Interesting upgrades

Any moment now at the Miami International Boat Show, NAVICO brands Lowrance, Simrad, and B&G will be revealing a new external GNSS receiver with a magnetic compass heading sensor incorporated in the same housing. The new device is expected to be priced at $200.
Official details are sketchy on the new device.

An update of the GNSS receiver was overdue. Lowrance had been selling the LGC-4000 for several years, but the specifications of its GNSS receiver were not particularly state-of-the-art.

The combination of a GNSS receiver and an electronic compass will give more accurate information about vessel heading. Deducing vessel heading from GNSS position solution has not been a good method when vessel speed is low or the vessel is not making forward propulsion. Obtaining vessel heading from a magnetic compass will improve the accuracy compared to deducing it from course-over-ground from successive position solutions.

An electronic heading sensor is nothing new. Simrad presently has three available, but the costs range between $470 and $2,400. Offering a heading sensor, combined with an improved GNSS receiver, for around $200 will be much more attractive.

Among the reasons for wanting to know vessel heading are two important tasks:

--orienting RADAR displays for overlay on a chart plotter

--controlling autopilot operation

Some initial comments indicate that the new GNSS and Compass device may not be suitable for these functions, with speculation that the accuracy of the heading sensor may not be sufficiently precise.

More information is needed on this new product.

The LOWRANCE version of this product is being called the POINT-1.


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From the Lowrance website comes information on the new GNSS sensor:
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Lowrance Point-1 GPS Antenna
Offering unparalleled accuracy around the world, the Lowrance Point-1 GPS/GLONASS antenna with integrated e-Compass/Gyro is a rugged precision positioning and heading sensor that ensures access to stable and smooth vessel orientation. In addition to reliable location information, when used with a compatible Lowrance HDS Gen2, HDS Gen2 Touch or Elite-7 series display, the Point-1 greatly enhances navigational information by providing accurate course over ground (COG) data at any speed and enabling radar overlay on charts. Delivering a configurable update rate — 1Hz, 5Hz or 10Hz — for smooth and precise location updates, the GPS features an advanced chipset that offers enhanced time-to-first-fix and supports multiple Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The high-precision antenna will also communicate with GPS, GLONASS and WAAS/EGNOS/MSAS. The Lowrance Point-1's compact size and NMEA 2000® compatibility enable ease of installation anywhere on a vessel, allowing boaters to select the ideal mounting site for optimal positioning and performance.

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The notable information:

--the new sensor appears to only be compatible with the newer devices, HDS Gen2, HDS Gen2 Touch, or ELITE-7 seriees

--RADAR chart overly is enabled, but no mention of auto-pilot

--position solution update rate is configurable to 1, 5, or 10-Hz

--GNSS receiver can use GLONASS, EGNOS, and MSAS satellites

The reluctance to endorse the Point-1 for use with an auto-pilot may be related to the anticipated mounting position. In order for the GNSS receiver to see the sky, the Point-1 will probably need to be mounted on deck, possibly in an elevated position. The elevated mounting will increase the velocity that the sensor will swing as the boat rolls or pitches. The typical magnetic heading sensor--without GNSS receiver in the same assembly--is usually recommend for mounting low in the boat and near the boat's fore and aft center on the boat centerline. This minimizes the motion of the sensor as the boat moves in seas.

The heading sensor should help give the chart plotter a better indication of vessel heading when moving slowly. For people who like to see the chart presentation in course-up mode, the heading sensor may improve that presentation.

This information is presently hosted on Lowrance's website at
News - LOWRANCE | Marine Electronics Lowrance-Debuts-New-Product-Additions/

Sound Cool... May just have to look at this new Man toy...
Thanks,
Rick

I was wonder what the differance is between the "Point-1" AntennaPrecision GPS/Glonass Receiver with Electronic Compass
and the "Point-1 Baja" Offroad Precision GPS/Glonass Receiver with Electronic Compass".
Point-1 Baja 10hZ Antenna - LOWRANCE | Marine Electronics
It appears the Baha only has a 4' cable and it come with NMEA 2000® starter kit w/ 15' extension cable.
If there are the same antenna.. maybe cheaper to buy the Baha, the the Point-1 and buy the NMEA 2000® starter kit.
??Rick

Wow my heads spinning from too much tech info......but it doesn't take much to muddle my pea brain!

The Point-1 is a product that I have personally been looking forward to for a long time. It is a high-precision, fast-update rate GPS antenna with and integrated heading sensor, all for a very attractive price, $199 retail. This product will replace the current LGC-4000 GPS antenna.

The Point-1 is an NMEA 2000 device and uses the same size housing as our previous LGC-2000 and LGC-3000. The housing is slightly larger than the LGC-4000, but still utilizes the from-the-top mounting design with integrate mounting holes through the casing.

