Raymarine vs garmin

[jmauld]

A way to test the radar. I contacted raymarine via email and they said, just measure the voltage in and out on the vcm-100. No other steps to test its operation. Or is that just the first thing and once I report that they’ll come back with more troubleshooting steps?

 

[Irie308]

A way to test the radar. I contacted raymarine via email and they said, just measure the voltage in and out on the vcm-100. No other steps to test its operation. Or is that just the first thing and once I report that they’ll come back with more troubleshooting steps?

I had them on the phone so walked through each step with them. They did have me check that and i did get the 42 volts at the vcm100. also rolled back the software in the axiom and tried factory and hardware reset. The jump in software changes the ip scheme on the axiom which I thought would be the issue but no luck rolling it back.

 

[Irie308]

Ended up getting a good deal on the garmin phantom 54 at the NYC boat show. Place was kinda empty but glad I went. Also it seems garmin has fully revamped their mfd layout and usability via their latest software. Really liking it so far. You can quickly jump in and out of screens. Sorta works like an iPhone interface.Has anyone tried it out?

 

[Skybolt]

Ended up getting a good deal on the garmin phantom 54 at the NYC boat show. Place was kinda empty but glad I went. Also it seems garmin has fully revamped their mfd layout and usability via their latest software. Really liking it so far. You can quickly jump in and out of screens. Sorta works like an iPhone interface.Has anyone tried it out?

Just updated today. It's ok, completely changed how to get in and out of screens. There is no main "home" screen any longer and the one helm bar doesn't hide and stays active always. You lose an inch or so of screen across the bottom/top depending where you put it. Should be on the side where there is more room. Only played around with it for a few minutes, but not a fan because of the real-estate it takes up, otherwise not bad, just takes a bit to get use too.

 

[ttmott]

Just updated today. It's ok, completely changed how to get in and out of screens. There is no main "home" screen any longer and the one helm bar doesn't hide and stays active always. You lose an inch or so of screen across the bottom/top depending where you put it. Should be on the side where there is more room. Only played around with it for a few minutes, but not a fan because of the real-estate it takes up, otherwise not bad, just takes a bit to get use too.

That's not good. The only thing on that bar is One Helm? There has got to be a way to keep the main menu screen and not have bars cluttering up the acerage.

 

[Skybolt]

That's not good. The only thing on that bar is One Helm? There has got to be a way to keep the main menu screen and not have bars cluttering up the acerage.

Going to play with this more, but at first glance that bar IS the only menu, no more One Helm screen with selectable icons only scrollable bar at the bottom of the screen, no other dedicated icon screens like charts or favorites etc. ...

The bar has all of the selectable screens and can be edited to add/remove icons.

The bar slides and you select the wrong screen if you have heavy fat fingers like I do. To get to the settings screen is multiple presses and then have to see the three dot's and the word "options" just above the thumb nail of an icon. I will try and take some pics and post a better understanding of what I am talking about. But hopefully it is customizable and I missed something as I only gave it 10 or so minutes and left in disgust shacking my head. But we will see, really hope I am wrong and missed a config parameter somewhere.

 

[Irie308]

Played with it for a few mins as well but on the the 16" not the 12". Not very noticeable on the larger models but on the 12 for sure you would be losing some substantial real-estate. EDITED: As I go back and check it doesn't seem to take up more space than the old menu bar on the previous software. The old menu page is gone and is now accessible from whatever screen you are on so no need to navigate away to find a new page.




https://www8.garmin.com/marine/PDF/MarineSoftwareUpdate/2022/January2022.pdf

 

[ttmott]

That would be disappointing as for dual screens (in my case) that bar would be on both screens. Things are cluttered up enough.

 

[b_arrington]

Looks like some interesting updates. I can understand why then changed how you switch screens. It did take a lot of presses to exit a screen and switch to another, and you loose some of your situational awareness during that time. Being able to select another screen while the current one is displayed might be good - depending on implementation.

