IDEAS FOR NEW ELECTRONICS PACKAGE

[JIGOLO]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am a new member.I am Capt Chuck's cousin and i was looking for some ideas for new electronics for my 24 Silverhawk open fish.I presently have a Garmin 220 and Sitex fish finder in overhead electronics box.They are both outdated and need replacing with new electronics.I have and Icom 502 which is great.But other than that i want to put all new and all to tie in with each other.Electronics packages?Raymarine,Furuno,Garmin??I also need to replace thru hull transducer with stronger one.As my Sitex looses bottom past 400-500 ft.Has its limitations for sure.Looking for advice and opionons welcome.Thanks

[Briguy]

If you have a SiTex cvs 106 my recommendation is to keep it. I have a garmin 3006 which is a 10 inch screen gps and it also has the fishfinder option. I still like the Sitex better for finding grouper holes. Garmin is not the best when it comes to networking however they apparently have a new version of my machine that is networking compatable.

[JIGOLO]

Capt Brian,Thanks for the reponse back on ideas for electronics.Yes my sitex cvs 106 has its limitations as my machine and or transducer which is thru hull looses bottom at four to five hundred ft.Its great shallow water to 200ft then it gets weak.Really need something with more power so as to not loose bottom.But that is not my major problem.My Garmin 220 which i am on my third is a peice of crap and cannot be seviced any longer.So i need to replace my chartplotter and was maybe looking to upgrade both sounder and color chartplotter.Price is not a real problem but performance and being user freindly is real important.Thanks for any feedback or advice that you have..

[Scott]

OK I'll put my vote in for Furuno ...
What do you think about Shellbacks 582 ??

The new VX2 Navnets are suppose to be fantastic. I have yet to see one but those who have say they are awesome. They are up there in price but I have always found Furuno to be the top of the heap in electronics. You wander around a marina of big sportfishing boats and you'll always see tons of Furuno stuff.

I'll admit biased as the boats I worked on all had Furuno Radars and Fishfinders (Navnet wasn't even on the horizon at that time yet) these guys purchased based on reliability and quality not on the best deal ...Same with our boats in the family. That being said I was very comfortable in their use and knew how to tune them.
The party boats around here use several machines (FF to compare and have as back ups ) and they all continue to use Furuno.

This past winter I was talking with a Captain who runs a local party boat (and works for an electronics place in the off season) if he had to choose what would he go for ...he said hands down Furuno.

There is lots of nice stuff out there, I've had the opportunity to used several popular brands ....and sure they work but I still like the Furuno stuff.

[JIGOLO]

Chucks boat came out Gucci!!He worked real hard on the boat and put allot of thought into every detail.He should be proud of just how sweet it came out.I have seen his new Rayhteon unit but never witness it working ect.I agree with you on the Furuno line of electronics.I had Furuno in my Seacraft just a couple of years back.I completly rebuilt and old Seacraft to the tune of $35.000+ just to have the marina put in the water the night before as i always go out before they open.They forgot one thing they left the plug out and after a few hours it went down.I sold the boat as i figuired it would never be the same and i bought the Silverhawk which i own now.The Furuno i had back in 2002 was a little acceptable to sun glare i understand they have corrected that now for the last few years forwward.I have plenty of room on the dash to remount the new plotter and will probably get something with and 8 inch screen or bigger.I really do appreiciate your feedback and i am leaning towards your recomendation.Which model would you suggest?

[Scott]

The 582 is a great machine ...if not one of the best in my opinion... BUT Now with the black box machines taking over this newer version of Navnet, the VX2 series, is suppose to be awesome. Was in a store a couple months ago right after the Miami show and two guys were taking to a sale rep about another plotter. We listened into what he was saying. I grant you it was a nice machine they were looking at but these guys, not unlike myself, had a narrow focus on just one manufacturer. We asked some questions and I said to the rep what he thought about the Navnets ..... He kinda grinned at me, asked the other two guys if they had any other questions. They left and then we started talking Furuno. He said the machine was great...He had just seen the newest stuff down in Florida, talked with the Furuno guys and was blown away.

There are so many ways to configure one its not funny, So as far a model number I cant say. Recently Powerboat reports did a comparison of the Garmin 3010, Simrad 44, Ray 120 and the Navnet 18-1900 series. If I recall they liked the Furuno best.. given the best viewability and proven track record ...But gave the edge to the Ray since the screen was bigger, 12" vs 10.4", and I think faster. However that was the test results on an older version of Navnet. The VX2 apparently smokes it now.

The other thing I liked and made me want the Navnet more is that my current Radar array, a Furuno, can be used with the new Navnet systems. I was also informed that while other models boast color radar, Furuno is the only one to be able to differentiate target density via the color of the blip on the screen. The others have color ...but its more a dog and pony show.

These machines are networkable …unlike some of the others out there so several can be tied together if you so wish. Plus with the Black Box fish finder you’ve got the equivalent of a 582 machine !!! the BBF1 is a 600/1000w sounder, 50/200 … then they offer a BBF3 which is 1-3 kw and user selected frequencies. You can even get a weather fax Black box for it.
I believe we were told the redraw and refresh rate is much faster. The machine also has a direct entry alpha numeric key pad. The only thing I’m not sure about , in real world use , was the track ball. I would rather see the “four direction push pad” …similar to what I have on a straight Furuno GP-32.

Sorry for the long post …. But it just looks like a great unit with unlimited expansion potential. I’ve experienced and long trusted their equipment and see no reason to stop now …stuff looks better than ever. Now if it was so damn expensive !!

[JIGOLO]

THANKS SCOTT,I JUST EMAILED JIM AT BOE TO GET PRICE ON THE BLACK BOX SYSTEM FOR THE SILVERHAWK.I THINK THAT IS THE WAY TO GO AND I AGREE WITH YOU TOO.SO I WILL KEEP YOU INFORMED AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT WE COME UP WITH.I REALLY WANTED TO GIVE JIM THE BUSINESS AS HE IS A MEMBER OF THE SITE AND HELPS EVERYONE.ANYWAY WHEN I GET DONE IS SHOULD BE A LITTLE OVERKILL BUT WHAT THE HECK MEN AND THERE TOY'S RIGHT!

[FELLOW-SHIP]

Ha Scott
I am not in the marked for a new system but after reading your post I’m pumped. I have the Garman 182 and the Furuno 600 maybe one or both will break “if I am luck” and I will be in the market again. If I had to choose I would go Furuno although I really like the blue chart chips.
FellowShip [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[Scott]

Sorry FellowShip [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] We wont tell the Mrs. if one happens to appear on the dash !!
I hope no one misreads that post as that’s just my experience ... I admit I'm a Furuno fanatic based on lots of years of practical and reliable experience with their equipment. Personally I would not consider any other radar than Furuno. Chartplotters are made by everyone and they all have pluses and minuses. FS you talk of your Garmin ...again that is another machine this particular store and its employees endorse (along with another brand) but that Navnet stuff seems to be on another level, I think cost has a lot to do with the popularity of other systems. So many of the Captains around here use that system and then the comparison in Powerboats .... Its kinda hard not to get enthused about their stuff....