New radar for 280 ?

[sea ray roy]

Any thoughts on the new furuno 1st watch radar that sends display to ipad or phone. ? . Looking to get a radar to see through the fog for my boat

 

[Henry Boyd]

Sorry, I'm not someone who thinks the iPad has a place as part of your core navigation equipment. Furuno has a reputation of building quality products, but for me the iPad is the real weak link. It is not a piece of marine equipment, it's not even weather resistant

I'd rate this as a neat toy, but not something I'd want to navigate by in the fog.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[sea ray roy]

yeah i will get a screen thats going to hold up under salty harsh conditons thx:thumbsup:

 

[Fly'n Family]

Sorry, I'm not someone who thinks the iPad has a place as part of your core navigation equipment. Furuno has a reputation of building quality products, but for me the iPad is the real weak link. It is not a piece of marine equipment, it's not even weather resistant

I'd rate this as a neat toy, but not something I'd want to navigate by in the fog.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I can understand the potential weather aspect, but I fly worldwide in a private jet and both of us up front use Ipads for all of our Jepp plates and a slew of other things.

 

[Gunn]

I would find that feature especially handy when below-decks. I repeat the video of my Garmin radar display to the cabin flat panel TV so that I can see what might be approaching me. The only problem with this is, it interferes with anything else we're wanting to watch on the TV. Transmitting it to a mobile device would be great.

 

[Henry Boyd]

I can understand the potential weather aspect, but I fly worldwide in a private jet and both of us up front use Ipads for all of our Jepp plates and a slew of other things.

Maybe, but the iPad will overheat and blank out if you leave in the sun, like the top of the helm. We use our iPad for music and find it can be unreliable, either because of overheating, or visibility issues. Like I said not ready for mission critical use on a boat. Don't get me wrong we have Navionics on ours as well and it is great as a back up.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Bob a Buoy]

Not sure I'm understanding the cost benefit here. For 2k you can have a 3G set up w/ seven inch display with Gps and df, weatherproof, water proof, and dedicated to the boat. I can see having the wifi as a side feature but not as a replacement for a dedicated helm unit. I've never been one to want to keep up with all the devices. I want to be less connected while on the boat. The thought of keeping up with an iPad on the boat because it is a necessary piece of nav equipment isn't attractive to me. Keep it charged, keep it dry, keep it cool ..... I'm doing good to do all that with my phone.

 

[Stee6043]

I'm surprised folks don't ask more questions about "intended use" for electronics before rendering verdicts on suitability. People use boats in very, very different ways from region to region and from captain to captain.

I personally find that an iPad mounted via ram mount at my helm running Garmin Blue Charts is the perfect solution for navigation in my case. I pair mine with a Garmin GLO GPS module since it's a WiFi only version. I don't deal with salt but I have a decent "Lifeproof" case for the iPad which protects it from just about anything we throw at it. With my sunshades up I have zero problems with visibility. Yes, full sun may be a problem. But full sun is also a problem for my bald head so I never run without my front and rear sunshades up. I've never had a problem with overheating in this configuration.

One bonus of running this way is that I can be in full control of both the Blue Charts and the music at all times. In my case having appropriate tunes playing is about as mission-critical as it can get.

I'd also argue that you'd be hard pressed to find any piece of electronics more reliable than an Apple product. Nor more user friendly? Personal opinion only of course. I've only seen an iPhone overheat once, and it was an older one.

Sure, if I had $3+k to blow I'd absolutely have a big, wonderful Garmin MFD at my helm. Who doesn't want one? They just look badass. And I'm certain I would run it all the time and love it. But I really don't think there is much I'm not getting from my iPad other than being able to safely leave it on my boat when I leave for the week. Again, I don't take 200 mile trips every weekend and I'm not boating to very many new, unfamiliar places.

 

[Stee6043]

Shoot, I never even addressed the OP's question.

I think that iPad based radar looks pretty neat. I did a quick search and didn't find many reviews of it. This leads me to believe it's quite new?? I tend to make 87.8% of my purchasing decisions based on online feedback these days. And I hate being an early adopter. The lack of information on this system would tend to push me towards waiting or looking at other options.

If I were in your shoes I'd consider looking at used. I see folks upgrading their radar systems pretty regularly and selling their older gear. I have an older Raymarine radar on my boat. The chartplotter capability is almost "embarrassing" looking next to the iPad app referenced above but the radar works just fine. I bet you could find an older radar for a song and then go the iPad route for chartplotting if that's an option for you...it's how I run.