Hopefully you are all aware of the value of an external GPS antenna. The internal antenna of Lowrance units is very high quality and sensitive enough to acquire position in all but the most extreme installations. The reason why customers want an external antenna, is not because the internal antenna does not work for them, it is because the external antenna adds additional features and benefits. The first two features of the external antenna that adds value to the user is its enhanced sensitivity and increased update rate. The external GPS antennas, including the LGC-4000 and now the Point-1, are more sensitive than the internal antennas of the Lowrance units. This means they will acquire position faster and have tighter position data, i.e. less position error. The increased position update rate is also very valuable to these users. The internal GPS antenna update rate of most Lowrance products is 1Hz, i.e. one update per second. This is the industry standard. The LGC-4000 has an update rate of 5Hz. The Point-1 Antenna has an update rate of 10Hz, i.e. ten position updates a second, the highest we have ever produced. The increased update rate makes for smoother position movements in the maps especially when turning and smoother speed-related data, like Speed Over Ground, Fuel Economy, Fuel Range, etc.

The most important feature of an external antenna and the reason it is used by serious fisherman is that it allow the GPS antenna to be placed directly over the sonar transducers. This perfectly correlates the GPS data to the sonar data.

EXAMPLE: If the head unit’s internal GPS antenna is used, the GPS position data source and the sonar data source are several feet apart, e.g. the distance from the helm to the transom. This means that any GPS data created from sonar data, like waypoints created from sonar or StructureScan Trackback, will have that same offset. This is especially noticeable when approaching a sonar-made waypoint, like a brush pile, from a different direction than when the waypoint was created, meaning the GPS-Sonar offset is in a different direction.

When the GPS antenna is placed directly over the sonar transducers, the GPS-sonar offset is greatly reduced and those sonar-created waypoints are much more precise to their actual location. This feature is one that professional and more-serious anglers have been exploiting for years.

Where the Point-1 antenna adds even more value than previous external GPS antennas, besides its greater sensitivity and update rate, is its internal heading sensor. The Point-1 contains a solid state heading sensor that allows the vessel to stay correctly oriented, even at low speeds and when stopped.

EXAMPLE: When using a GPS antenna for both location and orientation, the orientation is only based on movement. This is fine when the vessel is under way, as the vessel will be moving forward and the unit will orient the vessel as such on the screen. But, when the vessel is stopped or is drifting, the movement of the vessel does not necessarily match the actual orientation of the vessel. When drifting the vessel will be pointed in one direction, but actually moving in another, see image below. If only using a GPS antenna, the vessel orientation on the display unit is only based on Course Over Ground (COG), so when drifting, the vessel would be incorrectly oriented on the screen in the direction of the drift of the boat, i.e. its COG. This problem also exists when the boat is stopped and the GPS antenna has not movement to calculate COG. The misalignment of the actual orientation of the boat and the display unit can cause great confusion. The brush pile waypoint you know is in front of the boat, now might appear to the side of the boat because the orientation is incorrect.

A heading sensor on the boat will ensure the orientation of the vessel is always correct on the display screens, no matter which direction the vessel is actually moving. This maintains the correct orientation on the charts and ensure intuitive use of the maps and map data. This is the reason why pros have been using compasses for the last few years.

In addition to allowing correct orientation of the vessel on the screen, a heading sensor will allow radar overlay, the ability to orient and overlay radar data directly on top of map data, see image below. I always HIGHLY encourage anyone who is running radar to also invest in a heading sensor to enable this feature. As can be seen in the image below, radar overlay make the radar image must more intuitive and actionable. Most radar users that have a heading sensor ALWAYS view their radar using radar overlay.
In the past, a heading sensor, like the Simrad RC42, costs upwards of $600. This premium price meant this product and its associated features were only enjoyed by pro’s and the very serious angler.


The Point-1, with both its high-senility and high-update rate GPS antenna AND its internal heading sensor, has a recommended retail of $199. We intend for this price to make this product very attractive to all anglers using our equipment. We intend for this product, with its internal heading sensor, to bring these high-end features into the freshwater markets.
<*)}}}><

Chatt have they given u any idea when this will be available to the public, r u gonna get one to use, before they r released? Keep us up to date,pls. DK

Not Chatt but here ya go,


Thank you for your inquiry.
The Point-1 antenna should be released Q1 of 2013.
Thank you for choosing Navico products!




Navico Inc.
4500 South 129th East Ave., Suite 200
Tulsa, OK 74134-5885
Lowrance website: LOWRANCE | Marine Electronics
Accessories website: Navico

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dkv

Chatt have they given u any idea when this will be available to the public, r u gonna get one to use, before they r released? Keep us up to date,pls. DK

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On order!! Will keep you updated. Projected to be released in April. <*)}}}><

Much appreciated Terry and Chatt!

Does anyone know if this will connect to an elite 5 dsi combo?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JD1

Does anyone know if this will connect to an elite 5 dsi combo?

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This antenna is to replace 2000,3000 & 4000 series, and replacing the 2000 & 3000 units will have to have a 'start-up kit'. The Elite series uses a LGC-16W. Sorry. <*)}}}><

yeah and I just bought a 4000, darn