New DGPS navigation receivers

MX Marine, Leica Geosystems group, has released two marine DGPS navigation receivers. The MX 521 Smart Antenna and MX 525 Black Box receiver comply with new IMO performance standards, which apply to all new SOLAS-compliant marine GPS receivers installed after July 1, 2003, for Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM), higher accuracy course and speed outputs and improved electrical interference immunity.

Both products are designed to accept differential signals from DGPS beacon stations, as well as Space-Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS), including the US Wide-Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS) and the Japanese MTSAT system. MX Marine says they provide horizontal accuracy of one metre when operating in a differential mode, and five metres using stand-alone GPS.

David Ritblatt, president of MX Marine, says: “These two new-generation GPS products are the first to emerge from MX Marine, the newly formed organisation set up by Leica Geosystems under new management to focus on marine navigation technology. We are investing heavily in developing next-generation marine GPS technology, and we will be unveiling other GPS-based products in the next few months.”