Blog | upffront.com

Image credit: Navico 

Anyone who has so much as dabbled in marine electronics will have come across the term NMEA, often colloquially expressed as “NEMA”. 

This is the acronym for the National Marine Electronics Association, a non-profit organisation based in the US who manage communication protocols and standards for marine electronics and promote compatibility across manufacturers. This blog aims to give a brief overview of the NMEA 2000 protocol and the basic features of a NMEA 2000 network.  

Calypso Instruments are a manufacturer of portable and small-scale installation wind meters. Based in Spain, the company provides anemometers to a range of industries where wind data is important, including marine, agriculture and renewable energy. In the world of sailing, Calypso Instruments offers the possibility to have a low cost, low impact wind meter for small sports boats and day sailors where a full-blown marine electronics package isn’t practical. In this blog we highlight the key features of the portable wind meter range which is now available at Upffront.com. 

The Jefa direct drives are something of a hallmark in autopilot drive engineering. Every aspect has been designed from the ground up to create an efficient, powerful and long-lasting pilot drive. In this blog we explore what makes up a good autopilot system and why the details matter.  

GPS, navigation data, wind data, boat speed, heel, rig loads etc. Onboard electronics are far more accurate and capable than ever before, and with the innovations in solar, hydro-generators and efficient batteries, sailors are able to charge and depend on more electronic systems, without worrying about battery life and excess CO2 emissions.

All of these on board sensors are capable of coming together to generate a huge amount of useful and accurate data, but it all comes to nothing, unless it can be clearly read and analysed quickly by you and your crew. This is where the nke Multidisplay comes in.

©nke marine electronics

For most cruising and offshore race sailboats, the autopilot is a critical piece of equipment. However, the difference between a “good” and a “not so good” sailing autopilot can be dramatic! Therefore, it is well worth understanding all the necessary components of a good system to create the autopilot package to suit your needs.

Image credit: Martin Kendler

nke is a specialist marine electronics manufacturer which has built a reputation, over 35 years, for high quality, precision navigation instruments for sailing yachts. Profiling companies like this is part of Upffront.com’s raison d’être: successful but relatively small businesses which maintain a laser focus and keep raising their game, to stay ahead of the competition.