15/08/2025
Growing up, I learned that there were times when it was best to give my dad maximum leeway. One example was anything involving the boat’s systems or electronics. While my dad has a Ph.D. in physics, electronics and systems were clunkier animals decades ago. Accessing information or troubleshooting often involved poorly written manuals.
Today, we have NMEA 2000 networking capabilities and Maretron’s WSV100 MConnect HTML 5 web server. They make it much easier to control onboard systems and devices, and to diagnose issues by tapping glass.
The past decade has seen numerous monitor, track and control systems introduced to the marine-electronics market. Maretron’s MConnect ($600) has one foot in this world: It provides the M and C, but it’s not “just” a troubleshooting tool. Instead, MConnect uses smart networking and clever software to give owners and captains access to more than 400 NMEA 2000 data points. The setup allows them to see—and sometimes control—what’s happening aboard their vessel via customizable graphical user interfaces. These interfaces can be accessed via compatible multifunction displays or any browser-enabled device, so long as the MConnect can share its data locally or with the internet.
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