MacSailing.net

Has anyone else out there used the anchor alarm feature?

I had a terrifying incident a few nights ago. Our very heavy anchor gear broke loose for the first time ever. It was quite fortunate that I was staring at the radar at the moment it began. After the incident we decided to let the computer run all night with the anchor alarm activated. I set the alarm range so small that we eventually went swinging out of the circle without actually dragging the anchor.

So, what would you expect by the term "anchor alarm?" I know that I expect a constant beeping, or a whoop, whoop, whoop, or something not just alarming, but genuinely annoying. It turns out that the alarm consists of a soft female voice saying "anchor alarm activated." It does not seem to be repeated.

I think the anchor alarm is a great idea, but I want something I can hear, no matter what else has drawn my attention at the moment it is activated. When we dragged the anchor the wind was blowing so much that we never would have heard that soft voice over the buzzing and howling and roaring of the wind. I want to plug in a pair of USB speakers and crank them up so that I get a real alarm. Is there a way to modify the sound so I can get that?

Have you tried the anchor alarm on your GPS unit? Mine is loud and annoying enough to wake the dead.

Currently the MacENC alarm consists of a repeating Beep and a repeating voice stating the anchor alarm was triggered. It's loudness is limited by the Macs volume. The anchor alarm is set on the "GPS" menu. Once set a red circle is drawn on the chart indicating the perimeter (which is set in the Preferences).

For the next MacENC release I will add a more distracting sound then the standard Beep.

Though I have three GPS sources on the boat, none of them is a standalone GPS unit like a Furuno GP32, etc. The mac and USB speakers are my best bet for an anchor alarm.

I was out on another trip a few days ago and I set the anchor alarm while cruising at 7 knots. The engine was making lots of noise since it was revved up to cruising speed, but I was also wearing a pair of fancy noise canceling headphones that were plugged into the mac. There is indeed a beep and then the female voice, followed by an interval of maybe 10 seconds before it repeats. I was genuinely surprised at how difficult it was to hear the alarm sounds even through the headphones. Granted, I'm on a noisy fishing boat while most customers are riding on quieter sailing vessels. In a big storm though, those sailboats make more noise than my boat, and we have all kinds of buzzing and rumbling noises.

I suppose I could invest in another GPS unit and get a better alarm sound, but in a sudden emergency there is a huge value in being able to see what's happening on the computer screen. In the end I'd still have the computer running.

The voice used for the alarms can be selected in System Preferences "Speech" -> "Text To Speech".

thank you for your attention to the alarm; I agree that I would love for it to be more alarming. One thing that would help is to make the alarm continue alarming until it is turned off by the user (instead of the single alert). Much thanks!

The anchor alarm does repeat until the alarm dialog is dismissed. MacENC 7.40 will offer an alarm sound in addition to the voice.