Boat Electronics

[charlieannear]

Mornin' All

 

Today's question is this...

I'm looking at fitting some toys in our boat and have been looking around on the internet for inspiration.

If you are a gadget freak like me, this is a very dangerous thing to do!

I'm trying to avoid getting carried away but it's very difficult!

 

I generally try to future-proof myself when it comes to buying electronics, and of course, this adds to the cost...

I'm completely new to boat electronics and so don't really know what the manufacturers reputations are like.

 

How well do people rate Navman radios?

 

Looking at Chartplotters and fishfinders, would you go for seperate units or a combined one?

 

C.

[Newboy]

If you do a search on here about navman vhf, there should be an old thread regarding this and other vhf plus other electronics. Some will have more function than other, some are rather basic. Navman is the more basic one, less functions than other but does what it says on the box.

 

And I thought you said you don't half money to burn , but ff (

[charlieannear]

If you do a search on here about navman vhf, there should be an old thread regarding this and other vhf plus other electronics. Some will have more function than other, some are rather basic. Navman is the more basic one, less functions than other but does what it says on the box.

 

And I thought you said you don't half money to burn , but ff (

[TomBettle]

Charlie

 

IMHO Navman will be spot on for your boat and from what you have described you want to do.

 

You must have a VHF (and you will need a license for you and the boat).

A handheld will suffice if staying very local, but a fixed VHF will be better (both would be better still).

The Navman range are practical, simple and easy to use.

When choosing a VHF, don't for the one that looks the snazziest, go for the one that has the easiest buttons to use and the easiest screen to read.

A Navman 7100 or 7200 should be great. Also go for a reasonably long aerial. The aerial length itself isn't the thing that gives better reception, more the height it is mounted above sea level. From my limited understanding, VHF waves work on simple line of sight so the higher it is the clearer it will be.

 

If you are planning on doing anything in the harbour then you will really benefit from some form of depth guage and a simple black and white fish finder will do this plus give you the benefit of a graphical display of the bottomn showing you contours, reefs, banks etc.

If you really wnat to go to the next step and start pin pointing marks for fishing or as an aid to navigation then a GPS chartplotter comes into its own.

 

For around

[charlieannear]

Thanks Tom.

 

You must be reading my mind as this is pretty much the conclusion that I have come to. I just wanted to see what people reckoned about Navman as a product.

 

I'm doing the VHF course on Sunday so all being well will soon have a user licence and a ship's licence.

 

Was looking at the Navman 7200 radio, seems to do a lot for the money.

 

Was originally looking at Garmin Chartplotter/Fishfinders, but they do seem more expensive as are the charts.

 

Then noticed that Navman radio plugs into Navman chartplotters/fishfinders to give more features. Plus the C-Map MAX charts are now out, and are still cheaper than Garmin cartography.

 

Just need to persuade Dad to stump up his 'share'! Ha ha!

[TomBettle]

Charlie

 

I am just one person on here who has his own opinion and there are many people with very valid reasons for recommending their own suggestions on here.

 

At the lower / mid end I am a huge fan of Navman - And before anyone says it I don't get a bung from them.

We fit Navman on 99% of our Merry Fisher and Cap Camarat models we sell and they are reliable, easy and well backed up.

Incidentally I also use it on my own Cap Camarat 625 and have the 5500 and 4100 units on there.

 

At the higher end (and the gap between them is closing) I am a great fan of Raymarine and exclusively have that on my Merry Fisher 695 as it is very high definition and pretty powerful stuff (eg: My DSM 300 fish finder will cause a Navman one to shut out if within about 50 metres and on high power). The adverse effect of this is that you either turn the power down (I forget) or the fish finder off (easier) if drifting an area for "spooky" fish.

 

As with all the latest releases of technology, expect a few software glitches and annoyances until they get it spot on. You should find any hic-cups are rectified quickly and painlessly under warranty by the supplying dealer.

 

Tom

[Newboy]

Bob F is the man regarding these gizmos.

 

As Tom said you get what you paid for. The top end units has functions you probably won't need, for example, some GArmin and Raymarine can log the seabed, ie., you can go home and examine the seabed you had covered, but do you need it?

 

The Navman 7100 is easy to use, just pick it up and speak, while the 7200 is more expensive but with more functions. I have the 7100 and it's ok, chatted on it, it sounds good and touch wood never had to use the red distress buttom, the 5600 chartplotter is great, it shows me where I am, manual and me just don't mix, so don't ask me what are the functions.

