Coxmate SRT versus Nielsen Kellerman Cox Box®

28 February 2013

This is the first of a series of Coxmate product comparisons. The aim of these comparisons is to help you choose the equipment that fits your needs. 

This time we will be comparing the the Coxmate SRT to the Nielsen Kellerman Cox Box®. 

The Similarities:

Amplification

Both the Coxmate SRT and the NK Cox Box provide voice amplification for the coxswain. Both units are also compatible with the same speaker harnesses. This means the SRT will work with an NK speaker harness and vice versa. 
The microphone inputs are different. The Coxmate uses a waterproof 3.5mm jack to connect. Whereas the Cox Box uses its own type of waterproof plug.  The latest version of the Cox Box also boasts an improved microphone connection.
The SRT utilises a digital amplifier and the Cox Box uses an analogue amplifier. The digital amplifier increases power efficiency and battery run time by over 50%

Display Features

Both units provide you with the ability to monitor Stroke Rate and Time and have a memory function that will allow you to recall and review your recent history. They feature a backlit display for those early morning outings in the dark.

Survivability

Both units are also built to survive. Both the Cox Box and the SRT are waterproof to the same international standard, IP67.  This means they designed and sealed to be temporarily waterproof up to a depth of 2m.  They are also both designed to float, and withstand shock. The Coxmate SRT can withstand a 1.5m fall and features a wrist lanyard to help stop it being dropped. While no specifics were given about the Cox Box, it has protective bumpers that improve its durability. The SRT has protective covers for the external connectors to keep them clean when not in use.

Points of Difference:

Alarm:

While they both feature a stopwatch, the Coxmate SRT takes it a step further and also includes a real time clock with an alarm function. This can be useful for ensuring you make it to the start line on time.  Coaches use this to set the alarm 10 minutes before you need to be at the marshalling area as a reminder. The SRT also features a metronome that assists with setting the rate for novice crews to follow and learn ratio.

Battery Life:

Here’s a major point of difference between the SRT and the Cox Box. The battery life of each unit is significantly different. 

The Coxmate batteries will allow it to operate for up to 8 hours – based on 50% volume and talking 50% of time. With a 15 hour charge time from empty. This operating time is significantly higher than the Cox Box. The SRT battery is replaceable, but requires you to unscrew and open the unit it order to do so. This means that you can’t change out the battery pack on the water.

Based on same 50/50 criteria Cox Box claim battery will  last 4 hours.  Continuous talking will provide you with about 1 hour battery life, while on standby you’ve got 25 hours of life.  The charge cycle for the Cox Box is faster than the Coxmate taking around 9.5 hours to charge from empty. 

However the Cox Box gains points back with the ability to quickly and easily switch battery packs, even while on the water, you simply twist the new pack into place. Although this does require the cox to carry spare battery packs, not to mention the added cost of buying extra battery packs. 

Weight:

The SRT is lighter than the Cox Box. The Cox Box weighs in at 560g (1.25lbs) whereas the SRT sits at 370g (0.81lbs) making the Coxmate  around 2/3rds of  the weight.

Radio Input:

The SRT comes standard with a waterproof 3.5mm jack socket for an external radio. This enables a coach to talk to crew through a 2 way radio. With a Cox Box, an external adaptor has to be purchased for an extra $89 to enable radio to connect to Cox Box.  

Mounting in Boat:

The Cox Box is designed to fit into a ‘cup’, which is fitted in boat. The SRT has an adaptor so it can mount in the Cox Box  ‘cup’ or can be can be mounted on a double articulated bracket, included which is supplied with unit. This SRT is magnetically held in place and the bracket can be adjusted for optimal viewing angle.

Price: *

Coxmate SRT: AU$780 (Includes: SRT+ control unit, charger, microphone and carry case). Spares: Battery $40, Microphone $110.

NK Cox Box: AU$999 (Includes: Cox Box control unit, charger, microphone, carry case and protective bumpers). Spare: Battery $125, Microphone $149 

*These are the Australian price points. Check with your local distributor if you’re outside of Australia.

