Garmin chartplotters

sgr143

sgr143

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I've been vaguely considering spending money on a new chartplotter (as one does in the winter, in lockdown). I like Garmin stuff (I've been very impressed with their after-sales support with their fitness gear), and had less-than-satisfactory experiences with Raymarine, so Garmin has been my initial focus.

But I'm a bit puzzled by their offerings. They have "Echomap" and "GPSmap" plotters at very similar prices for the 7-inch models (Garmin GPSMAP® 723 | Marine GPS Chartplotter and Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 75cv | Chartplotter) , and it's not clear to me from reading what they say about them, or even trying to read the manuals, what one type does (or can do, with add-ons) that the other doesn't or can't do. So I'm not sure what type might be best for my purposes: UK Coastal cruising, maybe in the future going cross-channel; not interested in fishing; 28' tiller-steered boat, no binnacle so I'd need to think about how to mount it; might be thinking in the nebulous future about AIS but probably not radar; current log and wind instrument on seatalk-1, so would need some fiddling to interface to a plotter.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Of course I might just decide to save my money, and continue as I am, with an elderly Garmin 275 down above the chart table, mostly used for giving lat and long to put on paper charts and to give a location feed to the DSC VHF... Its charts are way out of date though.

Steve
 
I'm sure someone will come along who is way more knowledgeable than me on the subject, but I think the main difference is that the Echomap series is not compatible with radar. I have a 6" Echomap plus and consider it good value for money - especially as maps are pre installed.
 
The GPSMAP seems to have a few extra features such as integration with Garmin inReach, control of outboards with Dometic Optimus and sirius weather. But theres not much that I can see from a quick skim that would be a deal breaker either way for a coastal cruiser.

I have a fairly elderly GPSMAP 451 which also has completely out of date maps. I decided to give the new Samsung galaxy tab active 3 a try. Its waterproof and designed for outdoors use so should be readable in sunshine. They're available here at a significantly reduced price and delivery took about a week. On this you could run opencpn or navionics fine, and it could function as a standalone boat computer.

The seatalk data could be handled by one of these, which would send the data to the tablet by wifi.

A cheaper solution overall than a brand new plotter, and the tablet can be taken home as well.

You'd have to leave your Garmin in place to supply the VHF with GPS. Maybe this is acceptable!
 
I would also add that the memory-map app is fantastic if you are UK-based. I've added it to an iPad and its brilliant. The marine charts are a bargain......
 
coveman said:
I'm sure someone will come along who is way more knowledgeable than me on the subject, but I think the main difference is that the Echomap series is not compatible with radar. I have a 6" Echomap plus and consider it good value for money - especially as maps are pre installed.
Click to expand...

Is this with G3 charts pre installed, what level of detail do they give and are they updatable?
 
fifer said:
I decided to give the new Samsung galaxy tab active 3 a try. Its waterproof and designed for outdoors use so should be readable in sunshine. They're available here at a significantly reduced price and delivery took about a week.
Click to expand...
That's very much cheaper - the amazon price is a bit over £500; your link is a bit over £300.! Are they legit?
I'd be interested to know how you get on (or have got on) with it as a substitute for a dedicated chartplotter. I'm moderately tech-savvy, but on the whole prefer not to have too much hassle with wrestling things into doing stuff they're not especially designed to!
 
If you add the AIS at the same time as the plotter there are some models which will multiplex the ST1 data from your existing transducers and feed it to the new plotter.
Current thinking, now that modern plotters are fully waterproof, is to mount the new plotter on the cockpit bulkhead or on the companionway hatch or the hatch garage in a tiller-steered boat, so that it can be seen from the helm position. If you go down this road you can retain the old plotter at the chart table to provide lat/long for logbook and paper chartwork.
 
sgr143 said:
That's very much cheaper - the amazon price is a bit over £500; your link is a bit over £300.! Are they legit?
I'd be interested to know how you get on (or have got on) with it as a substitute for a dedicated chartplotter. I'm moderately tech-savvy, but on the whole prefer not to have too much hassle with wrestling things into doing stuff they're not especially designed to!
Click to expand...
I check Amazon to find out the maximum price !
 
