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From: Capt_Douglas (no email)
Date: Fri Apr 21 2006 - 14:40:06 EDT
Maybe it's me but I'm very leery of multifunction brain/systems.
I know the manufacturers strive for reliability but I think the strive
for profit and market share more.
I also wonder if one part of the brain dies, will it take the rest of
the system with it? I have seen displays on these systems go bad and
that means you have access to none of the information.
In my case I went with dedicated instruments [i.e. wind, depth, speed,
radar, GPS] and tied them together across the NMEA buss. That way if
my radar acts up I can pull the cable and the rest of the system
should be fine. Unfortunately, this lead to increased costs and more
space required for instruments and displays. Carrying a second brain
adds makes the cost more equitable but if there's a manufacturing or
software defect it'll show up on the other unit.
I have two two-function systems onboard. One is wind direction and
speed. The other is RADAR and ARPA.
Doug
--- In , Richard Bradshaw <rbradsh2 at dot dot dot >
wrote:
>
> Next month we are getting our next boat. One of the things that we
> are going to install is radar. Back in the day, radar was a stand
> alone instrument. Displays were becoming water resistant but were
> largely kept below.
>
> We walked into a boat store the other day and started to talk to a
> sales guy and found that these days it's not just a radar anymore.
> Today it seems to be an all in one unit that consists of GPS, chart
> plotter, radar, depth, speed and maybe a group of other things.
> Wouldn't be too surprised to have it make coffee during the late
> night/early morning watches.
>
> We're not wanting to add all the electronics in the world. (The boat
> isn't equipped with much except for an older VHF.) I had thought
> about adding radar and a couple hand held GPS's, HF communication and
> a new/newer VHF, and a small capacity water maker (We're getting a
> little creaker as we get a bit older and it would be nice to not have
> to haul water when it doesn't rain. Also funny how 10 years ago so
> much electronics wouldn't have been considered due to cost and
> reliability/repair but now is considered due to getting a bit
> older.). We'll be using paper charts and don't like the "all in one"
> electronics that when one part goes out, the entire unit is "shot."
>
> What has been your experience with these new radar units? Do they
> stand up to use for ages or do they break down after a couple good
> watches? Any manufacturer recommendations? Repairs outside of the
> U.S.? The rep we talked to was hot on the Garmin. Back in the day,
> Garmin was just a so-so GPS manufacturer and Magellan was the leader
> in the field. Now...
>
> Could use some advice on what is what these days.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Rick
>
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