Man Overboard Systems Tops List for Marine Electronics Safety Devices

What computer technology has done for the home and workplace it has also done for boating safety. Boaters that use the latest marine electronics reduce the risk of boating accidents and also increase their chance of rescue.

Once the province of high-end ships and boats advanced marine electronic safety systems are now commonplace on many mid-size and small boats. This is because technology has made these safety systems smaller, lighter and less costly, which is making commercial, recreational and sport boating safer and more reliable.

There are so many types of safety marine electronics that it is difficult for many to determine the best safety choice. For example, automatic identification systems, chart mapping systems, collision avoidance systems, emergency distress beacons, GPS phones and navigation systems, man overboard systems, satellite phones are just a few of the hundreds of safety products on the market. Complicating the matter is that these products also come with scores of technical specifications. Many of these specifications directly relate to how reliable these safety products are.

If you want the safest boat for the best price, you need to know to know the most common causes of death and injury on boats: drowning. And that’s why “man overboard automatic alert systems” should be on the top of your safety list. For second on your list, you may want to include collision avoidance systems. With your boat equipped with these marine safety devices, and perhaps a few extras, you should have one of the safest boats in the harbor.

Because of the low-cost of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, man overboard systems offer one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent drowning. A complete system includes just a radio frequency transceiver and any number of low cost tags.

Central to the operation of a man overboard system, are the RFID tags. The RFID tags include radio transmitters. These transmitters are activated when they receive the central transceiver signal. In response to this signal, the RFID tag transmits a signal back to the transceiver. This RFID signal, coded with a unique identification number, is used to identify what or who is overboard.

Whenever the RFID tag is out of the signal range of the central transceiver the transceiver will not be able to detect the RFID tag signal (the tag is overboard), and this will trigger an on ship alarm. Or with a different type of system configuration, trigger any other type of response, such as an automatic alert to the coast guard.

Because of the credit card size of RFID tags and their low cost you can tag not only all your crewmembers and cargo, but also even your personal items. Furthermore, because RFID systems alert you at the exact moment of a man overboard incident, it greatly increases the success of a retrieve and rescue operation.

Inexpensive man overboard alert systems will only alert you to the fact that someone or something is no longer on board and will not give any information on the approximate location. Because of this some man overboard systems are designed to work with or include a search and locate subsystem. These systems not only detect that the RFID tag is overboard, but its relative bearing from the boat.

What is critical to consider in any type of man overboard system is its ability to work in bad weather and stormy seas. Electronics, although sturdy and reliable, are not always sealed to water sealing or waterproofing specifications you need in an emergency. So make sure you understand water proofing, and resistance, humidity, salinity and mechanical specifications that are often listed for these devices. If you are still uncertain, you might want to limit your selections to award winning products or products that have the seal of approval of the United States Coast Guard.

Not only are physical specifications important reliability considerations, but so are communication specifications. Fundamental to communication reliability is the carrier frequency. Different carrier frequencies respond differently to interfering radio waves and atmospheric conditions. Your transmissions may not be reliable in certain weather and atmospheric conditions, or when operating in areas where there is significant interference from other communication devices or objects.

To ensure that your communication devices are reliable, familiarize yourself with communications specifications. Also check to see if the device incorporates the latest digital signal processing (DSP) technology. Digital signal processing technology is often used to reconstruct communication severely attenuated or distorted signals and filter out interfering signals.

For the future you might want to keep an eye out for inexpensive floating solar powered floating transmitters and floating LED devices. Floating LED devices are now used in garden ponds now, but they may become a very inexpensive way to track the path of a man overboard. Also look out for RFID activated LED light tags. These tags could be designed to automatically and simultaneously light up the man overboard and sound the ship alarm.

For now though consider an inexpensive life preserver signaling emergency light. These are inexpensive, lightweight and can be attached to a life preserver.