Hello All I have just purchased a sedan bridge I am concerned about remote monitoring the following -Temp in cabin -Temp in engine room -Shore power -Battery systems -Water Our marina supplies Wi-Fi and am wondering what is being used out there?
You're looking for a boat status monitoring system. You'll want one that has it's own cellular system. Most/all require a subscription. The market leader is probably Siren Marine. Has been around for about 10 years with a couple versions of the system. The Siren 3 Pro is the latest, and is being offered as an option or standard higher end builders. It will monitor a number of systems, including temperatures, high water, bilge pump activity, AC power, battery level, and has multiple type of entry detection (alarms). Will send you alerts via an app. Has NMEA 2000 integration to take in engine data and other N2K sensors. Also supports device switching via relays, as well as C-zone switching. This is on my wish list of systems to install. Two recent market entries are Garmin OnDeck and Vesper Corex. OnDeck is kinda similar to Siren, but Siren seems more complete? Garmin's intro was pretty low key - I'm not quite sure their plans for it. Vesper Corex is a multi-functional product, with the main function be AIS and VHF, with boat monitoring being another function. It doesn't seem to monitor as much as Siren, but seems like a more diamond in the rough with Vesper continuously adding new functions. GOST is another monitoring system but seems more designed for very large yachts, with a price and service fee to match. It has options for security, monitoring, sat tracking, surveillance, and sensor-based activation of disorienting systems (smoke, ultra-loud alarms, strobes).
I went with Simply Safe almost 5 years ago after our burglary. It has all of the security features that you need and smoke alarm, CO alarm, water alarm, I have temperature sensors, loss of power notifications, etc. It was plug and play with everything around $400 with a month to month @ $25/
For temperature monitoring I did an Accurite monitoring station with 3 sensors. https://www.acurite.com/shop-all/we...ss-my-acurite-remote-monitoring.html?ref=name Refrigerator, Helm, Cabin. In the winter time I put the refrigerator sensor in the engine room. This needs a wired internet connection so I connected the monitoring device to a cheap internet extender that had an ethernet port.
I'm cheap. I use a LaCrosse temp/humidity and temp/water alarm set of sensors tied to a Gateway that connects to the internet, and broadcasts to me every 30 minutes on my Iphone app. If I lose power (or the boat goes for a ride), I am notified within an hour of loss of power/broadcast. The equipment is about 50 bucks, and the subscription is more like 10 bucks per year. We had an entire network set up on our dock in Huntsville for low temp warnings, or power outages at Ditto over the winters. At this point, I can tell if my A/C has shut down, or if I lost power, or if I have water where it shouldn't be. The main maintenance for this system is changing batteries in the sensors. About every 30 days. https://www.amazon.com/Crosse-Alert...15211&pd_rd_wg=zAiOy&pd_rd_i=B00BTJQTTM&psc=1 The only drawback is that the Gateway is not wireless to your router/internet. You have to use a wired connection.
This thread discusses other options: http://clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/remote-monitoring.102913/ When it comes to remote monitoring you need constant wifi on the boat either cellular or WiFi. This thread discusses a few possibilities some of us here use: http://clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/ubiquity-bullet-m2-vs-peplink-max-br1-mini-wan-wifi.101605/
Got to say first summer I have had my Siren Marine system and it has been awesome. Even worked in the Bahamas. Can't say enough about the alerts, worked perfectly as just a few weeks ago got the alert for rear transom door during a Zoom call none the less. "Who is on my boat?" Jumped on my dock camera to see and found my detailer sneaking in a courtesy wash the day before I was to leave for Bahamas... Well worth the yearly fee in my mind.
Siren 3 Pro includes N2K connectivity. It can read engine data that’s on the N2K network. So it’s likely not just one sensor, but a range of them on the motor.
Correct, full N2K data as well as another notification if the engines are turned on I get a instant notification.
I really wish they’d get goin with cameras for the system.....they’ve said they’re coming for awhile now.
Have they really? I'd imagine that adds an entirely new level of complexity. Also would dramatically change their cellular data use. The current systems should use very little data, and they could get some favorable rates. Adding video feeds would certainly change their bandwidth so Siren would need a different agreement with carriers.
Thank you all I am currently studying these options. I do have a Garmin monitoring system for engine functions and am assuming this I’d the n2k platform mentioned. the marina has steady WiFi but cell coverage can be spotty
Yes I think video would be a big ask with 4g cellular. Siren just got bought by Yamaha so I expect they will get an injection of $$$ for development. As 5G gets better we will see more data exchange but it is too spotty now. For me I have video covered via WiFi
I've been using boat command for quite some time and love it. I also just recently purchased the Cortex device which is VHF, AIS, DSC and also, to some degree can be used to monitor other devices onboard. Haven't hooked all of it up yet but looks promising!
