Plotter and radar combo.

[chubby]

I currently have a SH330i plotter linked to a digital yacht AIS transponder and stand alone monochrome Furuno 1623 radar.

The plotter is becoming unreliable and keeps powering down so thinking of changing for a plotter that can take radar also.

Options seem to be the raymarine axiom 7 and their chirp radar or the B and G vulcan7 and their radar.
Any advice?

To be honest I only use the radar occasionally in genuine fog but to have it makes the boat more all weather capable.


Would I get more out of a modern radar than the rather antiquated Furuno.


I do have a raymarine below deck autopilot but never that keen on having steer to waypoint capability, prefer to do it manually and let the tide take her for long trips.
?

 

[Boathook]

I currently have a SH330i plotter linked to a digital yacht AIS transponder and stand alone monochrome Furuno 1623 radar.

The plotter is becoming unreliable and keeps powering down so thinking of changing for a plotter that can take radar also.

Options seem to be the raymarine axiom 7 and their chirp radar or the B and G vulcan7 and their radar.
Any advice?

To be honest I only use the radar occasionally in genuine fog but to have it makes the boat more all weather capable.


Would I get more out of a modern radar than the rather antiquated Furuno.


I do have a raymarine below deck autopilot but never that keen on having steer to waypoint capability, prefer to do it manually and let the tide take her for long trips.
?

Whilst the radar design is old it was still available until recently. I have the same radar (and it seems to work very well) plus a raymarine eS series plotter. Just renewing the plotter is the cheaper option but does allow upgrade of the radar if required.

 

[pvb]

Would I get more out of a modern radar than the rather antiquated Furuno.

You'd gain the ability to overlay the radar image on the chart, which for many of us makes the radar image a lot more understandable.

 

[maby]

...

Would I get more out of a modern radar than the rather antiquated Furuno.

...
?

With the latest products from Raymarine and Simrad, you will get significantly better short range performance. The new 3g/4g radars on offer these days can produce good resolution all the way down to a few tens of yards - very useful for navigating in-shore in poor visibility. The Raymarine in our previous boat could display a swan swimming twenty yards away. With our new boat, we had to accept Garmin which is old technology these days and it is far less usable at close range.

 

[prv]

I have an Axiom 9 - next time we end up on the same pontoon you're more than welcome to have a play with it if you haven't yet made the upgrade.

I don't have any experience with the B&G but I would expect they're probably about equally good in absolute terms. However, since you have a Raymarine pilot it probably makes sense to pick the compatible plotter. Even without doing fancy pre-planned routes and waypoints (which I generally don't) I find it handy to have the plotter available as an additional control head.

Pete

 

[chubby]

I have an Axiom 9 - next time we end up on the same pontoon you're more than welcome to have a play with it if you haven't yet made the upgrade.

I don't have any experience with the B&G but I would expect they're probably about equally good in absolute terms. However, since you have a Raymarine pilot it probably makes sense to pick the compatible plotter. Even without doing fancy pre-planned routes and waypoints (which I generally don't) I find it handy to have the plotter available as an additional control head.

Pete

Good point, if I can use the plotter screen to control the pilot it makes location of the autopilot control head more flexible and the integration of current raymarine kit with the network cables is so easy these days, I might just use a steer to waypoint mode occasionally for short legs. obviously not for say cross channel where you would be always steming the tide or long legs.

 

[prv]

Good point, if I can use the plotter screen to control the pilot

You certainly can with newer Raymarine pilots, but I believe there is a cutoff beyond which it doesn't have full compatibility. Probably worth trying to find out which side of the line your pilot falls on. I upgraded my pilot brain (kept the mechanical drive, rudder sensor, etc) at the same time as the plotter and radar so it's fully compatible, and the plotter is actually more convenient as a pilot control than the dedicated head. The P70 head would be entirely unnecessary except that the package deal including it was cheaper anyway, and my plotter isn't near the wheel so a local control is obviously needed.

Pete

 

[Martin_J]

Options seem to be the raymarine axiom 7 and their chirp radar or the B and G vulcan7 and their radar.
Any advice?


?

The link below has a link to Raymarine's own response as to whether to go for the Axiom or the a/eS series... It tends to say that if installed in a wetter environment and if real button presses might be required then err towards the eS series.
http://forum.raymarine.com/showthread.php?tid=3320

As it happens I have Zeus 2 (7" and 8") plotters on board, both connected to a Simrad 3G radome. I also have the Raymarine eS78 MFD and Quantum radome on board.

If you're anywhere near Southsea, send me a PM and you're welcome to try them both out.

You will find that they are a huge improvement on the old Furuno.

Note - If you buy the Vulcan 7 separate to the radome then you will need to make sure it's the Vulcan 7R (radar capable version). The Radome should come with the RI10 interface box that does the power on/off part and provides the ethernet connectivity.

 

[prv]

The link below has a link to Raymarine's own response as to whether to go for the Axiom or the a/eS series... It tends to say that if installed in a wetter environment and if real button presses might be required then err towards the eS series.

