Paradox Marine introduces Nav-Tracker SmartKEY

A few weeks ago, I wrote a brief summary of several of the vessel tracking packages on the market, and the do-it-yourself alternatives. One of the features I found attractive was the wireless key-fob included with the Blackline GPS Harpoon. Here’s what I wrote:

“When you get to the boat, the Harpoon disarms itself. When you leave the boat, the system arms itself again, with no action on your part. Easy!”

Not to be outdone, the go-anywhere, monitor-anything Nav-Tracker from Paradox Marine has just added a similar feature. The press release tells the tale:

Fort Lauderdale, Florida (USA) – Boat security systems supplier Paradox Marine has enhanced its Nav-Tracker 2.0 wireless boat location and GPS tracking system with SmartKEY, which automatically disarms the system when the vessel operator boards the vessel and re-arms it when the operator disembarks.

SmartKEY uses RFID technology that allows for ‘no touch’ arming and disarming of the Nav-Tracker 2.0 system. There are no buttons to push or keys to turn. With a SmartKEY in range, Nav-Tracker 2.0 is disarmed. When a SmartKEY is out of range for more than 60 seconds or is turned off, the system will re-arm itself.

How SmartKEY Works

The Nav-Tracker 2.0 SmartKEY is comprised of a state-of-the-art wireless 2.4GHz Active RFID technology with a transmitter paired with a receiver packaged inside of the Nav-Tracker 2.0 control unit operating on a proprietary frequency. The SmartKEY transmits 10 data packs per second when turned on. When it is in range of the Nav-Tracker 2.0, the SmartKEY disarms the system, and it will remain disarmed until it stops receiving the data packets for more than 60 seconds. This provides an extremely high level of security by automatically arming and disarming the system when the operator arrives or leaves the vessel – there’s no more need to remember to arm or disarm the Nav-Tracker 2.0.