Other good things from that link that I like:

• Fuel remaining via tank sensor. This is BIG for me. I run a generator a lot, and it doesn't have a data connection for provide fuel flow to the Garmin. So my fuel levels in the Garmin are always different from my tank sensors.
• Look ahead. Nice - varies the map position view by vessel speed. When I'm running at 28 mph I want more map ahead of me, but at anchor I want to see everything. I set something similar for the radar screens.
• POI review. Good change. Having to select a POI, then select Review was annoying. This changed provides more "heads up" time.

OneHelm bar -I can see where this would be useful if you have digital switching via the screen. Would make it quicker to access oft-used switches. I don't have digital switching so am not using OneHelm that way. Still does take away from the rest of the screen.

 

[Riptide III]

100% Garmin. In addition to the intuitive comments, customer support is horrible. Not only would I never buy another raymarine, I would go out of my way to ensure none of my friends ever do. I bought a $600 depth sounder took it off the boat every time I was done using it. Used it for a grand total of three trips. Deployed to Afghanistan. When I came back the screen was fogged. I called Raymarine and they said they would give me $50 towards a new item if I returned it.

 

[Skybolt]

... OneHelm bar -I can see where this would be useful if you have digital switching via the screen. Would make it quicker to access oft-used switches. I don't have digital switching so am not using OneHelm that way. Still does take away from the rest of the screen.

My setup is a single 7608 setup for digital switching and generator/engines/media screens. That received no update and remains at 20.40. I also have two 1243's for navigation etc. Man now I wish they were 16's and not 12's. The 12's are wide screen format and not 4x3 which makes the vertical size smaller and the horizontal much wider, which is why I think they should have made the new ribbon menu able to go on the side bar like most of there menus do.

So here are some screen shots. The first is just the Home screen, note the arrows next to the home button, makes you think it scrolls menu items. It doesn't, press them and it selects what ever screen is under the arrow. The Home screen with the navigation bar up is now equivalent to a 9" screen even though they are 1243 MFD's. Pressing the home button brings up two overlays the very bottom act's as secondary menu selection that allows you to select the screen ribbons that scroll. The bottom two SS's show this.

@Irie308 - one thing I noticed was the camera encoder we are using doesn't seem to work with this update. I am going to have to t-shoot that further. Hopefully I have something unplugged that caused my camera's not to function. But when I selected the camera screen it was black with no encoder listed.

This update does bring some nice functionality, even the ribbon menu's if they were able to be moved. But it is drastically different from the 76xx series, which before this update operated exactly the same as the xx43/86xx series did. Hopefully they will get some feedback on allowing the ribbon bar to be moved. But hey, I might be the only one not liking the new menu where it is. If I had larger MFD's I probably wouldn't be complaining (as much).

Home screen:



Home Screen with navigation bar:



First menu ribbon from home button:



Other selected menus and the ribbon:

 

[Irie308]

@SKybolt double check your connections on the encoder. Mine worked without issue. To be honest the new software seems to really shine on the 16" screens. Actually that's what they were demoing at the boat show this past weekend. I'm confused though, isn't the old menu bar with the old home softbutton the same dimensions as the new navigation bar?

 

[Skybolt]

@SKybolt double check your connections on the encoder. Mine worked without issue. To be honest the new software seems to really shine on the 16" screens. Actually that's what they were demoing at the boat show this past weekend. I'm confused though, isn't the old menu bar with the old home softbutton the same dimensions as the new navigation bar?

Cool very glad the encoder still works, I must have something unplugged. From what I can tell it's about twice the size of the original one. The original was about the size of the Nav bar and why I posted that SS. But like I said, I am probably in the minority and if I had a 16" screen, it wouldn't even be a discussion item. I am now going to be using the twin monitors very differently now.

 

[Skybolt]

Anyone thinking of updating their Garmin software to the latest build, here is a great write up from Panbo that covers and compares old to new: https://panbo.com/garmin-mfds-get-navionics-cartography-and-an-updated-ui/

 

[ttmott]

@SKybolt - from what I can surmise there is the OS updates for the chartplotters and then the Chart update options.
For charts, Garmin seems to show both the Garmin Bluechart G3 Visionhttps://www.thegpsstore.com/GPS-Acc...art-G3-Vision-Southwest-Florida-Chart-VUS011R which I currently have and now Garmin/Navionics Vision Plushttps://www.thegpsstore.com/GPS-Map...rts/Garmin-Navionics-Vision-NVUS006R-US-South. Both are available depending upon preference it seems.
So the question is can you keep both charting systems active (ie keep both chart cards plugged in)? I do have a separate card reader.