I think that advice is out of date now - the Axiom Pro has physical buttons, and the original all-touchscreen Axiom range now supports the remote keypad which can be mounted alongside to give the same effect.

I would have my doubts about investing for the longish term (which the purchase of a new full-size plotter is, in my book) in a device which is already no longer at the forefront of the company's development. I believe they're back-porting Lighthouse 3 to some of the older units, but not all the features are supported due to the less capable hardware.

Pete

 

[LadyInBed]

Force4 have a combo offer
https://www.force4.co.uk/b-and-g-b-g-vulcan-7r-with-3g-radar.html

 

[Martin_J]

I think that advice is out of date now - the Axiom Pro has physical buttons, and the original all-touchscreen Axiom range now supports the remote keypad which can be mounted alongside to give the same effect.

Pete

Thanks Pete. Mine was a quick response after reading 'Axiom' in the title. I had not kept up to date with the Axiom vs Axiom Pro range.

Another thing to add to the OP is that you need to bear in mind the cost of a reasonable heading sensor. That could add a few hundred pounds to your bill.

Raymarine seem to now suggest that any heading sensor supporting 10Hz updates is good..

http://forum.raymarine.com/showthread.php?tid=155

 

[prv]

Another thing to add to the OP is that you need to bear in mind the cost of a reasonable heading sensor. That could add a few hundred pounds to your bill.

A Raymarine system should be able to use the heading from the existing autopilot. Though assuming the existing one is SeaTalk1 it will need the Raymarine interface to SeaTalkNG so there is still some cost.

Pete

 

[Martin_J]

A Raymarine system should be able to use the heading from the existing autopilot. Though assuming the existing one is SeaTalk1 it will need the Raymarine interface to SeaTalkNG so there is still some cost.

Pete

Using the original compass would allow for approximate radar overlay but I seem to think Seatalk only has a 1Hz update on compass data. (Although the old Course Computer might see heading info more often).

 

[chubby]

The link below has a link to Raymarine's own response as to whether to go for the Axiom or the a/eS series... It tends to say that if installed in a wetter environment and if real button presses might be required then err towards the eS series.
http://forum.raymarine.com/showthread.php?tid=3320

As it happens I have Zeus 2 (7" and 8") plotters on board, both connected to a Simrad 3G radome. I also have the Raymarine eS78 MFD and Quantum radome on board.

If you're anywhere near Southsea, send me a PM and you're welcome to try them both out.

You will find that they are a huge improvement on the old Furuno.

Note - If you buy the Vulcan 7 separate to the radome then you will need to make sure it's the Vulcan 7R (radar capable version). The Radome should come with the RI10 interface box that does the power on/off part and provides the ethernet connectivity.

Good point: the Vulcan 7 sells at force 4 for much less than the axiom 7 but the Vulcan 7R is similar price: I might not replace the radar immediately but seems sensible to have a radar compatible plotter in case I do, so not the Vulcan 7!

 

[Mikedefieslife]

Aren't Furuno radars the cream of the crop? I know they in combination with their chart plotters have some better, more thought out features like ARPA (think they are the only ones) rather than MARPA. Additionally they have better functionality of guard zone/alarms, and anchor alarms.

 

[LadyInBed]

I might not replace the radar immediately but seems sensible to have a radar compatible plotter in case I do

My dilemma is that I am quite happy with my SH plotter but would like to replace my 18 year old radar with a modern one. Part of the problem is that the radar is seldom used, so it's a justification issue.

 

[CLB]

My dilemma is that I am quite happy with my SH plotter but would like to replace my 18 year old radar with a modern one. Part of the problem is that the radar is seldom used, so it's a justification issue.

You may as well bite the bullet and get a modern combo. It will do both jobs much better than your SH/Furuno units. If you did manage to but a standalone radar, you know that Murphy's law will dictate that just after installation, your SH plotter will go wrong.

edit: oops, seemed to have mixed you up with the OP, although the logic still stands.

 

[LadyInBed]

You may as well bite the bullet and get a modern combo. It will do both jobs much better than your SH/Furuno units. If you did manage to but a standalone radar, you know that Murphy's law will dictate that just after installation, your SH plotter will go wrong.

edit: oops, seemed to have mixed you up with the OP, although the logic still stands.

You could be right, that's why I was looking at the Vulcan 7R - see #10

 

[chubby]

Aren't Furuno radars the cream of the crop? I know they in combination with their chart plotters have some better, more thought out features like ARPA (think they are the only ones) rather than MARPA. Additionally they have better functionality of guard zone/alarms, and anchor alarms.

The bigger furunos are often seen on fishing boats and other commercial craft but the 1623 is a pretty basic leisure radar, don't suppose a fishing boat would have one.

 

[chubby]

My dilemma is that I am quite happy with my SH plotter but would like to replace my 18 year old radar with a modern one. Part of the problem is that the radar is seldom used, so it's a justification issue.

Good point: for a commercial vessel radar is an everyday tool but both Ladyinbed and I sail single handed and I rarely use the radar other than to check it works and for practice until the once a year or so that I do get caught in real fog then I am glad to have it, so I would feel unhappy without radar now but if you do cost per hour actually used?