Wind Instrument Decision..??

[Maine Sail]

OK I am real close to pulling the trigger on a new wind instrument.

I had my heart set on the TackTick T033 until I learned that it needs 12v power to the display and wil not run on solar or internal battery. The head and display are identical to the solar model except for the lack of solar and the ability to move it to the v-berth on a windy night for monitoring wind speeds.

Unfortunately for me I am having a totally mental block on paying $500.00 more for the same solar technology I can get in a $3.00 calculator. I don't want a display, if I buy TackTick, that I can't move around the boat and I don't see paying a premium for wireless technology that I can't fully take advantage of.

The rest of my boat is Raymarine so I'll probably just pick up an ST-60 seeing as the spar is already down.

I would love to try TackTick but the $500.00 up charge for $3.00 technology is an insult to my better judgement and has ticked me off so much that I am almost angry at them for even offering the T033..

What do you guys think? I need to buy a new wind instrument before the Defender sale is over as the sale prices are better than my commercial discount there.

Sorry for the vent but I'm sick of being bent over for $500.00 clams more for "new" old tenchnolgy that has been in calculators since I was in third grade..

[sailingdog]

Maine Sail—

I have the TackTick gear and love it... even with their price premium.

It is rather sad that they charge a $400 premium for the wireless system, but the Raymarine system is $116 more than the TackTick T033 system and requires more work to install. If you went with the T033 system, you could always add a second display later...

One thing I do like about the TackTick wind instrument display is that it can switch between normal mode and closehauled mode. The closehauled mode only shows ±60˚, rather than the full 360˚.

BTW, the reason I went for the whole system, even though I had both the ST60 tridata and wind, is that the wind system was constantly giving me problems. I had replaced the cable up the mast once and the transducer once, and still had issues with it. BTW, the speed and depth/temp transducers are compatible between the TackTick and the ST60.

[Maine Sail]

That's an expensive calculator..

How do you like the digital display vs. analog. I really do prefer analog. I used a digital last summer and found it a little odd but did not honestly use it long enough to base a good judgment on it?

Somehow I knew you'd be the first to respond. You must have a Rocna/TackRick forum stock ticker set up in your doggie enclave/command central..

[paulk]

I wonder if there might be a $497 reason that it's not the same technology as your $3 calculator. Could a Tacktick techie give you better information than a salesperson at Defender? I believe our Tacktick instruments (I don't recall the model #) do require 12v power to one of the units, in order to provide the "broadcast" of the display data, but our unwired displays are taped in the cockpit and have worked flawlessly for more than two seasons on their solar/integral battery power.

[sailingdog]

Paul—

You're probably thinking of the Hull Transmitter, which powers the speed and depth/temp transducers. It does require 12 VDC power, but interestingly does have an internal battery, so you can actually run the instruments for quite some time without 12 VDC going to the hull transmitter—probably because it was designed to be able to run off of the accessory solar panel they sell.

The NMEA interface also requires 12 VDC, and also has an internal battery AFAICT.

One minor point I'd make is that the calculator and the TackTick display aren't quite the same thing. In the case of the solar powered calculators, most would run on just the solar panel output alone, without any batteries—at least the ones I butchered as a kid.

The TackTick instrument head has to have some charging circuitry and a lithium ion or lithium polymer battery, as well as the small solar cell. Lithium-based batteries do bad things when they're overcharged... and that makes the TackTick instrument a bit more complicated and probably cost a bit more than just the $3 of technology that is in a solar-powered calculator. I seriously doubt that it is $400 worth of circuitry, battery and solar panel... but it is probably more than $3 worth.

Originally Posted by paulk

I wonder if there might be a $497 reason that it's not the same technology as your $3 calculator. Could a Tacktick techie give you better information than a salesperson at Defender? I believe our Tacktick instruments (I don't recall the model #) do require 12v power to one of the units, in order to provide the "broadcast" of the display data, but our unwired displays are taped in the cockpit and have worked flawlessly for more than two seasons on their solar/integral battery power.

[sailingdog]

Yes, but the fact that it has worked flawlessly far longer than my Raymarine ST60 gear ever did are massive points in its favor.

I do like the wind display, even though it is only a pseudo-analog display. The arrow/pointer on it can be customized a bit, since they have a couple of different choices for it.

One other interesting point about the TackTick display is that you can display the input voltage of the hull transmitter on the digital displays...It seems to be as accurate as the voltmeter in the solar panel charge controller or my volt-ohm-meter... so can be useful at times.

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

That's an expensive calculator..

How do you like the digital display vs. analog. I really do prefer analog. I used a digital last summer and found it a little odd but did not honestly use it long enough to base a good judgment on it?

Don't forget Garmin.

Somehow I knew you'd be the first to respond. You must have a Rocna/TackRick forum stock ticker set up in your doggie enclave/command central..

[BarryL]

Hey,

If I were in the market today for a wind instrument, I would get one with an ultrasonic sensor and NMEA 2000 interface.

Maretron

No moving parts, nothing to get broken by a bird, simple connection, etc.

Barry

[hellosailor]

Do the Maretrons actually exist yet?

A web search only finds them at pyacht, and the data sheet web page on the maretron site comes back as an error. Sounds like it is still vaporware.

[Valiente]

Yes, they exist. I saw them at the Toronto boat show, and indeed, spent a lot of time pacing between the Furuno and Maretron booths. They got a lot going on there.

Maine, I regularly consult a site called Panbo.com for marine electronics. I saw this on the Airmar "vaneless" type:

Panbo: The Marine Electronics Weblog: Sailing with an Airmar PB200
Panbo: The Marine Electronics Weblog: Sailing with an Airmar PB200 - Part II

It's a bit of a multi-function sensing unit for your masttop and the economics might make sense for you.

The discussion with the articles should give you plenty to mull over above and beyond TackTick's pricing issues.

[sailingdog]

One serious disadvantage to the Maretron. It has no vane. If the electricity goes out, it gives no indication... the more traditional wind instruments will still function as a windex in that situation.