Boat alarm

Bridgework Ltd, of Cowbridge, Wales, commissioned E2L to develop a low-cost alarm system for boats and caravans which would use SMS messaging to send a message to the owner. The units are aimed at the hobbyist or weekend sailor or caravanners.

The particular problem with boats and caravans is that they are situated in remote or moving locations and so conventional burglar alarms have little valid application.

The design brief was to provide a unit which had switch inputs for both intruder alarms and for excessive boat angle (i.e. if someone was on-board). On activation the unit sends a text message via a mobile phone to the user and at a periodic time keep repeating this message until the alarm had been serviced. The unit also required a phone compatable charging circuit so that the phone would not become inoperable. The state of the boat’s own battery would also send an alarm SMS text if it became too low.

Whilst the hardware task is relatively simple in this case the implementation of Nokia FBUS protocol to raise alarms was quite considerable.

Reviews are provided on www.themainsail.com , marinedirectory.ybw.com , and www.boatsandwatersportswebsite.co.uk .

Sales enquiries can be made at enquiries@bridgeworkltd.co.uk