Radar....When to buy

[Captain_Chaos]

I am thinking of buying a radar and the question is do i get it now and have it for the season or is it really worth waiting for the SBS?
If there is anyone out there who has bought a radar at a boat show, was the deal a good one?

 

[longjohnsilver]

When to buy? Preferably before you get caught out in fog or bad visibility or at night! So get it now unless you intend to stay tied up for the season.

 

[BlueSkyNick]

Depends if you want the most up to date model, or happy with last year's technology at a significantly reduced price.

Best example is the Raymarine RL70 range which is being replaced by the E-Series. The RL70CRC which is a colour plotter and radar unit combined can now be bought for around £850, whereas it was over £2200 last year. You still need to buy a scanner on top of this, but if you are happy to make do, it would be much cheaper than buying hte new range.

PS To answer your question over timing, you need to buy now while the dealers still have them.

 

[StephenSails]

Not sure what is best here, Lowrance are about to roll out radar for their plotters, Garmin have already so there could be a little price war in the offing? If you are looking at Raymarine then it might be worth buying the scanner unit now and getting that installed so all you have to do is add the display, and if that is at southampton then you would be able to get the use out of it then without dropping a stick if you are a raggie?

 

[FullCircle]

JRC1800 Colour Radar/Chartplotter under 1300 quid inc GPS antenna (which is still an extra on the RL70) and Scanner . Cheap C Map Super Wide from Solent to Holland about 140 quid. Got mine from MES but have a hunt around.
Its not the latest gadget, but it has become so much more affordable in the last couple of years.


Jim

 

[Oldhand]

Quite agree. If you think you need a radar then yesterday was probably the best time to have one operating onbaord so it is stupid to wait. It really depends on why you are thinking about it, either you have been in a situation when you wish you had one or invisage being in that situation, or you just think it would be a nice toy. You haven't said why you are thinking about it so there no definitive answer!

 

[pvb]

Or an RL80CRC....

10" screen radar/chartplotter, now on offer at £1259.

 

[Koeketiene]

Now, whatever brand you set your mind on, buy one model below what's currently on the market.

Bought a Furuno 1622 (£400 ex-display, full waranty) at the time the Furuno 1623 hit the market at £990. Does the business at minimal cost.

 

[BlueChip]

Re: Or an RL80CRC....

I bought a new 10" Raymarine RL80CRC radar very cheaply on eBay and then got a RL70CRC which I plan to fit as a cockpit repeater
There is absolutely no comparison between the two - the RL80CRC is miles better and the additional screen size and resolution makes a huge difference
What is suprising is that even using the same C-Map chart cartridge, on the RL80 I can zoom in far more than on the RL70
Being able to overlay radar on a chart is an absolutely essential feature, I never had this before on my old radar and didn't realise what I was missing. I would highly recomend you go for this option whatever system you choose

 

[tome]

If this is going to be your first radar then buy a budget set. Use some of the money you save to enrol on a Radar course, and get used to using it in good weather.

You'll learn a lot and will be in a position to know exectly what you need when (if) you decide to upgrade in a few years time.

 

[BlueSkyNick]

Re: Or an RL80CRC....

As you are overlaying the radar on to the chart, have you got a fast compass as well? Bit pricey, aren't they?

 

[BlueChip]

Re: Or an RL80CRC....

[ QUOTE ]
As you are overlaying the radar on to the chart, have you got a fast compass as well? Bit pricey, aren't they?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes everything from Raymarine is pricy, I sold my old radar on the forum and threw in the mast scanner bracket - when I bought a new one I had a shock to find it cost > £150

I am still saving up and watching eBay for a gyro compass, its definitley needed for MARPA, but the overlay seems to work ok with the regular compass

 

[BlueSkyNick]

There is a C120 on e-bay HERE but at £290 with only 5 hours to go, and having exchanged e-mails with the seller, something just doesn't feel right.

 

[Oldhand]

Re: Or an RL80CRC....

<I am still saving up and watching eBay for a gyro compass, its definitley needed for MARPA, but the overlay seems to work ok with the regular compass>

Do you really mean a gyro compasss? Apart from being very expensive and generally designed for ship installation, they are not exactly economical on electrical power either. I have achieved surprisingly good radar heading stabilistion using a Simrad RC25 "rate gyro enhanced" fluxgate compass and using the 10Hz NMEA heading output from their J300X autopilot computer box. Spinning the boat round in circles the radar dispaly was so steady it looked like it was in demo mode. Should be good enough for MARPA, I think.

 

[pvb]

C120 on Ebay - AVOID!!!!

I've seen quite a lot of C120s listed on Ebay, always with a link to a gmail address, and using the same pic, but with different seller identities. In most cases, the listing has been pulled, presumably by Ebay. Standard cautionary notes apply - if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!

 

[pvb]

Raymarine rate gyro....

Think he means the Raymarine rate gyro, similar to your Simrad kit. Smooths out the regular fluxgate heading info, and outputs it at 10Hz into the plotter. I fitted one with my C120, and it works very well. The Raymarine rate gyro is about £450.

 

[Oldhand]

Re: Or an RL80CRC....

<the RL80CRC is miles better and the additional screen size and resolution makes a huge difference>

That's interesting 'cause the Raymarine specifications indicate that the RL70 and RL80 have the same screen resolution of 640x480 pixels. This means the resolution must be the same, the only difference being the pixel size must be bigger on the RL80. I always thought larger pixels give the impression of LESS resolution. Sure you don't need some reading glasses?
/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[pvb]

Can\'t beat a big screen....

The RL80CRC has over twice the screen area of the RL70CRC, and that makes a huge difference to ease of use. I think the resolution is the same on both though, at 640x480.

 

[Oldhand]

Re: Raymarine rate gyro....

No I didn't mean Raymarine's rate gyro.

The Simrad RC25 is a single unit rate gyro enhanced fluxgate compass. The advantage over the Raynarine system is that the rate sensors are physically coincident with the fluxgate compass so what they sense and compensate for are the identical accelerations experienced by the fluxgate sensor. In the Raymarine system the rate and fluxgate sensors are not in the same box and if not mounted very close together in the vessel they will be experiencing different accelerations. As a result the rate gyro enhancement is likely to be less accurate.

 

[PeteCooper]

Best time to buy

In Yachting Monthly many years ago it was suggested that mid season is the best time to buy any electronic equipment. Typically new kit comes with a years guarantee. If you buy at the beginning of the season, you use it happily, leave it over Winter, and then next season it does not work as apparently disuse is the most likely cause of failure. This would mean that you have probably just run out of guarantee. If you buy midseason, the period of inactivity will be central to your guarantee period, and you are still covered.