1. What is the purpose of the Anchor Alert:

The Anchor Alert is designed to detect anchor movement and notify the captain of that movement.

2. What are the components of the Anchor Alert system?

The Anchor Alert consists of an Anchor Unit and a Boat Unit.  The Anchor Unit is a plastic capsule containing electronic sensors and batteries.  The capsule is covered with a strong metal housing that shackles to the anchor and the first link of the anchor chain.

The Boat Unit contains the display, the receiving transducer, the alarm speaker and the necessary electronics to control the system.  It can be flush mounted or bracket mounted. 

3. How does the system work?

A movement sensor in the Anchor Unit detects anchor movement.  When movement is detected, the Anchor Unit looks at a snapshot of the severity of the movement and calculates a severity score.  The score is then transmitted wirelessly (acoustically) to the Boat Unit.  The Boat Unit will sound an alarm if the score exceeds a threshold set by the captain.  The alarm will continue to sound until a button is pushed.  All anchor movement is displayed at the Boat Unit even if it does not exceed the alarm threshold.

4. How much movement is needed in order to be detected by the Anchor Unit?

Very small movements (inches) will usually be detected particularly if they are abrupt movements.

5. How is the signal received at the boat?

An acoustic transducer (similar to a depth finder) is placed in the water and connects to the Boat Unit.  This transducer is included in the system and can be mounted through the hull or dunked over the side.  A plastic thru hull fitting is included and bronze and stainless are available by special order.

6. How is the system powered on?

The Boat Unit is powered on by pressing a button on the front cover.  The Anchor Unit is powered on automatically when it enters the water through the use of a water contact switch.

7. Will the system interfere with my depth finder or GPS system? 

The system will not interfere with either of these systems since it operates at a different frequency from depth finders and operates in a different manner from GPS systems.

8. How is the Anchor Alert different from the anchor alarm function found on some GPS models?

The biggest difference is the Anchor Alert monitors the movement of the anchor and GPS monitors the movement of the boat.  This means that GPS will alarm if the boat moves outside a designated area even if the anchor does not move.  A good example is boat movement as wind direction changes.  In this case it is highly likely that the GPS alarm would sound even though the anchor has not moved.

9. What is the purpose of the distance measurement function and how does it work?

The system can measure the distance between the boat and the anchor giving the captain a sense of the scope of the anchor rode.  The distance will be the straight line distance and since the anchor rode is sagging, the distance will therefore be less than the scope. The system uses the “time of flight” of two way communication between the Anchor Unit and the Boat Unit to calculate the distance.

10. What is the breaking strength of the Anchor Unit?

The protective metal housing of the Anchor Unit is made from an alloy of Aluminum Bronze.  It is a good salt water material and its breaking strength is approximately 5 tons.  This is approximately the working load of ½ inch galvanized chain.  This is the lateral pulling load and should not be confused with hull weight of the boat. 

11. How do I change the batteries in the Anchor Unit?

The Anchor Unit uses two alkaline D cell batteries.  The metal housing is a clam shell design with the top half removable for battery access.  The bottom half is shackled to the anchor and chain and does not need to be removed.  The changing procedure is simple and involves removing one Phillips head screw to release the top half of the housing.  The battery cap of the plastic capsule is now removed using the cap remover that is molded into the metal housing.  The batteries are replaced, the cap screwed back onto the capsule, the top half of the metal housing replaced and the unit is ready for use.

12. How long does a set of batteries last?

As with most things electronic the amount activity influences the battery life.  It is therefore difficult to be precise but generally 30 to 60 anchoring days are possible. 

13. What are the mounting options for the Boat Unit?

The Boat Unit can be mounted on a bracket or it can be flush mounted.  A complete bracket mounting assembly is included.  A flush mount kit is also included containing a template, gasket and mounting hardware.

14. What cables are included with the system?

The transducer comes with a 10 meter cable that plugs directly into the back of the Boat Unit. A power cable (five feet in length) is supplied and it also connects directly into the back of the Boat Unit.  If needed, the power cable can be extended by simply connecting additional wire using standard marine connectors.

15. How do I extend alarm capability to other parts of the boat?

An optional Remote Alarm kit is available that allows alarms to be placed virtually anywhere on the boat.  The kit consists of a cable that plugs into the back of the Boat Unit and two separate alarm units.  Additional wire can be connected to the cable and additional alarm units can be purchased.  A large number of remote alarm units can be added without affecting system performance.

16. What are the operating voltages of the system?

The Boat Unit is designed to be used with 12, 24 and 32 volt DC systems.  It has tolerance above and below these designated voltages to handle the variations normally found in a marine environment.

17. What other user options are available on the system?

The user can designate the language to be displayed (English, French, Italian, Spanish and German), the alarm volume, the alarm pattern, the tonal frequency, distance units (feet or meters) and display contrast.

18. What is included in the system price?

·        Boat Unit Display

·        Plastic cover for display protection

·        Boat Unit Transducer with 10 meter cable

·        Plastic Thru Hull Transducer housing

·        Power cable (5 feet)

·        Boat Unit mounting bracket with hardware

·        Flush mount kit with hardware

·        Anchor Unit capsule

·        Anchor Unit metal housing

·        Two D cell batteries

·        User manual

·        User “Quick Start” guide