AV/IT and 4G System Upgrade
Install Brief:
The Captain of M/Y Columbus approached us to update the onboard Computer systems, AV and IT onboard. This included:
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New Navigation PC’s and software to integrate with the existing radar and sounder components
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RTI entertainment system with Apple TV, AV over IP and iPad control
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Celerway modem and Poynting antenna for 4G/Wi-Fi connectivity
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Ubiquiti Wi-Fi 6 systems for internal Wi-Fi
Equipment used:
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PC based Navigation suite
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Celerway Fractus CAT11 Modem
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Poynting 402 MIMO antenna (4g or shore Wi-Fi)
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Ubiquiti with Wi-Fi 6
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RTI. Full revamp of RTI with Apple TV, centralised storage. AV over IP. iPad controllable. Reprogram of existing hardware.
Columbus was built at Custom Crescent (Canada) in 1994 and the gear onboard was upgraded in various phases throughout the life of the vessel, with it’s latest refit in 2018. Needless to say with the rate technology moves, it’s always time for an upgrade, and at Global Marine we are at the forefront of marine technology & AV/IT systems.
Navigation
Maxsea TZ Pro
Columbus was sporting a Furuno system with Navpilot, Radar and Sounder attached. The wanted a more user friendly system with better route planning capability and smarter user interface. We replaced the main units with PC’s loaded with Maxsea TZ-Pro, extending the original TimeZero system already present, and with this allowed us to integrate the existing components without hassle.
The challenges in this install including finding faults in the existing network and rectifying them as well as installation of the new PC’s and data conversion equipment.
Entertainment System
RTI Control and Automation
Columbus has been using an RTI system however this needed a revamp in the programming to ensure seamless operation in every area of the vessel via iPad. RTI offers a centralised storage system hosting a plethora of movies and media which can be accessed from any of the onboard TV’s and entertainment systems. Integrating Apple TV and smart TV apps throughout the boat means AV/Music and Entertainment is accessible by multiple users at one time, and easy to control.
All cabins are equipped with an T2x handheld Remote for control, Apple TV, Plex, Netflix and any other streaming services.
All cabins now have Airplay2 and seamless playback throughout the vessel.
Connectivity
Celerway modems, Poynting antennas and Ubiquiti Wi-Fi
At Global Marine we specialise in onboard connectivity and use the latest and best solutions available. We fitted out Columbus with a Celerway Fractus CAT11 modem connected to a Poynting 493 MIMO antenna. Celerway and Poynting have worked together in their research and development to ensure the systems work.
MIMO (multi in/multi out) antennas give the option to use 4G via a SIM card or connect to shore Wi-Fi and distribute that through the boat via the Celerway Modem.
This means that when in port the boat can use an existing marina or local Wi-Fi network as well as 4G and load balancing means it will use the best available network for speed and reliability.
One challenge we faced was achieving strong Wi-Fi signal in all areas of the boat, as the boat is aluminium it can be hard to locate the modem in a spot to please all users.
Ubiquiti offer Enterprise grade solutions through Wi-Fi 6 access points. With this we were able to get a solid connection in all areas of the boat. Guests, crew and owner can all be connected and make use of the high speed connection without interruption.
Summary:
Our team attended the boat and ran several tests on current systems to see where any weak points were. After spending time with the client identifying the areas that needed the most attention we proposed the above to eliminate the pain points.
The result is a state of the art onboard network with high speed unlimited data, seamless streaming ability and strong consistent Wi-Fi signal through-out the boat.
Needless to say, both the Captain and Owner are very pleased with the result. Not only did we solve their issues, we also identified faults in the existing install and made changes to suit. Columbus is now fully operational with very happy operators.
Does this sound like the kind if thing you need? Come to the experts – Global Marine.
