Loud hailer and fog horn capability now available on Vesper's Cortex
by Lusty & Blundell 13 Dec 2021 15:14 NZDT
13 December 2021
The latest free update to the Vesper Cortex VHF, monitoring and control system includes the ability to use a connected speaker as loud hailer or a fog horn.
The update includes a handy new Loudspeaker Mode that enables a hailer or horn to be easily operated from either a Cortex handset or through the Cortex Onboard App on a smartphone. This additional safety measure means that, in an emergency, those on board can alert surrounding vessels without even having to be at the helm.
Easy to operate, the Hailer function can be activated either by touching the microphone icon in the Handset or Cortex Onboard App display, or by pushing the Cortex Handset’s PTT.
In addition to sounding the horn, Cortex’s Horn function also helps boaties interpret the horn signals from other boats, visually showing the lengths of the sounds and matching them to the signals for Fog, Underway, Stopped and the like.
The new update also includes enhancements to Cortex’s VHF system. A new Channel Lock function prevents the click-wheel and touchscreen from changing the VHF channel. This eliminates accidental changes, especially in rough seas. The new Mute function now silences non-distress DSC calls, enabling those on board to rest without VHF chatter while their alarms and distress DSC calls remain active.
The latest update is now available and free to download at vespermarine.com.