Beginner looking for electronics of good quality.

I did the first upgrade on our 280. As has been said the biggest part is fishing wires. When I installed this stuff I bought it from a local dealer and arranged up front to have them come when I had the big stuff done to come and setup everything. This mainly involved coming and checking everything and fine tuning the radar so that the radar superimposed and aligned to the chart display properly.

You should be able to stay within your budget if you install yourself and don't go with an AP. The boat show discounts are over, but I think the Raymarine purchase incentive is still on until the end of the month. The other manufacturers may still have their incentive programs going as well due to all that has happened.

Garmin's website provides installation templates. If you follow the printing instructions (verify the measurements), you can take templates of models you're considering to the boat for sizing.

I think most people prefer the largest screen they can fit in a given space and sometimes the choice comes down to small fractions of an inch! Using a template helped me fit my larger plotter - the corners go RIGHT TO the edge, but not beyond it.

I again want to thank everyone. I have a lot to consider now. I do feel like I need/want some type of iPad integration. The two business my wife and I own use iPads for everything, and it has made life/function easier. Yes, we have had the standard issues, but iPads have a flexibility that I enjoy, and are transportable. I also see the need for “hard” wired equipment, and the advantage it provides. The comment about Garmin templates sounds very attractive, and will help in selecting new instrument panels. Y’all have provided me with a much more comprehensive idea of what I want in a system, and errors to avoid.

Haden said:

Yes, I have already been looking at new panels for the electronics. Great advice everyone!!

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You've got to watch out for some of these guys. The next thing you know they'll be convincing you that you have to match your emblems to the color of your electronics, and then update all of your flooring.

yobub said:

You've got to watch out for some of these guys. The next thing you know they'll be convincing you that you have to match your emblems to the color of your electronics, and then update all of your flooring.

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So I need to update my flooring now??? Haha.

Haden said:

I again want to thank everyone. I have a lot to consider now. I do feel like I need/want some type of iPad integration. The two business my wife and I own use iPads for everything, and it has made life/function easier. Yes, we have had the standard issues, but iPads have a flexibility that I enjoy, and are transportable. I also see the need for “hard” wired equipment, and the advantage it provides. The comment about Garmin templates sounds very attractive, and will help in selecting new instrument panels. Y’all have provided me with a much more comprehensive idea of what I want in a system, and errors to avoid.

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The Raymarine system we installed created a hot spot for iPads. I would use my iPad to keep an eye on things if a friend was operating the boat. Essentially, I watched the radar overlay on the chart to make sure we were where we were supposed to be and there were no other boats on a collision course with our boat. Here is a pic of me running the boat with the iPad at the helm learning how things worked.

sbw1 said:

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The Raymarine system we installed created a hot spot for iPads. I would use my iPad to keep an eye on things if a friend was operating the boat. Essentially, I watched the radar overlay on the chart to make sure we were where we were supposed to be and there were no other boats on a collision course with our boat. Here is a pic of me running the boat with the iPad at the helm learning how things worked.

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They all do that now.
The big complaint with the Ray stuff is their propensity with propriety cables and connectors that change nearly every generation so nothing new is easily backward compatible. Garmin, Simrad, and Furuno kicked that habit long ago.
Ray is getting better but still a PIA. Regardless, as stated earlier the Garmin cartography is simply the best.