PredictWind Datahub Review

This article is a test review of the PredictWind DataHub, the pros and cons and explains how we used the system in combination with PredictWind the leading weather application (please check out our report on Predictwind) on board of Ambra during our last two Atlantic crossings.

As sailors aboard the sailing vessel Ambra, we’ve found the PredictWind and the DataHub to be an invaluable tool for our voyages. This smart device has revolutionized how we access and utilize marine data and communications while at sea.

Online connectivity and cost is a very important topic discussed in the sailing community. When you sail in the Baltic Sea or the med and visit a marina every night it might not be a problem for you. You might have European wide roaming on your mobile handset and in most marinas you will be able to find a decent wifi internet connection to check your weather forecast and data.

In case you start sailing abroad communication and least cost routing becomes an important and costly topic. In the past we bought a local SIM card in a given country you are visiting and offshore most sailors relied on Iridium Go (in the past SSB) to download news or weather informations. This is very costly and you need to install a firewall to protect the systems from unwanted satellite traffic. We have meet sailors, who lost their entire satellite data subscripton  for a couple of hundert dollars overnight, because a computer downloaded a virus update over the Iridium connection.

Now Starlink has become a major game changer for the boating community. Here in the Carribean Sea most of the vessels have Starlink on board. Starlink is a global satellite data service and can be used on and offshore. The data rates are fast and not comparable in terms of pricing to Iridium or Inmersat satellite systems. More on Starlink in a separate article.

The DataHub serves as our central hub for GPS tracking, live weather updates, and communications[1]. It allows us to share our position, wind conditions, and boat speed with friends and family, providing them peace of mind during our journeys[1]. This feature proved especially useful during our Atlantic crossing, allowing loved ones to follow our progress[2].

One of the standout features we rely on is the weather forecasting and routing capabilities. The DataHub connects to our boat’s instruments, accessing real-time data to create hyper-accurate weather routing through its AI Polars feature[1][4]. By inputting our vessel’s specifications and adjusting for factors like additional weight, we receive optimized sailing routes based on wind conditions[2][4].

The Over the Horizon AIS (OHA) functionality has significantly enhanced our safety at sea. It extends our AIS range from 5nm to 300nm, giving us crucial extra time to react to approaching vessels[3]. This feature has been particularly valuable in high-traffic areas or during low visibility conditions.

We’ve also found the DataHub’s ability to share our boat’s NMEA 2000 data over Wi-Fi extremely useful. It allows us to view our vessel’s instrumentation on various navigation apps (we use Navionics Boating App as a backup to our plotters onboard Ambra), giving us flexibility in how we access critical information[1].

The DataHub’s firewall feature provides peace of mind by blocking unwanted traffic and preventing unexpected satellite airtime bills[1]. Additionally, its remote monitoring capabilities allow us to check on Ambra’s systems from anywhere in the world[1].

In conclusion, the PredictWind DataHub has become an essential part of our sailing setup on Ambra. It enhances our safety, improves our routing decisions, and keeps us connected while at sea. For any serious sailor looking to upgrade their marine technology, we highly recommend considering the DataHub.

Datahub setup and best practice on Ambra:

The DataHub offers you four ports (WAN, LAN, NMEA and Wifi), please see the details about all the DataHub ports.

We connected our Starlink system using the Ethernet WAN port on the DataHub. The DataHub firewall will manage and protect the access and the traffic. When we are sailing offshore we need to switch the Starlink system to priority data (it is the metered data service by Starlink $2 plus VAT per GB). Afterwards we enable the firewall and block all ports to disable any unwanted online data traffic. In this mode we are still able to download PredictWind weather forecast, use PredictMail and shared our progress through PredictWind GPS tracking with family and friends. On our last Atlantic Crossing we enabled the use of WhatsApp Messaging by open the ports WhatsApp.com and Whatsapp.net at the firewall.

PredictWind DataHub Firewall Configuration – YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe2JRYkKXLg

The  LAN port of the DataHub is connected to our onboard Ethernet switch (Tplink for example). The Ethernet switch has 10 Ethernet ports, therefore we are able to connect more devices using a more reliable Ethernet connection. On our internal Ethernet network we connected a couple of Raspberry‘s using SignalK, Venus OS for our power management of our Victron system, Influxdb to record selected NMEA data in a time series database. Using Grafana we are able to analyse the data and create meaningful reports.

The TPLink router we use has a build in and optional SIM mobil port in case we want to use a mobil data connection for example a dual SIM in the med.

The NMEA port of the DataHub is connected to our NMEA bus to interface with Ambra and all its sensors.

We use the polar feature of the DataHub and created our individual polar diagram for Ambra, which we use for the weather routing. We publish all the data on our PredictWind GPS tracking page, for our friends and families.

Verdict – using the DataHub system on our Atlantic crossing:

Best data and communication device for sailors in the market!

It integrates best in class with our preferred weather routing software PredictWind, protects your data and you are able to access all the information on your vessel or remotely. You are able to connect Starlink, your satellite systems and the NMEA data of your vessel.

It is an open system and you are able to control most of the features and settings.

It not only saves you a lot of hassle integrating all the different systems but it protects your data and will save and opitimise your data communication.

Watch out when you start using a very expensive satellite links offshore or even Starlink priority. You need to have a firewall in place to limit the amount of traffic, particular when you have all passengers on your vessel connected to the system. We limited the access through the PredictWind firewall for all of us onboard of Ambra only to WhatsApp and this has worked fine.

PredictWind offers a Predictmail system as well to send and receive Emails.
Predictmail will bypass the firewall and the mail is optimized to reduce the data rates.

The price / performance of the DataHub is very competitive. In case you purchase a Wifi NMEA repeater you will almost pay as much.
With the DataHub you have a very flexibel system with a lot of value added features.

We did not test the new Anchor Alert App and feature of PredictWind yet, because we have no access to the App.

Quellen:

[1] DataHub – PredictWind https://www.predictwind.com/datahub

[2] PredictWind: A Practical Guide to Weather Forecasting for Ambra https://www.worldcruisingstories.com/offshore-weather-forecast-predictwind/

[3] Over the Horizon AIS – PredictWind https://www.predictwind.com/over-the-horizon

[4] AI Polars – DataHub Automatic Polar Generation | PredictWind Help
https://help.predictwind.com/en/articles/7880163-ai-polars-datahub-automatic-polar-generation