02-02-2020, 01:47 PM
I upgraded all my electronics last year and went to Garmin. I had Garmin on my last few boats and really like how they work. Very intuitive and user friendly.
I know Garmin has good customer support. My radar unit only worked for one trip and when I called their support the sent a new unit to me immediately (before I even uninstalled the bad one). They took my credit card in case I didn't return the bad one but didn't charge it.
Chart Plotter - The blue charts are really good and not extremely expensive. I also see they are starting to update to the new high def charts. Refresh rate is fast and the chart boundaries are seamless. I have two 12" touch screens on my helm and they are like using a tablet. Very fluid and easy to use even in rough seas.
Radar - I had Furuno on one boat and I will say their radar is really good if you are using it to spot birds and don't want to overlay it on your chart plotter. However I wanted both so I went with the Garmin. If you are looking for a radar for navigation their newer digital Fathom units are great and have some amazing tracking features, but are actually lacking a bit with the smaller targets like birds. I went with the 24kw xHDS unit and can spot almost anything from way out. It uses more power than the digital stuff but I am not sticking my head into the path of the radar anyway.
I hooked my old Raymarine transducer into the network for depth. Garmin makes a splice box that allows you to cut the end of the cable off and use the transducer for the new system. Saved a bunch of money with that by not having to pull the boat out and put in a new transducer.
I also installed a Fusion stereo and Sirius satellite weather and radio. It overlays the stereo control is and weather onto the plotter. Everything works seamlessly.
I know Garmin has good customer support. My radar unit only worked for one trip and when I called their support the sent a new unit to me immediately (before I even uninstalled the bad one). They took my credit card in case I didn't return the bad one but didn't charge it.
Chart Plotter - The blue charts are really good and not extremely expensive. I also see they are starting to update to the new high def charts. Refresh rate is fast and the chart boundaries are seamless. I have two 12" touch screens on my helm and they are like using a tablet. Very fluid and easy to use even in rough seas.
Radar - I had Furuno on one boat and I will say their radar is really good if you are using it to spot birds and don't want to overlay it on your chart plotter. However I wanted both so I went with the Garmin. If you are looking for a radar for navigation their newer digital Fathom units are great and have some amazing tracking features, but are actually lacking a bit with the smaller targets like birds. I went with the 24kw xHDS unit and can spot almost anything from way out. It uses more power than the digital stuff but I am not sticking my head into the path of the radar anyway.
I hooked my old Raymarine transducer into the network for depth. Garmin makes a splice box that allows you to cut the end of the cable off and use the transducer for the new system. Saved a bunch of money with that by not having to pull the boat out and put in a new transducer.
I also installed a Fusion stereo and Sirius satellite weather and radio. It overlays the stereo control is and weather onto the plotter. Everything works seamlessly.


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