What do you think?

Do you have anything to add to this? Want to share your experience with either the SRT+ or Cox Box? Leave us a comment below.

Have you seen our Resources for Coxswains yet?

15 February 2013

New to the Coxmate website? Looking for coxing advice? Just need a refresher? You’ve come to the right place!

Head over to our Resources for Coxswains page. We know there is a long list of coxing resources scattered around the internet and we here at Coxmate do our best to find the best of them and list them in one place. We want to help you spend less time searching for advice, and more time improving your coxing skills.

Picture Credit:

What’s over on the resources page?

• Key articles from Coxmate
• Steering Guides
• Other Coxswain blogs and Twitter users
• Coxing Audio
• Free email coaching
• and much more

Head over now and take a look at the resources we’ve found to help you improve.

What else can Coxmate do to help you?

Sign up for our the Coxmate news. You’ll get our latest posts sent to you as soon as they are published so that you’re always in the know.

Also sign up for one (or both) of our FREE email coaching series that deliver tips from top coxswains Andy Probert or Michael Toon directly to your inbox!

Think we’ve missed an important resource?

Let us know in the comments below, or drop us a line on the Coxmate Facebook page, or Coxmate’s Twitter profile! (You’ll also find even more from us on Facebook and Twitter, so make sure you like/follow us).

Coxswain Q and A - Rebecca Dowbiggin

21 February 2013

This week we put a few questions to coxswain Rebecca Dowbiggin, who coxed Cambridge to a win in the 2007 Boat Race. We asked her advice for steering the Tideway Heads which is coming up next month. Here's the advice Rebecca had for us:

What's your top tip for steering Tideway Heads?

Preparation. Make sure you have looked at a good map of the course, read the rules of the race AND the Tideway navigation rules (which apply before and after the race), read some steering advice available online, watched British Rowing’s “Coxing a Tideway Head” (available on YouTube) and talked to coxes who have steered the race before. An even better preparation would be to do some coxing on the course if you can, or even to go to London before race day and walk along the bank and bridges.

Assuming you’ve done as much of this as you can, my top tip is to steer in parallel to the inside bank of each bend. This will be the Middlesex bank (on your left) until the crossing point after Barnes, then the Surrey bank (on your right) from there until just before Fulham football ground, and finally the Middlesex bank again from there to the finish. When I cox Tideway races, I keep checking that I’m the same distance away from the relevant bank. I don’t really steer using landmarks (or not many) and I don’t look at the other bank at all. 

The reason for steering parallel to the inside bank is that it means you’ll be steering parallel to the stream, and it also helps you to keep your rudder movements small. The line of fastest water is a reasonably narrow one (although not as narrow as most people think), but it’s better to be in roughly the right place and steering parallel to the stream than to be in exactly the right place but using a lot of rudder. By steering parallel to the inside bank, I ensure that I’m working with the river’s flow and not slowing the boat down by over-steering. 

What's an advanced tip for steering Tideway Heads?

Think in advance about your strategy for overtaking AND being overtaken. Read the rules of your race: usually, slower crews must give way – when it is safe to do so – to a faster crew, but ALL crews have a responsibility to avoid collision. This means that the overtaking crew cannot simply row into the crew they are trying to overtake if the slower crew doesn’t give way!

Overtaking often takes longer than you expect – regardless of whether you’re the crew being overtaken or doing the overtaking. It’s crucial that you don’t lose too much time in the procedure. When it comes to steering, this means thinking ahead and ensuring that you don’t get pushed out wide on any corners.

My strategy for overtaking is to clearly signal my line in advance. I normally assume that the slower crew won’t give way quickly enough or at all (although I always hope they will!), so I aim to overtake on the inside of whatever corner we’re on – or coming up to – at the time. So if I was approaching a slower crew at St Paul’s, I would steer gently towards Surrey to signal that I was going to overtake them on bowside (i.e. the inside of the Surrey bend). Ideally the slower crew would then move out gently to Middlesex, allowing me to steer my preferred line. However, if they didn’t, then at least I was steering a little to the inside of the best line – not a little to the outside.

