Example configuration
A fishing boat that works inside 35 miles
This is the package for a vessel that fishes the same grounds every week: television for the crew, cameras on the working deck, and a shore link that keeps the data bill down because the boat rarely leaves cellular coverage.
The package, layer by layer
| Layer | Item | Why this one |
|---|---|---|
| Antenna | V4 or V6 2-axis TVRO | 48 / 46–47 dBW — enough margin for a footprint edge, 12–20 kg on the mast |
| Control | ACU Basic | One footprint, configured on board, no remote layer needed |
| Distribution | CATV headend, 58 channels | Rides existing coax; cabins keep their own televisions |
| Deck cameras | 2 × wiper bullet | Fixed views of the working deck and the aft, cleaned glass, IP68 |
| Cleaning | Lens washer tank | Soot and salt film on a fishing deck is the failure mode, not water |
| Connectivity | 4G/5G marine antenna | Inside 35 nm this is the cheapest bandwidth on the water |
Why this combination and not a bigger one
The antenna is sized to the weakest contour on the grounds, not to the harbour. A 45 or 60 cm radome covers 48 / 46–47 dBW, which is the range that survives a fringe footprint with rain margin; going to 75 cm adds 12 kg and cost for margin this route does not need.
The ACU stays Basic because the boat keeps one footprint and the engineer can reach the rack. The Advanced unit earns its price on route changes and remote monitoring — neither is a fishing-week problem.
Why the cameras are the part that gets used
Television is welfare; the cameras are work. On a fishing vessel the two positions that matter are the working deck and the aft, and both sit in the dirtiest air on the boat. A wiper bullet is a fixed view with a cleaned window — the cheapest way to keep a usable picture in soot — and the washer tank is what deals with the dried film the wiper alone cannot.
Nothing here is selected for its explosion-proof marking on the working deck; the housings are chosen for IP68 and the wiper. The marking matters in the fuel and paint spaces, and those are specified separately from the area plan.
The shore link is the line item that pays back
Inside roughly 35 nautical miles the shore network carries the data at a fraction of satellite cost, and the documented configuration runs the cellular antenna alongside a VSAT terminal with automatic priority switching. This package omits the VSAT because the route does not need it — add it the day the grounds move beyond the line.
What is not in this package
- VSAT terminal — only if the grounds lie outside ~35 nautical miles
- Explosion-proof camera certification for fuel or paint spaces, which is specified from the area plan
- Cable, glands and mounting steel — a yard item, quoted with the deck plan
An example configuration, not a quotation — the model follows the route, the footprint and the area plan.
Buyer questions
Coastal fishing
Can this package be fitted in a yard period?+−
The television side is a mast job, a rack position and coax that mostly exists. The camera side needs two mounting points and a cable run. Both are ordinary yard work; the schedule question is the cable route, not the equipment.
What does the crew actually gain?+−
Satellite television in the mess and cabins on the coax that is already there, plus two cleaned windows on the working deck, plus a data link that works inside the grounds without a satellite bill.
How does it scale to a second boat?+−
The hardware is per vessel; what scales is the control layer. Moving to the Advanced ACU adds webpage configuration, cloud monitoring and route tracking, which is what lets one office look after several boats.