Astra is an Italian electronics brand distributed by PST France. It targets the racing yachtsman who seeks to get the most out of his yacht without equipping it with a computer and first studying computer science to use it. Astra is a simple system that gives all the useful information for racing and, above all, calculates, records and develops the boat's polar patterns.
How does it work?
Astra does not replace the on-board electronics, it collaborates with. Indeed, the Astra Gamp box that is installed on board is a multiplexer on which the onboard sensors are connected: wind vane, anemometer, log, speedo, sounder, GPS... The strength of this multiplexer is to accept NMEA 183 and NMEA 2000, but also to be compatible with all the power plants on the market, even the oldest (B&G H3000, Autohelm ST50, Raymarine ST60, Tacktick or Nexus NX2).
To optimize the settings
As a first function, this multiplexer acts as a Data Loger: it stores all the day's data on an SD card and it is possible in the evening to analyse them quietly and replay the race to check if the right edge has been pulled at the right time.
But this recorder can also send and analyze information live. Indeed, thanks to its Wifi transmission, you can connect to it with a mobile phone (smartphone or tablet under iOS). Free software gives you all the information you need for the regatta directly on the screen of your mobile: help for the start line, laylines, VMG, target speed... So on board, the regatta sailor has all the ideal information for his decision making.
Simple and accessible
With its ease of use and simplicity of installation, the Astra Gamp multiplexer opens the doors of complex computing to anyone who does not want (or cannot) embed a complete computer, with a computer and its software. This small black box complete (with GPS and software) costs just 889 euros. Without replacing the on-board electronics, it removes all the quintessence and will quickly advance the sailor in search of performance.
A complete range of products
In addition to this Gamp multiplexer, the nerve centre of the Astra system, this company develops peripheral products such as a multifunction display or a connected watch. We will come back to this later.
