how much to add radar and sat tv

Sundancer123

Sundancer123

New Member
Mar 25, 2007
145
RO
Boat Info
BL
Engines
2
how much would it be to add radar and sat tvl do you think or upgrade to the

Raymarine® E120 Radar/GPS/Chartplotter: 12.1" Color LCD, w/Integrated 4kW Open Array Scanner - Primary Display

assuming ratheon and kvh for a 40 foot searay

or to the
Sea Ray® Navigator™ III Radar/GPS/Chartplotter: 12.1" Sunlight-Viewable Touch-Screen Color LCD, w/Integrated 4kW Open Array Scanner, Water Temp & Depth Data - Primary Display
 
Last edited:
A lot

Mr Salt
2001 540 CPMY
Caterpillar C-12s
Cape May, NJ
 
We were looking at same and just the electronics came to about 8K with out Sat. TV at Hodges Marine electronics. I was figuring about 2K for the whole intall that is no Sat TV.
WE are hoping to find one local loaded but, looked at numbers just cover all options. Good luck. Mike
 
That sound like a safe number for a E-120 package. Locally we found an certified install guy who is not affiliated with the dealership. when it comes time serch some local boards as this will save about half on install cost.
Mike
 
You can connect your E120 to the Sat feed or your TV or a camera, and have a screen for those too..How about adding Sat weather, a new Transducer, and a camera..

The E120 should run about $34-3500,
Platinum chip about $300.00
Raystar 125 (GPS antenna) about $300

Sirius weather receiver about $750-$800
Cables/Video in /out/NMEA/SeaTalk etc... hundreds
Raymarine camera (or get Specco for less) $500.00
ThruHull Transducer about $900
4KW open array about $3300 or super HD open array about $5500
Sea King Sat TV or KVH about $3,000.

So with professional install you're probably at close to $18,000 -$20,000or so...
 
Does the E120 have a built in digital TV tuner? I don't believe it does... You can't just plug a TV antenna into a monitor... you need a tuner box in the middle. The devil is always in the details on this type of stuff. Like how do you change channels? Where is the sound going to come from? Do you need a remote? In that case, you'll have to figure out how to make a remote at the helm work with where the tuner is mounted. And how do you mount the tuner so it looks factory? Now you may be talking cabinet work down below... and you may need to install a whole remote management system as well... and on... and on...

Been there... done this... PITA.

A hatchet job is one price... a professional looking job is going to be over 20K.
 
Last edited:
The E120 does not have a tuner, you can connect it so that what you are watching on one of the TVs can also be watched on the 120, and visa versa, what you have on your 120 (could be combination chart/radar/sonar etc, can be seen on the tv down in the cabin...I will sometimes keep my gps on the xm weather screen while I am on the hook, and everyone can watch it from the cabin when they want to see what's coming our way.
 
We had the system installed last year and I think the figures are accurate. Raytheon packages their products so it makes sense if you want to upgrade pretty much everything you should take one of their package deals. I had the E-120, HD radar, digital depth with transducer, Ray 218, GPS 125, SeaTalk, Platinum chart. Sold the old equipment.

We quickly added a second display (only had room for the E-80) and I plan on adding the weather module and perhaps an E.R. camera. Plan on close to 20K for a professional installation. I have no complaints about this set-up but make sure you have the latest software.

Raymarine seems married to the Sirius weather module and I have delayed adding it because I see the XM as more functionally featured. I wonder if it could be added without tying into a PC feed?

James
 
barryg said:
The E120 does not have a tuner, you can connect it so that what you are watching on one of the TVs can also be watched on the 120, and visa versa, what you have on your 120 (could be combination chart/radar/sonar etc, can be seen on the tv down in the cabin...I will sometimes keep my gps on the xm weather screen while I am on the hook, and everyone can watch it from the cabin when they want to see what's coming our way.
Click to expand...

The difficulty is the TV part... not the video part. The E120 has video in and video out. To get TV video/audio you need something to convert the signal from the antenna/KVH to a video and audio feed (i.e. a tuner). TV's typically don't have video out ports but usually have audio out ports. So you'll need to have an external tuner to feed a TV signal into the E120. A DirecTV box can provide tuning functionality for a standard TV antenna as well as a KVH but you'll have to split the video and audio before it goes into the cabin TV's.... and then what do you hook the audio to?

