching. Unfortunately, I will not be in attendance, but Alan McGlashan (our new VP of Sales), and several dealers will be there. Paul Roell and Jeff Udell will be available to assist boats encountering problems with electronics in Key West; their contact details can be found on our dealers page in the main web site. We will be here as always to assist with technical advice, quick-turn repairs, and loaner units to replace broken items.

Here’s some tips to get the most out of your instruments during a race:

• During the pre-start, you can set the stopwatch to run when the previous class starts. Just add five minutes for each class before you. This way, the stopwatch is running when it’s your start, so if there’s a slight panic on your boat when the gun goes off, you don’t miss the RC signal. The reset function of the stopwatch will synchronize the stopwatch to the nearest minute when it’s running so you can match up with the race commitee if you’re off by a few seconds.
• When going upwind, it’s pretty useful for the helmsman to have Apparent Wind Angle and Boatspeed visible. Other functions are useful to the tactician/navigator, but the helmsman should use apparent wind to get the boat in the groove (since that’s what drives sail lift), and boatspeed to see how each course adjustment affects the overall speed. Polar data is also useful, but those that concentrate on polars exclusively tend to burn themselves on VMG to the mark. See the Ockam U manual for the full discussion of VMG sailing.
• When going downwind, watching boatspeed is (of course) essential. True Wind Angle is more important than Apparent Wind Angle to watch downwind, as it gives a clearer picture of the boat’s relationship to the wind. I find that a peek at Wind Direction (geo-referenced true wind) is handy at least 10 boat lengths before the mark rounding so you can plan your exit angle and set up gear accordingly. It also gives you a chance to see if there’s been a persistent wind shift since the last rounding. Nothing stinks worse than getting stuck on the wrong side of the course because you didn’t bother to check what the wind’s doing!
• Let the helmsman set what he (or she) needs on the mast displays. It’s hard for the helmsman to successfully steer and look down at a display, so letting him have priority on determining the mast display data is key. Everyone else can spare the time and attention to look down at a display to get the data they need.
• The helmsman shouldn’t be the one worrying about what the instruments are doing. If there’s a problem, assign someone else to handle it! There’s nothing worse than a distracted helmsman trying to tell someone what to do - the boat goes all over the place, and that’s not fast!

There’s plenty more I can say, but most of it is covered in the Ockam U Manual, which explains it far better than I could here. To those of you going to Key West: Good Luck!

Dan

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