FiXed Piloting Unit
Approved by the Panama Canal Authorites
Piloting Unit - equipped with the latest Global Navigation Satellite System
FiXed Piloting Unit consists of:
- A sturdy enclosure with integrated modular equipment and a UPS
- Two high-precision GNSS antennas
- Two Wi-Fi antennas for indoor use
- One VHF antenna for AIS
- One UHF antenna for RTK
- Antenna brackets for outdoor antennas
(Antenna cables are not included).
Options:
- Outdoor WLAN antenna
- AlphaMINDS Docking bundle
Approved by the Panama Canal Authories
Effective October 2023, all vessels with a beam of 109 feet, or more, transiting the Panama Canal will be required to have a fixed piloting unit with real time kinematics (RTK) for submeter accuracy on board.
System overview:
- Full GNSS Precision Antennas
- High gain over the full GNSS spectrum
- State-of-the-art CT-104 GNSS receivers
- Real time kinematics (RTK) technology
- Dual channel AIS receiver
- UHF receiver for DGNSS corrections
- High accuracy motion measurement (IMU) with a gyro bias instability below 1.1 deg/hr.
- Two Wi-Fi antennas for indoor use (outdoor antennas available as optional)
The FiXed Piloting Unit will house two GNSS receivers with latest technology, AIS and UHF receivers in a sturdy enclosure. The stand-alone unit will communicate through Wi-FI with the pilot's tablet and the software, using a unique unit ID, providing the relevant navigation data.
Furthermore, the main unit will feature a power switch and a visual indicator to switch off the equipment while sailing outside the Panama Canal. The integrated UPS will have a hot-standby, which allows it to charge always, and capacity is available when needed. The FiXed Piloting Unit also provides possibilities to be connected with and used by other navigation software and not bonded to be used stricly for the Panama Canal requirement.