 

[sea ray roy]

I would be using it primarily for fog when and if i get stuck in it or return from catalina island and theres fog , I agree with not dropping 3k for a bad ass radar system when i would only need it for occasional usage in the fog, i got stuck in it once and not fun:smt021

 

[sea ray roy]

nice boat 2003 280 , i just bought one and pick it up next week ,:smt038 twin 4.3 and gen /a/c, 92 hours on engines

 

[LiL Nauti]

With my Ray Marine e7D, I can use my i-phone and mirror image what's on the MFD and with my I-pad I can control the MFD. I could be down in the galley, or want to kick back in the captains chair, or be on the hook at night and see when my friends are coming in by radar. Or many, many other options at my finger tips like charting a course in the galley while the admiral is driving the boat, the options are endless.

 

[Henry Boyd]

With my Ray Marine e7D, I can use my i-phone and mirror image what's on the MFD and with my I-pad I can control the MFD. I could be down in the galley, or want to kick back in the captains chair, or be on the hook at night and see when my friends are coming in by radar. Or many, many other options at my finger tips like charting a course in the galley while the admiral is driving the boat, the options are endless.

I agree as a secondary display an iPad is great. As I said earlier we use ours as a back up chart plotter. However, the radar the OP is talking about is being pitched by Furuno using the iPad as the primary display.

If also like to comment on another point. The OP also said he only planned to use it in bad weather/fog. Everyone should realize if you have radar, you must use it all of the time, either actively, or in standby mode (if your equipment supports it). The reason being that under the fundamental rule of collision prevention the captain must do everything in his power to keep a watch for other vessels. If the radar is off, and a collision happens the captain has failed in meeting this requirement. Since vessel collisions are shared liability events, having radar but not having it on is one major check mark in the your fault column. This requirement is not weather dependent, not having radar up on sunny blue sky day is just as bad as running in the fog with it off.

This all brings me to another point; if you are new to boating radar, take the time and attend a USCG sanctioned radar course.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Stee6043]

I agree as a secondary display an iPad is great. As I said earlier we use ours as a back up chart plotter. However, the radar the OP is talking about is being pitched by Furuno using the iPad as the primary display.

If also like to comment on another point. The OP also said he only planned to use it in bad weather/fog. Everyone should realize if you have radar, you must use it all of the time, either actively, or in standby mode (if your equipment supports it). The reason being that under the fundamental rule of collision prevention the captain must do everything in his power to keep a watch for other vessels. If the radar is off, and a collision happens the captain has failed in meeting this requirement. Since vessel collisions are shared liability events, having radar but not having it on is one major check mark in the your fault column. This requirement is not weather dependent, not having radar up on sunny blue sky day is just as bad as running in the fog with it off.

This all brings me to another point; if you are new to boating radar, take the time and attend a USCG sanctioned radar course.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

This is a great example of what’s so great about sites like this.

When I read this post I thought “no way, can’t be true, there is no way I could be required to use my radar just because I have it”. And then I looked it up! I love learning new stuff like this. I had no idea that the USCG says you must use radar if it’s installed on your vessel. What a trip.

Of course it’s a moot point if you don’t have a collision. But the rules are very clear once you find your way to the USCG Navigation Rules. If you have it, you gotta use it.

What I could not gather from the Nav rules document was whether or not there are potential penalties associated with not having your radar active if boarded for any reason not related to collision?

I also wonder if the average USCG member knows about this rule. Has anyone ever been boarded and had a Coastie suggest their radar needed to be active (if it wasn’t)?

This thread is a winner. Good stuff. Thanks for sharing some great knowledge here!!!

 

[LiL Nauti]

I agree as a secondary display an iPad is great. As I said earlier we use ours as a back up chart plotter. However, the radar the OP is talking about is being pitched by Furuno using the iPad as the primary display.

If also like to comment on another point. The OP also said he only planned to use it in bad weather/fog. Everyone should realize if you have radar, you must use it all of the time, either actively, or in standby mode (if your equipment supports it). The reason being that under the fundamental rule of collision prevention the captain must do everything in his power to keep a watch for other vessels. If the radar is off, and a collision happens the captain has failed in meeting this requirement. Since vessel collisions are shared liability events, having radar but not having it on is one major check mark in the your fault column. This requirement is not weather dependent, not having radar up on sunny blue sky day is just as bad as running in the fog with it off.

This all brings me to another point; if you are new to boating radar, take the time and attend a USCG sanctioned radar course.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Good advice Henry, thanks!