My strategy for being overtaken is actually exactly the same. As long as my crew gives me enough time to react (a nudge for any rowers reading this: we need more than a couple of strokes!), I steer gently towards the inside of whatever corner we’re on – or coming up to – at the time. The overtaking crew can then take their preferred line outside me and I won’t lose as much time as I would have done steering to the outside.

Two things are crucial here: think ahead to where the next bend on the river is, and work out which side makes sense to steer to. And STAY SAFE: you may have to steer to the outside of the bend if the inside is crowded with other crews. 

How do you educate yourself / How should coxswains educate themselves?

There are many sources of inspiration out there: websites, blogs, coxing recordings (although these are sadly few and far between) and YouTube videos. I used to read a lot about rowing and coxing and listened to everything I could. However, there is no substitute for actually coxing! Cox as much as you can and cox the best crews that you can. 

In order to get the most out of your outings and races, I do have some tips. Number one is a training diary. I used to write down some details about every outing (who was in the crew, mileage, focus, exercises we did) and do a coxing debrief: what worked, what didn’t work, what I would do next time. And I would look at it before the next outing. This helped me to keep continuity and focus between outings, helped me to coach myself out of some bad habits and keep pushing myself to do better.

Ask for feedback from your crews and coaches, but sparingly. Don’t ask questions that are too wide (“How was my coxing today?”) and don’t ask the whole crew at once. Work out whose feedback will be most useful (generally the rower with the most experience or who is clearly thoughtful about coxing) and check in with them regularly. Let them know what you’re working on so that they can give you targeted feedback. 

Record yourself and find a coxing mentor who can listen to recordings and give you advice. Listening to the recordings can be difficult at first but it’s the quickest way to discover your verbal tics and annoying habits! And it’s a tangible record that you can use to demonstrate your progress. 

Finally, it helps to cox different crews. Each crew will have different requirements from you, forcing you to evaluate your coxing afresh. Different coaches will help you to understand rowing in new ways. Different outings will give you ideas that you can take back to your regular crew. And coxing a new crew successfully will give you confidence in your skills and ability to adapt. Often coxes are allocated to a single crew for long periods of time, but whenever you have a chance to cox another boat, take it.

Thanks to Rebecca for providing us with some great advice for the Tideway Heads. If you want to hear more from Rebecca you can follow her on Twitter.

Coxing News

07 February 2013

Hi all, here’s a roundup of the  coxing news that we here at Coxmate have come across recently.

Firstly there was sad news of the death of British coxswain Acer Nethercott.

“Acer Nethercott, who has died aged 35, coxed the Oxford University men’s rowing eight to two Boat Race victories and won a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when his crew finished narrowly behind the reigning champions, Canada.” - Read the full story about Acer

If you’re one of our readers in the United States then you might be interested to know that the 2013 USRowing Coxswain clinic is coming up on 23-24 February and will feature:

• Stephen Young, National Team Coxswain and National Team Coach Former MIT 1V Coxswain and Plant 1V Coxswain
• Joe Manion, National Team Coxswain and Former University of California at Berkeley 1V Coxswain
• Erin Gallagher, Former Syracuse University 1V Coxswain
• Tim Edsell, Former FIT 1V Coxswain and World Masters Coxswain
• Ashley Archibald, Former Nova Southeastern 1V Coxswain and Assistant coach and Coxswains Coach, University of Oklahoma

For more information on this coxswain clinic check out the USRowing website

Looking for Coxswain recordings? Go check out the coxswain recordings section of the Ready all, row blog to get your fix!

And if you want to get some coxing tips delivered straight to your inbox, go sign up for Michael Toon’s Advanced Racing Tips which was written especially for Coxmate.