[Seamouse]

Charlie,

All down to personal taste, but I like seperate chartplotter and fishfinder. You'll often want both functions up at once and suddenly your nice big, clear screen is cut in half. My current set-up has some redundancy built in. I started with Garmin GPS and fishfinder units, then added a second-hand plotter/sounder. The plotter will accept the feed off the transducer for the stand-alone FF if I chose to do that (same connector and spec). It means whichever unit fails at sea, one of the others can take on the role.

The given wisdom on dual frequency FF would seem to be that for 'our' needs it just isn't necessary. I'm no expert there, so quite happy to be shot down by the wise and great

 

Steve

[Bob F]

Horses for coarses.

 

For small boat electronics Navman has some nice features and good local support.

 

For VHF's you should also look at ICOM and Standard Horizon. DSC is obviously a must, so don't buy anything second-hand without DSC.

 

For FF, don't put a priority on dual frequency. We only need 200KHz for the depth of water we fish in. Navman, Garmin and Lowrance/Eagle are popular choises. If your budget can take it, go for colour display, not just for the better target definition, but also because the screens are much easier to see in daylight. But if the budget is tight, a good resolution B&W is ok. Better to put more of the budget on a colour chart plotter in my opinion.

 

Go for a chart plotter, rather than a standard GPS plotter, if possible. Again, Garmin, Navman, Lowrance/Eagle and Standard Horizon are all good choices. Take a good look at the different chart software (bluechart, C-Map, Navionic Gold) and determine which best suits your needs.

 

Why a chart plotter? You sound a bit of a techie, so you'll be able to use it's features and get a bit of fun from it. And if you're ever get caught in the fog, you'll appreaciate having a map to guide you and give some reassurance.

 

For a chart plotter, colour is a must. Don't bother with B&W.

 

It's important that your GPS can talk to your VHF DSC, so make sure they are compatible.

 

Separate units are preferable to combo units in many ways. If you want to be able to make sonar recordings of your marks along with GPS coordinates you will need a recordable combo unit from Lowrance or Eagle. As long as the screen size is 6" or bigger, a combo unit is fine. I have the Eagle Seachamp 2000C combo, and I'm dead chuffed with it. The high-end Eagle units are basically last seasons Lowrance Units at a lower price.

 

Take your time, do the research, go out and play with some sets and then make your choice.

 

cheers

 

BF

[Adam F]

Spot on Bob - good advice, couldnt have put it better myself.

 

Adam

[alun j.]

Charlie,

 

Have you contacted Brian Thorp and confirmed Sunday.??

 

I phoned him yesterday to confirm Tues. course and , as of then, No one else had and he was thinking nobody wanted to do it !

 

Since...... I heard from James he can't ...... so I'm waiting to hear if it's still a goer.

 

Alun.

[CREZZ]

HELLO ALAN ,

 

YES SUNDAY'S VHF COURSE IS A GOER , I PHONED BRIAN MONDAY NIGHT AND BOOKED IN FOR SUNDAY .

[Guest Guest_britboard_Fisherman]

Hi, Charlie,

 

i have recently updated all my gizmos to a lowrance 332c combined ff/chartplotter coupled to a navman 7100 dsc vhf, dead easy to install once you have planned how to hide all the wires. I couldn't be happier with the way it all works and i cant think of any extra functions i would want to add, i a bit of a techy myself and there are more than enough buttons for me to keep pressing (just have to press those buttons!!).

 

if you go to www.lowrance.com you can download simulators for the complete range of gizmos and try them for yourself.

 

good luck

 

simon

[duncan]

the Lowrance 332c with either the Navman 7100 or 7200 or Icom 421 would be my recomendation

 

however if you really want the dogs b.... at a bargin price then

 

this 10.4" HD colour on you door mat for around 900 plus the FF black box connected up to one of their DSC vVHF's which will actually plot distress or position calls on screen................would be real cool.

 

If I was looking to fit out a new boat in the near future I would look seriously at this.

[great white]

Hi Charlie

 

One of our Members is the main man in a local electronics company.

 

He has offered to pass his knowledge on to other Members

 

and that is wether you purchase from him or not.

 

Call Matt on 01202 707007 and pick the brains of someone who's business is Marine Electronics

 

 

By the way he offered me the choice of two second hand 16 mile radar units this week, so if anyone fancys fitting a Radar call me or Matt.

 

Charlie

[charlieannear]

Charlie,

 

Have you contacted Brian Thorp and confirmed Sunday.??

 

I phoned him yesterday to confirm Tues. course and , as of then, No one else had and he was thinking nobody wanted to do it !

 

Since...... I heard from James he can't ...... so I'm waiting to hear if it's still a goer.

 

Alun.

Hi Alun,

yep, I also phoned Brian earlier in the week and Andy and I are going over on Sunday.

 

C.

[charlieannear]

Thanks everyone for your responses to this!

 

C.