The system uses new technology designed by Tacktick to reduce the power needed to run a radio network system, enabling the totally wireless system to become a reality.

While there may seem to be similarities with Bluetooth, Tacktick's Clive Johnson told BB : "Bluetooth is an incredibly power hungry protocol, so we had to develop our own system capable of running on solar power."

We dreamed it up six years ago when we set the company up, he said, but we needed to learn solar technology and find out how the marine industry worked before we could play with the big boys.

According to Johnson, they spent the last 18 months getting Micronet to where it is now "and that was using a team of Cambridge graduates".

And it seems there is little chance of crosstalk between systems. "When you buy a system, it's unregistered until you turn it on. You put the instrument and display head in close proximity and turn them on and that networks them with a unique ID, " said Johnson.

And if you buy another display head, you follow the same procedure and it all networks together.

Theoretically there's no real answer to how many IDs are possible, said Johnson. But if you had, say, 150 boats and two boats' systems began interfering with each other's signals, each system would automatically move to a new, random, identity.

Micronet can be used on sail and power boats and offers speed, depth, compass and wind instruments. A range of display heads offers analogue, digital and dual digital displays.

Tacktick Ltd Tel: 01243 379331. Fax: 01243 379199.

Email: sales@tacktick.co.uk Web: www.tacktick.com