News: Quark-Elec AS15 Coaxial Lightning Surge Protector

When the lightning strikes the mast of a ship, lightning current travels to the deck. Any cables mounted on the mast (e.g., the VHF/AIS/4G antennas or navigation lights cables) could be the route for the lightning current to enter and spread over the entire cabling of the on-board system. This can cause damage to some of the marine navigation devices, or it can damage the whole system.

News: The Quark-Elec QK-AS00 NMEA2000 to NMEA0183 Mini Gateway.

The QK-AS00 provides an easy solution to linking the newer NMEA 2000 network to older NMEA 0183 devices by converting NMEA 2000 PGNs to NMEA 0183 output sentences.

The QK-AS00 is compatible with most NMEA 2000 devices and converts the majority of NMEA 2000 messages.

News: The Quark-Elec AS01 NMEA0183-NMEA2000 Mini Gateway.

This small module fits perfectly behind the instrument panel and simply translates NMEA0183 into the more modern NMEA2000, just straight forward without frills.

A nice extension for example the Quark-Elec AS06 Wind sensor or for example the Quark-Elec A31, A26, A27 WiFi multiplexers. Now for an introductory price of €109.

News: Now in our shop the Quark-Elec A27-Plus.

The first AIS/GPS receiver and mulitplexer in one with a LAN connection. The A027+ is a high-quality AIS/GPS receiver (like the A26+) with multiple routing functions. Data from the internal AIS and GPS receivers, the NMEA 0183 and Seatalk1 inputs are combined by the multiplexer and can be transmitted to WiFi, Ethernet (RJ45 port), USB, NMEA0183 and N2K outputs.

Whether you use a tablet, a smartphone, chartplotter or an (on-board) computer, you can easily connect the device to your on-board navigation system. The A027+ can also be used as an AIS shore station that can receive and transmit AIS data over fixed Internet via a remote server. Ideal for example: ports, marinas, bridges or locks.

News: Smartmarine is the sponsor of the GlassGlobe 580 of Bart de Rooij, one of the Dutch builders/participants. Dutch 'Zeilen magazine' called it on its cover a 'Big dream in a small box'. We call it a unit class that really suits us and is 'Smart, Affordable & Simply Connected'.

We will soon give a weekly update on our blog page about the construction, the builder, sailing and the races.

News: We are proud to present the QK-AS06 NMEA Wind Sensor! A beautiful design, high quality and very accurate and all for a price that you are used to from us.

In terms of accuracy and quality, the AS06 cannot be compared to the NASA marine wind sensor. This is class higher, but with a 20 meter NMEA cable and a USB adapter to display on laptop or PC, it's almost in the same category in terms of price. Fully calibrated and installed 'out of the box'.

With the configuration tool you can adjust the baudrates and calibrate the wind direction if necessary (speed only by Quark-Elec/Smartmarine).

News: We are excited to introduce the new QK-A035, a commercial level WiFi/USB/NMEA 0183 multiplexer with integrated voyage data recorder (VDR), which we believe, represents the ideal multiplexing solution for fishing, leisure and light commercial vessels. This new member of the Quark-elec product family features four NMEA 0183 inputs, four NMEA 0183 outputs, one SeaTalk input, bi-directional USB and WiFi connections.

More sensors on board require more multiplexer inputs. The QK-A035 combines data from one SeaTalk and up to four NMEA 0183 inputs and transfers the combined data to up to four NMEA 0183 outputs. The multiplexer offers flexible routing and filtering options, to prevent data overflow. These features can be customized as per requirements using the configuration tool. Data can also be accessed on a computer through the USB connection or on a mobile device, via WiFi.

Blog: From 'The Smartmarine' in Herkingen Marina, The Netherlands, we wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a healthy and excellent new year!

Thank you for your trust and purchases in 2021. For 2022 there are beautiful products and services in the line-up so we look forward to seeing you again.

Picture by Dirk van Huizen

News: We are proud to introduce a new three-axis compass & attitude sensor, the AS08-N2K. This new marine instrument comes with NMEA 2000 connectivity on top of the features the standard AS08 has to offer.

NMEA 2000 is a plug-and-play communication standard used for connecting various marine sensors with data display units. This new standard offers higher communication speed than the NMEA 0183 standard and allows devices made by different manufacturers to communicate with each other easily.

