Radar renewal

[captaindan]

My radar is broke I got furuno to see if I t was repairable. But it is not . I just wondered what your views of sticking in a second hand unit are or would you bite the bullet and just put a new one in. Before I start looking would be good to get some opinions and recommendations from the helpers of this great forum .

Thanks danny

 

[jamie langstone]

I bite the bullet and brought a new raymarine radar as i was in the same position as you are . I based it on the the fact that most of the units were 10 years plus and also why would any one change there radar system unless it was playing up and if i was the person to buy one of these units then i would be no better off in the end. Buy new if funds allow

 

[admillington]

My radar is broke I got furuno to see if I t was repairable. But it is not . I just wondered what your views of sticking in a second hand unit are or would you bite the bullet and just put a new one in. Before I start looking would be good to get some opinions and recommendations from the helpers of this great forum .

Thanks danny

Danny

Technology has moved on so much in the last few years that I would suggest you buy a new one - have a look at Garmin - I have been very impressed with their kit and back up service.

-Andrew

 

[rlw]

My Garmin HD radar was a revelation after using some of the old stuff.

 

[RAI]

It might depend on which chart plotter you have. I use Standard Horizon, so I fitted a Sitex scanner, it displays on the chart plotter so I can have chart, radar and AIS overlays.

 

[Trundlebug]

I was in the same situation a couple of years ago when my ancient Kelvin Hughes radar stopped displaying anything on the screen.
Although it had always been quite good and reliable it was huge compared to modern equipment, and seemed to occupy half the wheelhouse, so I'd never been a fan. Its fate was sealed when I saw a similar model in the Hull maritime museum...

As we're based inland and only get to use the radar maybe 6 times a year I couldn't really justify spending c. £2000 on a new radar, so I kept an eye on ebay.
I eventually bought one for about £500, yes a bit of a gamble but a huge saving on new price.
It was a Furuno 1715, which new would be three or four times the price, I collected it by car and it's worked perfectly since fitted. Screen is LCD and much slimmer than the museum piece it replaced!

I think it all depends on your priorities, how much you have to spend, how often you use it, how much you like to have the latest gadget, etc etc.
To me the only major difference with modern radars is the ability to overlay the display on the chart plotter.
Whilst some will tell you it makes an enormous difference, I'm not convinced.
At the end of the day, radars show a dot or a blob if something bounces back. End of.
They're quite primitive in their display, regardless of fancy colours, warm up times, zillions of setting adjustments and so on.
To me, there's only so much you can do to make that sound sexy!

 

[CharlieAlpha]

.......... also why would any one change there radar system unless it was playing up and if i was the person to buy one of these units then i would be no better off in the end. Buy new if funds allow

Because if you update the plotter you may also have to upgrade your Radar from analogue to digital hence why a number of good analogue ones about for a couple £100.