I wonder if they are going to let the Bluechart charts go by the wayside....

 

[Skybolt]

@SKybolt - from what I can surmise there is the OS updates for the chartplotters and then the Chart update options.
For charts, Garmin seems to show both the Garmin Bluechart G3 Visionhttps://www.thegpsstore.com/GPS-Acc...art-G3-Vision-Southwest-Florida-Chart-VUS011R which I currently have and now Garmin/Navionics Vision Plushttps://www.thegpsstore.com/GPS-Map...rts/Garmin-Navionics-Vision-NVUS006R-US-South. Both are available depending upon preference it seems.
So the question is can you keep both charting systems active (ie keep both chart cards plugged in)? I do have a separate card reader.

I wonder if they are going to let the Bluechart charts go by the wayside....

Exactly, can you keep both versions on the plotter and select which to use. Ben's article on Panbo compares the versions but does not address that question that I read. The Navionics chart I would use is $250/yr. The other question is will you still have a usable Navionics chart if you do not renew the sub. Ben also poses the question about the sonar chart not being available yet and will it be? The Navionics Sonar chart overlay has that nice blue bottom shading, the nicest of the views I find.

I am going to give them a call this week on this and a few other questions I have and will post their response.

 

[ttmott]

Exactly, can you keep both versions on the plotter and select which to use. Ben's article on Panbo compares the versions but does not address that question that I read. The Navionics chart I would use is $250/yr. The other question is will you still have a usable Navionics chart if you do not renew the sub. Ben also poses the question about the sonar chart not being available yet and will it be? The Navionics Sonar chart overlay has that nice blue bottom shading, the nicest of the views I find.

I am going to give them a call this week on this and a few other questions I have and will post their response.

From the Navionics web page -
NOTE: When you purchase a new Garmin Navionics+ or Garmin Navionics Vision+ cartography product, a one-year subscription is included. The subscription includes access to daily chart updates and download of additional content such as raster cartography and premium features (high-resolution relief shading, high-resolution satellite imagery and sonar imagery) where available. Charts and features that are downloaded during the subscription period remain on the card, but no additional content can be downloaded after the subscription expires.

For preprogrammed charts bought in-store or online, the subscription needs to be activated.

Garmin Navionics+ or Garmin Navionics Vision+ cartography requires that your compatible chartplotter software is updated to the January 2022 software release, which is conveniently preprogrammed on the cartography cards. The software is also available for download from the ActiveCaptain app or via Garmin Express™ software.


¹ Auto Guidance+ is for planning purposes only and does not replace safe navigation operations.
² When a Garmin Navionics+ card is inserted in these devices, it may only be used on networks containing no more than 4 compatible chartplotters.

 

[b_arrington]

The way I understand it, the Navionics+ subscription for Garmin works the same way as it does for their Boating app.

That is, you download the permanent chart data AND get a 1 year update subscription. The subscription gives you daily updates. At the end of the term the daily updates end but you keep any and all mapping data you’ve downloaded.

 

[jmauld]

The way I understand it, the Navionics+ subscription for Garmin works the same way as it does for their Boating app.

That is, you download the permanent chart data AND get a 1 year update subscription. The subscription gives you daily updates. At the end of the term the daily updates end but you keep any and all mapping data you’ve downloaded.

I think you also lose autorouting when the subscription ends

 

[ttmott]

I think you also lose autorouting when the subscription ends

What? Can you post where you saw or read that?
Autorouting is an important part of our cruising.

Edit - these "features" you have mentioned are unique to Raymarine. @SKybolt said he is calling Garmin so we will find out but I think the note I quoted in Post 97 reveals all of the features are still functional but no new downloads can be obtained until renewal. Another reason to go with Garmin for sure....