Like the standard AS08, the new AS08-N2K is a compact, high-performance gyro electronic compass and attitude sensor. Comes equipped with an integrated 3-axis magnetometer, 3-axis rate gyro and 3-axis accelerometer. Uses advanced stabilization algorithms to deliver precise, reliable heading and vessel attitude information, including rate of turn, pitch and roll readings in real time.

Blog: Peter's challenge was to connect legacy SeaTalk1 equipment; Raymarine ST60 Wind, ST60+ Speed log, ST60+ Depth and ST60 Multi-display to view this on his B&G Zues Chartplotter on his NMEA 2000 (N2K) network and then view this with all N2K data on his PC and iPad.

Here you see his SeaTalk bus is connected through the Quark-elec A034 to his N2K backbone (The A034 itself is powered by the N2B backbone, so no additional wiring needed here).

So now the Raymarine ST60 data is visible on his B&G Zeus 9″ Chart plotter.

Secondly, Peter need to view his combined marine electronics data from his Raymarine ST 60 equipment and his N2K Vesper Marine (XB6000) AIS, B&G radar and and possitional data from his Garmin 19x HVS GPS antenna. Peter wanted to access this combined marine safety and navigation data on his laptop and ipad. Specifically, in Peter’s case, OpenCPN and PC Plotter on his PC and iNavX and Navionics Boating on his iPad.

You can see the combined data feeding from both SeaTalk1 bus and NMEA2000 bus to the laptop. A USB connection was set up to OpenCPN and PC Plotter and the WiFi connection is also set up in the chartsoftware within minutes using the default password, provided. This allows for flexibility and convenience, this allows Peter to use his laptop elsewhere on the boat without the need to be physically connected via USB to receive his marine electronics equipment safety and navigation data, including AIS, GPS, radar, wind, depth, speed, heading on his marine PC software and other iPad and Android boating and AIS APPs.

Having access to all your marine safety data in one location can be crucial in the marine environment, where timely, data-led and decisive action can be a life-saver. And of course, the rest of the time, even in non-emergency situations, it’s also a whole lot more convenient to have joined up navigational data and this allows for a more pleasant boating experience.

Lastly, Peter also has the option to send waypoints from his PC to his autopilot as his system evolves. As the A034 has bi-directional WiFi and Bi-directional USB functionality, this can be easily achieved. The autopilot can be connected on the NMEA 2000 backbone or via a NMEA 0183 output (A034-B reliant) and controlled though waypoint setting on either an NMEA 2000 MFD or PC based navigation system, using for example OpenCPN.

You can see above what a flexible device the A034 is. In this case, Peter has not even touched on the NMEA 0183 input and output (A034-B) options.

As a default setting, the A034 will send out all input data on each output. To increase the resilience of his growing Bi-directional WiFi marine network, Peter can use the A034’s filtering and routing options. Through these A034 Configuration options, Peter can manage the marine dataflow and reduce any chance of data overflow as his marine electronics system expands. He can filter out any input data types at the input data type level and through routing, he can control which output devices will receive data from each input device.

News: We believe in smart products for smart prices. We understand that technological advancements move rapidly therefore spending thousands on marine equipment that may be outdated within months isn’t the most practical idea.

This is why our mission is to create the smartest products on the market while maintaining the perfect balance between technological longevity and cost.

We are proud to announce the release of one of our most advanced smart solutions yet – The QK-A026+. Not only is the A026+ more wallet friendly than its competitors but it has better functionality and no drawbacks on design. After years of building upon the feedback of both our customers and technical engineers we have created one of the easiest to use and most advanced complete solutions to the modern-day marine network.

Blog: Many boat owners will use one aerial for radio reception and then a splitter to also connect an AIS receiver.This works well in most cases, but if you want to get the maximum possible AIS reception then you will get better results with a dedicated aerial (which might even work out cheaper than buying a splitter)

Keep your Coax Cable as short as possible.Yes, the quality of cables you use to connect your devices (radio, aerial, AIS receivers, etc.) will make a big difference on the quality of the signal.

The key advantage of using WiFi is that you will not only get maximum AIS reception but will also be able to get the AIS information as quickly as possible.

News: It’s Official… Quark-Elec and Navionics!

Can I connect my WiFi AIS receiver to the Navionics Boating APP?

Yes, Quark-elec AIS, GPS and other WiFi data, has been compatible with Navionics’ boating APP, since the Navionics’ Boating APP update in August 2019.However, it’s great to see that it’s now official.

Navionics have tested Quark-elec AIS devices and have added Quark-elec to the official list of compatible AIS receivers, multiplexers and gateways.