Spirit (of Glenans) said:
If you add the AIS at the same time as the plotter there are some models which will multiplex the ST1 data from your existing transducers and feed it to the new plotter.
Click to expand...
That's interesting! You don't happen to know which particular models do that?
Current thinking, now that modern plotters are fully waterproof, is to mount the new plotter on the cockpit bulkhead or on the companionway hatch or the hatch garage in a tiller-steered boat, so that it can be seen from the helm position. If you go down this road you can retain the old plotter at the chart table to provide lat/long for logbook and paper chartwork.
Click to expand...
That's the sort of location I was thinking of. It looks like the Echomap is more easily dismountable for safe-keeping when the boat is left unattended. Though I guess one could construct a permanent housing.
 
fifer said:
I decided to give the new Samsung galaxy tab active 3 a try. Its waterproof and designed for outdoors use so should be readable in sunshine. They're available here at a significantly reduced price and delivery took about a week.
Click to expand...
Am I right in thinking that it does NOT have GPS?
Edit Ah! This site Galaxy Tab Active 3 Tablet | View Specs | Samsung UK
Says
  • Location Technology GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo
 
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I asked a similar question on here a while back, I’ll see if I can find it and post a link to it. I think the summary, as someone above has said, is that the Echomap plotters with pre-installed charts cannot be connected to a radar. The GPSMap ones need a chart card but will run radar.

Here you go: Garmin plotters. Are the charts free?
 
Never Grumble said:
Is this with G3 charts pre installed, what level of detail do they give and are they updatable?
Click to expand...
Yes G3 charts and free upgrade for a year I believe. The charts give good detail but if you need more they do the Vision series which you can buy at extra cost. Details are on the Garmin website.
 
fredrussell said:
I asked a similar question on here a while back, I’ll see if I can find it and post a link to it. I think the summary, as someone above has said, is that the Echomap plotters with pre-installed charts cannot be connected to a radar. The GPSMap ones need a chart card but will run radar.
Here you go: Garmin plotters. Are the charts free?
Click to expand...
Thank you ! That's just what I was looking for; Paul Rainbow , as ever, knowledgeable and helpful. Don't know how I'd missed that thread before - I'm a pretty steady lurker on this forum, even if I don't post much!
(And everyone else for your helpful comments.)
Steve
 
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Never Grumble said:
Is this with G3 charts pre installed, what level of detail do they give and are they updatable?
Click to expand...
G3 charts are as full detail as any on the market. The update card for UK pre-loaded charts is £50 list price (but more for separate chart cards). The g3 Vision offers things like satellite image views and 3D chart views, but no more actual detail for navigation.
 
I too am a huge Garmin fan. I have made do with a small Garmin 276c mounted under the spray hood for the last 15 years. Brilliant bit of kit, easy/intuitive to use and rugged. The manual was second to none.
Last year I bought and fitted an Echomap( 65cv I think ) Nice to have a bigger screen, but the menu layout and functionality is nowhere near as good, and certainly not as intuitive as the old plotter, with a very basic manual. Still, it made fit an N2k backbone and it talks to my Vesper AIS.
 
sgr143 said:
Thanks! Looks like the GPSMap can have echosounder capability added (at considerable extra cost!), but the echomap can't have radar added , even for ready money.
Click to expand...

That's the biggest difference, although there should only be £100-£150 difference. If you don't want radar the Echomap is good value. ST1 is easy to get onto the network with an ST1 to STNG converter, then add a STNG to N2K cable to get it onto the Garmin. You can then see depth and wind data on the Garmin.

If you have an autopilot you can integrate that too, although you cannot engage/disengage it from the plotter, it will steer to wind or a waypoint. If it's an ST1 autopilot it connects via ST1 and the converter, if it's STNG it connects to the converter directly, if it's N2|K it connects to the converter with an adapter cable, if it's NMEA 0183 it connects directly to the plotters NMEA 0183 out port.

The Garmin plotters still have single NMEA 0183 in and out ports, most plotters don't these days. So you can connect an 0183 autopilot, as above, or connect the VHF for GPS/DSC.
 
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