Electronics recomendations

[LSP]

Any recommendations for chartplotter / GPS? ...just curious what others are using?

[Stripermann2]

One word...Garmin.
Easiest to use, almost never any problems. I would stay away from MFDs, multi-function-displays. If your radar or depth takes a dive, you would need to send in the whole unit, leaving you without the other functions.

I have a Garmin 2010 (10 1/4" screen) Love it but have seperate radar and fishfinders on the helm as well.

[jddens]

I agree with striper man. I have a garmin color plotter, sounder, fish finder.....easy to use, works good and no problems.

[Obaby]

Dont do RayMarine, !!!


I've got the C120 complete package.. Love everything but the issue with the FishFinder DSM (Dig Sounder Module).. Too many people like myself have had problems with that DSM300. When it works It's awesome but I'm not happy with Raymarines response to correct these issues. It's a joke.

Just search on DSM300 and you'll see the plethora of complaints.

That Garmin touchscreen unit sure looked sweet.. but I'd ask someone that owns one first. That's too many eggs in one basket if you have a failure. ALWAYS carry a portable GPS as a backup.. ( in my case the Pacific Ocean )

Let us know what you choose..
Patrick

[prowlersfish]

Garmin no question . no fan of raymarine also A frend has the full E120 and hates it


I want that hat !

[MattSC]

I've had Lowrance electronics dating back to an old X4. Currently I have an LCX-19 color plotter/fish finder combination, with a navionics gold chart. When I had a problem with my old LCX-17 Lowrance had me back up and running with a new unit within a week, they were really good to deal with. For a radar unit I have a JRC 3000 4kw unit with a crt display, it's been a very reliable unit and is reasonably priced. But my favorites are still my paper charts, compass and stopwatch

[LandVF36]

I installed a Lowrance LMS-520c unit this spring. I wanted to go with the larger screen, but only had the money for the 520c. I'm very happy with it. Depth, temp, all the GPS features. Its NMEA2000 compatible and supports RADAR as well (but no spare change to buy that yet).

I also bought a pair of NMEA-2000 fuel flow guages and installed them this summer. Its really nice to see the flow in both engines. Tends to make a guy conserve a little more, but I actually found a few engine problems as when first installed, at the same RPM, was getting very different flow readings. Filters, cleaning some ports, adjusting and I have them pretty balanced now. I almost increased range by 20% on a gallon at speeds under 10 knots.

Next year, I'd like to pick up a 2nd 520c and mount them side by side at the flybridge helm. There is a few companies that make water, temp, and tach to NMEA-2000 devices and I could get rid of all the analog guages at the helm and turn that space into a drink / food tray!

[wowzer52]

I have on the lower helm a Garmin gps plotter with external antenna, Garmin depth and Furuno open array radar, seperate units for redundancy. If one quits I still have the rest. On the flybridge I have a Garmin 498 split screen, gps plotter/sonar with external antenna and a Garmin handheld for the dink and waverunners. I've always had Garmin and never had a problem, love them. I also like JRC 1500 radar, easy to use, compact and shows lots of detail, lots of bang for the buck.

[LSP]

Thanks for all the great info. I really need to do something over the off season ...and didn't want to purchase something that I wouldn't be happy with. Prowlersfish ... as far as the hat goes... I was at the sailboat show in Annapolis over the weekend and had a guy that did hats throw it together for me. It was the only thing at the show worth buying. hahahahaha Take care

[ltbrett]

Some folks get "religious" about their electronics and about the evils of competing brands. Garmin, Lowrance, Raymarine, all seem to present similar levels of performance and reliability--plenty of anecdotal evidence for and against each.

I went with the Lowrance system because it has the most open archetecture. By installing Lowrance, you are putting in a nema 2000 backbone vs a proprietary system based on nema 2000. This is one heck of a nice upgrade for our older boats. Sure, Ray can do similar tricks, but Lowrance is really at the leading edge and has imho the best displays. Although budget wasn't a primary concern of mine, the fact that Lowrance provided the most bang for the buck was a real bonus.

As for integrated systems, I am a convert. Yes, they introduce a single point of failure. But 99.999% of the time, they are an absolute joy to use. I would go so far as to say that the benefits in terms of information presented to you in an intuitive manner outweigh the risks of your unit going down. I kept my old garmin plotter as a backup (I was trained in the era of paper charts & sextants). Worried about a backup depth sounder? Most nema 2000 gauges can show depth. Or hang a $50 transom mount ducer, and you've got redundancy in both the ducer and the gauge. Everything just twist locks onto your nema 2000 backbone--tank level indicators, fuel flow monitors, even a VHF that automatically plots your buddies on your plotter. Really slick stuff.

Brett

[Aviso Grille]

I use my laptop with SeaClear its Free software and the 2 add on's, SeaTrace and Sea Chart, I download the charts from NOAA for Free, just connect any GPS to the laptop and presto, I use a GPS-500 that came with Street and Trips, I dont use the software but for 89$ the price for the GPS was right.

[wowzer52]

Oh yeah, besides my Garmins I also have a Dell laptop with Nobeltec 6.5 that I take home to plot my coarse, study the bottom contours for fishing, check the tides which my Garmins also have, distance, speed, time and fuel useage calculations etc., The laptop is really handy and fun because I can take it home and play with it then back on the boat I have alot more detail to look at. My wife thinks I'm obsessed with my boat toys........maybe.......? nahh.....well maybe a little. But they sure are fun.

[Dan Faith]

I have three Garmins two in my airplane one on my boat. Number one if you are using it on the flybridge make sure it is a daylight readable color. The black and white is almost unusable in sunlight. I stayed with one brand because of ease of use in transition between them. Another approach is to make sure you list items that you will need. One the new units like my 496 I can use it in the Airplane, boat or automobile (three functions for the price of one) I also has WX weather depending on your type of boating this can be a lifesaver for a nominal monthly fee. Garmin has really given me great support and I know parts and repair are readily available (of course at a price). by the way I set up quick disconnects to move my GPS and radio easily between the fly bridge and second station. Really easy to do and I didn't buy their additional cables to do this just some Radio Shack parts. $25.00 vs $130.00

[davescarrs]

I'm also going to be buying electronics over the winter. I have twin inboards. Would a transom transducer work in this situation or to much disturbance in water? Has anyone used a thru hull transducer (sonar shoots thru your fiberglass)? I would rather not drill a hole in the bottom of my boat. I have 87 10 meter int express. how have you guys mounted the transducers?
thanks.

[wowzer52]

Rodgers Marine Electronics in Portland Or. said I could'nt use a transom mount transducer in a twin engine boat because of the turbulence so I installed a through hull transducer(drilled "THE HOLE"). But it works perfectly. A friend of mine just recently mounted his Lowrance and used epoxy to shoot through the hull and mounted a transom mount transducer inside his F-32 under the rear dinette seat cabinets and it works. But according to the mounting instructions, there can be no air bubbles in the epoxy between the transducer and the hull. He has not had a chance to test its accuracy at depth yet but it is accurate at the dock, we are keeping our fingers crossed.