What new Nav electronics??

[Rick_A]

Has anyone any recommendations for some new electronics.
I’m wanting to update my cp180 plotter to something that can display/send AIS, instrument readings and also radar. And if possible link up with my tiller pilot.

 

[pvb]

Has anyone any recommendations for some new electronics.
I’m wanting to update my cp180 plotter to something that can display/send AIS, instrument readings and also radar. And if possible link up with my tiller pilot.

All the main manufacturers have good plotters, with similar features at similar prices. However, if you want to successfully interface existing kit such as a tiller pilot, you're likely to have more success if you choose the same manufacturer's plotter.

 

[Malish]

Slightly left field but a helpful agent and probably cheaper than the usual suspects, consider http://avesmarine.com/ I have no interest bar a temptation to buy their 12" plotter

 

[KompetentKrew]

I'm quite happy with my B&G Vulcan 7R. I've used Raymarine plotters in the past, and don't think there's much to choose between the main brands although I think I heard that the B&G SailSteer and other sailing features are supposedly better than others?

Looks like the annual offer, whereby you get a free C-Maps chart with every B&G plotter, expires in another couple of weeks. This year it's done as a £200 cash back, which will be about 90% the cost of a large area chart.

• B&G Vulcan 7R Chartplotter
• Offers | B&G Sailing Electronics

You would want either the EM-Y045, EN-Y050 or EW-Y060 chart.

I think I slightly prefer the C-Map chart layout to Navonics - I did some comparison screenshots in this previous thread.

 

[Norman_E]

I too prefer C-map and like my B&G plotter. Nearly all new stuff is NMEA2000 which makes for easy connection with none of the incompatibilty problems of older standards. For the OP the issue is the tiller pilot just as it was for me with an old Simrad Robertson autopilot that has NMEA 0183 connections but well pre-dates the deveopment of NMEA2000. In the end I decided not to attempt any integration with it and kept it as a reliable stand alone system, and I think that approach is probably the OP's best bet. If the tiller pilot has NMEA 0183 input and output it might be possible to integrate it via a gateway, but I doubt its worth the hassle.

 

[Lucky Duck]

I'm quite happy with my B&G Vulcan 7R. I've used Raymarine plotters in the past, and don't think there's much to choose between the main brands although I think I heard that the B&G SailSteer and other sailing features are supposedly better than others?

Looks like the annual offer, whereby you get a free C-Maps chart with every B&G plotter, expires in another couple of weeks. This year it's done as a £200 cash back, which will be about 90% the cost of a large area chart.

• B&G Vulcan 7R Chartplotter
• Offers | B&G Sailing Electronics

You would want either the EM-Y045, EN-Y050 or EW-Y060 chart.

I think I slightly prefer the C-Map chart layout to Navonics - I did some comparison screenshots in this previous thread.

That comparison between the chart formats was interesting, thank you.

I occasionally sail on a boat with a Raymarine Axiom plotter - originally the software had lots of 'features' relating to controlling music systems and drones but the later software updates now display lay lines and the like.

One slight oddity in my current B&G set up is the absence of a direct equivalent of the p70 pilot instrument head (or the old ST6001, etc)

 

[Carib]

If you like the CP180 otherwise, take a look at the Raymarine 'Elements' series (notable for being non-touch screen, but claims to be particularly user-friendly). I miss my CP180. I now have a Raymarine e7 which I dislike, although it's far more capable (although unfamiliarity may be playing a part here). The interface seems really unintuitive and stupidly complex.

 

[TopBanana]

Happy with my Vulcan 7's functionality. Wish I'd gone for larger screen though, as it's bulkhead mounted

 

[RIBW]

Has anyone any recommendations for some new electronics. I’m wanting to update my cp180 plotter to something that can display/send AIS, instrument readings and also radar. And if possible link up with my tiller pilot.

AIS: If you are mostly sailing in SW Scotland, then your replacement AIS display should be capable of displaying all AIS messages. Some of the rarer AIS messages will be increasingly important outside heavily trafficed shipping areas where economics will dictate the use of AIS navaids in place of the physical. Not all chartplotter suppliers display the full set (see my posting late last year). The only chartplotters that displayed the full set at that time were Raymarine's Element and Axiom - See #7 by Carib. Both are compatible with Raymarine's Quantum radars. [Like Carib I am not a big fan of Raymarine - I have never got on with their ergonomics so will be a reluctant purchaser when I replace my current Raymarine CP/Radar. In the meantime I am hanging on to my beloved CP300i as long as possible although it only displays vessels' AIS and its charts are way overdue an update].

Radar: Furuno do a stand alone radar which displays on an Apple device (but not Android). Might be useful if you want to detach the radar decision from the CP decision.

Cheers
Bob