Radar plotters

[Guest]

Advice, please. Usual small cruiser woes - no room to mount any electronics. I've found room for a small mono LCD plotter, but after an amuzing incident with a freighter in fog mid-channel, management has concluded that radar is a must have for next season. Thoughts on small colour radar/plotters, if you could. I have a JRC diff GPS unit, so I don't need built in GPS.

Pros and cons of the JRC Radar 1600, Raymarine SL70CRC or similar?

 

[tcm]

Nope not got exp of the ones you mention. But they do seem to either "work" or "not work" as since you only zoom in or out when u really need it,
it makes not much differecne what the other features are imho.

also don't reckon it makes too much diffrecne bout colour as the binary features being sought are either "nothing" or "something" altho granted its nice in blue.

Also not too important about sunviewable cos er it'll be crap viz...

Make sure they mount the wotsit thing slightly tiltily forward on the arch, rather than dead straight which means slightly tiltily back when on plane, so you get a decent picture forward without have to trim fwd too much. did this make any sense?

Oh alright! I'd get the cheapest one if I was paying. Unless it was free, in which case the most expensive one.

 

[AJW]

Used the Raymarine or near equivalent on 30ft RIB during circumnavigation of Britain last year. Both as C-map plotter and radar. Basically plotter mode during good vis and windows with both during poor. Cracking bit of kit, colour and definately daylight viewable in an open boat. Not cheap though.

Experience was soured this year when the thing went on the blink during trip to Scotland but I understand it was replaced under warranty despite being 18mths since purchase.

 

[DavidJ]

Can't comment on JRC but the Raymarine is an excellent bit of kit. I havent needed to tilt mine on the arch at all (Sealine S37) to pick up rubber dingies about half a mile off (flat sea on harbour setting). The Raymarine gives an easily switchable harbour setting and an offshore setting which presumably gives an electronic 'tilt' or filter to bypass wave effects.
David

 

[Guest]

Agree with the cheapest bit. Plotter's good to confirm you're where you thought you should be on paper chart. Radar to make sure there's nothing in front in the dark/fog, so binary only.

Daylight viewable colour's supposed to be ok these days...

 

[kimhollamby]

If you go colour make sure it is daylight viewable at an open helm, otherwise you simply won't see it at all without ripping up the cardboard to turn it into a Blue Peter hood of sorts.

kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[tcm]

Yes, colour s quite good, but can't say it is "better".

JRC wd make sense if u have JRC - top spec boat instead of total lashup with all different makes. Also same make gives the impression of being able to "do things" between the two. If anyone asks if you can swap the display around, u can say yes (tho mebbe need a screwdriver)

I quite like the furuno cos it has a nice woing woing woing proper rotaty thing that you can see going around and looksmuch better than boring dome. And it says "Furuno" which is a better sort of techy name than JRC which sounds like JVC = crap videocam. Mind you Furuno typeface looks a bit bit old and seventies, hm? "Dischromatics" or "Tektronix" wd be a better name. So, praps get the JRC, take the dome off, get rid of the "JRC" and replace with "NASA". JRC won some award thingy in the mags, didn't bother reading it of course.

With either colour or bw u can still count seagulls out of the back. Also v good fun getting other crew to watch radar and call out "3miles 5o'oclock!!".

Hope this helps!