I'm just saying the TV on the E120 stuff is not as easy as "plug the TV into the E120"... You can hook the audio to an AUX port on the stereo used by the helm... and how do you change the TV channels from the helm? and adjust the volume? One remote? two remotes? You need an IR repeater? An IR eye? Doing RF instead? Does the sat box and radio do RF (probably not). etc. etc.... Or is running up and down the stairs acceptable... (yuk).
 
Last edited:
E120, 4kw open array, and an M3 will run around $11K. OP did not mention the sounder. I know I'm gonna get flamed for this and be called an idiot, but IMO paying $9,000 to install these three pieces of equipment is absurd. These are single cable installs.
I'm not talking out of my a** ; I've done it. That price cannot be justified.

The video feed to my E at the helm is purely for convenience- because it was "there" and easily doable with a single cable. The M3 is RF controlled, so changing channels from the helm is not an issue. Sound is through an FM modulator. Sound quality pretty much sucks, but I don't really care. This isn't meant to be state of the art AV at the helm- it's just a 12" screen (or, in my case, 8-1/2").
 
There is a new HD 4KW open array, and it's about 2 grand more than the older 4kw open array... if you add all the extras- gps antenna, transducer, sounder, weather module, sat TV, cables, modules etc, it's probably closer to $15,000 and install depending on the area you're in can run a few thousand.
 
Perhaps to clarify a bit. In my above reply of E 120, DSM300, Ray 218, Sea Talk, 4kw HD radar (open array), GPS125, cabling, installation by the Sea Ray dealer including two new "woodgrain" dash panels after we moved instruments around....total was somewhere beween 10K and 13K. I did not have sat TV or weather module. I remember that at the time I thought the value was there bearing in mind the different economic climate of a year ago.

I'll try to find my receipts and report back.

James
 
Last edited:
I am with tobnpr. i upgraded all the original on a 2000 480db with the latest raymarine stuff, including sat tv, digital radar, sirius weather, bilge cameras, seatalk, fishfinder, etc.
my cost for stuff was ~20k, quoted install by local marine electronics dealer was over 10k. i n=bit the bullet, said no way and went to work. what you need is:
1. time
2. patience
3. ability to read basic manuals
4. usual electric install tools and tool box
5. lots more time and patience.
i feel like i spent a lot of time, but i know where and how it is installed, made some mistakes along the way, and it all works, and is installed the way i wanted it.
at the end of the day, i saved money, have pride of accomplishment, and much better knowledge of my boat than i had before. it is not for the faint at heart, but i like taking stuff apart and putting it back together.
if you have any specific questions, pm me anytime.
 
Creik and Tobnpr: I absolutely agree that it's a lot more interesting to do the installation yourself if you have the time, and on previous boats I had more time.

I found the receipt I was looking for and the total labor costs were just over $2,000 to install the display, transducer, radar, VHF,and then rearrange the dash. Components, parts and tax on top of that.

The labor rate and overhead costs in my job is more than that so it wouldn't make sense to do the installation myself. I have always felt well treated by my Sea Ray dealer and maybe you can understand why. :thumbsup:
 
That's reasonable, especially since dash modifications were required.
There's nothing about a "typical" electronics installation that's rocket science. Granted, you've got to be handy with a set of tools. There are vast resources of information online, and forums such as this one to garner all the information you need.
With patience (measure twice, cut once!) and the proper tools it's really not that difficult.

Creik- wonder how the installer would have reacted if you had asked him for a breakdown of man-hours to justify that $10,000. estimate. That's more money than most Americans make in two months...



I remember when I bought my first radar on Ebay. It was an old Furuno open array (still got it in the closet). No plug-in connectors on that dinosaur- just a couple of dozen wires exposed at the cable end that were all to be individually connected inside the array. Jumpers, diodes,you name it... I needed to learn how to read a wiring schematic to hook it up- but I figured it out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,266
Messages
1,429,688
Members
61,143
Latest member
seanmoconnor10
Back
Top