CSI-made MX 575 is Type-Approved as DGPS for SOLAS

is first GPS compass to be type-approved as DGPS positioning device for SOLAS CALGARY, Alberta, Canada - June 8, 2005 - CSI Wireless Inc., a designer and manufacturer of advanced wireless and GPS products used in more than 50 countries, today announced that it has begun supplying essential differential GPS (DGPS) technology for the "Trinity Solution" available from MX Marine, a unit of Brunswick Corporation. Designed to meet the International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards for marine navigation, heading information, and Automatic Identification System (AIS) data to monitor maritime traffic, the Trinity Solution is comprised of the MX 575 DGPS Compass, MX 420 Control and Display Unit, and MX 535 Transponder -- with all three linked to a junction box. The MX 575 DGPS Compass is designed and manufactured by CSI, through its Hemisphere GPS division. Based on Hemisphere's innovative Vector technology, the MX 575 is the first GPS compass to be type-approved as a DGPS positioning device and as a secondary heading device for SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) carriage requirements, according to standards established by the IMO. The MX 575 is a "smart antenna" that features two DGPS receivers and two multipath-resistant antennas in a single rugged, water-tight enclosure about a half-meter long, together with CSI's MBL-3 beacon antenna. Hemisphere has been supplying two other DGPS products to Brunswick's MX Marine for some time. One is a smart antenna that MX Marine is branding as the MX 521, and offering as an optional navigational device for the type-approved Trinity Solution. The other product, also optional for use with the Trinity Solution, is another antenna -- the MX 525 DGPS Black Box Sensor -- that Hemisphere GPS has been producing for MX since 2003. MX Marine's MX 525 customers include the U.S. Coast Guard. "By now supplying the MX 575, in addition to the MX 521 and MX 525, Hemisphere is building on a longstanding history with MX Marine of co-developing world-class DGPS products for the marine industry," said Hemisphere GPS President Rick Heiniger. "I'm delighted to see this very successful partnership continue to grow." "The differential GPS technology provided to us by CSI's Hemisphere is an integral part of the Trinity Solution, and a key reason why Trinity can truly be called the next wave in navigation," said MX Marine President Greg Konig. The Hemisphere-made MX 575 DGPS Compass, when combined with the MX 420 Control and Display Unit, provides mariners with exceptional navigation and heading information, including: - heading accuracy of 0.5 degrees - heading updates of up to 10 Hz and position updates of up to 5 Hz - fast start-up times - sustained tracking, even during up to 25% rates of turn - access to integrated DGPS sources including beacon and Space-Based Augmentation Systems The MX 575 DGPS Compass, in a sealed enclosure with an IP 67 rating, also features a NMEA 0183 interface, with provision for external RTCM SC-104 corrections. Hemisphere Products for Marine Guidance Hemisphere is an elite supplier of DGPS guidance products for marine guidance and navigation, harbor management and hydrographic surveying, with a global customer base that includes both the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards. Its DGPS product line includes the: Vector - a rugged "smart antenna" combining two DGPS receivers and two multipath-resistant antennas in a single enclosure a half meter long. The Vector can use Hemisphere's unique Coast(TM) technology that accurately predicts how errors change over time, and that enables accurate positioning for 40 minutes or more without Differential aid -- very useful during unexpected DGPS signal outages. Vector Sensor - two GPS receivers inside one enclosure, and two multipath-resistant antennas in two separate enclosures. Increasing the distance between the two antennas increases the Vector Sensor's heading accuracy. With the antennas two meters apart, users can expect better than 0.15-degree accuracy -- matching or exceeding competitors' products while being much more affordable. Vector OEM - a GPS compass in modular circuit-board format that offers high-performance heading and position data when integrated into Original Equipment Manufacturers' products. MBX-3S - a DGPS receiver that utilizes Differential signals from Coast Guard beacon stations.