Sirius Weather

[earthmover17]

How does Sirius weather work? It is installed on my boat but I never got the subscription. I am debating getting it now.
I have a C120 Raymarine and a clarion sirius radio. Would it show on this chartplotter screen ? If so how would you prompt it on the screen? Any and all info would be appreciated.

Jack

 

[wileecoyote]

I got the Garmin 3210 with the XM option. I also have not gotten the subscription, but if yours is like mine there is a demo mode where you can see a simulated mode which shows the weather overlay. My radio is mounted above the dinette, so I would have to run audio cable from the helm and across to the port side and to the radio head. It's not in the cards right now, maybe later in the year if all else goes well.

 

[Gimme Time]

I have it on a E120 and is pretty slick. When traveling you can keep a eye on the weather pretty well. Coming home from the Baltimore area last summer I could keep an eye on the storms which can often kick up on the bay. We picked up the pace a little on the last hour & half on our return watching a storm headed our way and made it back to the home dock just before it let loose.

With smart Cell phones now that allow you to keep up with the weather as well I'm not sure I'd add this to another boat anytime in the near future. The cell phone works great an it is a lot less expensive than XM weather.

 

[ChuckW]

I just installed the weather module into my network this season. I have a Garmin MFD. It is very slick having all that info (NEXRAD, Sea Surface, Atmosphere, etc) overlayed on your chart with your boat. Not to mention the animation features and the storm cell tragectory features.

Smart phone weather is nice, but you have to be in cell range, it's not waterproof and you don't have the overlay with your charts while navigating. OK on a sunny day, but try it during bad weather when you really need to focus.

 

[earthmover17]

I have it on a E120 and is pretty slick. When traveling you can keep a eye on the weather pretty well. Coming home from the Baltimore area last summer I could keep an eye on the storms which can often kick up on the bay. We picked up the pace a little on the last hour & half on our return watching a storm headed our way and made it back to the home dock just before it let loose.

With smart Cell phones now that allow you to keep up with the weather as well I'm not sure I'd add this to another boat anytime in the near future. The cell phone works great an it is a lot less expensive than XM weather.

What screen do you go to on the E120 to get it to come up?

Jack

 

[Two Peas]

I wouldn't have a boat without it. Search my posts and you'll see some pics of it working.

On my C80, I had to add the weather screens manually in the setup screens - they were not "turned on" by default from the factory. Once you do that, the weather screens become easily selected. It was confusing to me until I read the whole damn manual and figured it out... (that the screens weren't there until you "add" them)

 

[tobnpr]

Jack;

I'll take some screen shots of it this weekend. It's pretty cool.
I think it's worth it just for the radio portion- you control it from the display, and have a list (including presets you can program) that shows the channels AND what's currently playing on them- so you can browse to what you want to listen to without having to keep switching channels.

And given that you're heading to the islands soon, I think it's very worthwhile to have the Wx to keep an eye on the summer storms. The screen display is very much the same as what you see online with Nexrad radar. It shows current radar- including storm directions and speeds, and when left on, will show an "in motion" loop as well.

 

[earthmover17]

Mike,
I was hoping you would weigh in on this as I figured you would know about it.
I need to buy you some beers and get you down to Tarpon to show me. Mechanically I can make anything happen but when it comes to electronics I'm lost. I installed a new Clarion CMD5 and had to have my 13 year old son show me how it worked.
I have Direct TV which gives me the weather channel but it's just not that accurate. I am doing several trips this year with other boats and no one has anything like this. So not just for my safety but the others.

Jack

 

[Sua Sponte]

Have it and love it.

Pays for itself if you only use it once.

Example:

Last year, we had a boat party with a gaggle of folks from my wife's office. Loaded up, the sky looked kind of shady, and as soon as we pulled away from port the rain started. Under normal circumstances without Sirius, I would have pulled back into port and the day would have been lost....

But, I fired up the Sirius and lo and behold, the weather cell was coming in off the lake and heading south and was going to hit us from the West. I planed the boat out, heading NE, and went out onto the lake with the storm coming in....because I knew the weather was clear from the Sirius. Went out ten miles onto the lake and we watched the storm come in over the city....it wasn't even raining from where we ended up sitting to watch.

So cool it was surreal....and everyone had fun!

 

[Jackie J V]

Hi Mike,
I just bought the module to hook up to the network (maybe this weekend if the weather improves).

In Canada, we get no where near the detail that you do in Florida, however I think it's still worth it. We get some pretty severe summer storm squalls that can whip in pretty quickly (often moving in at 60 mph). Access to accurate data can both manage stress and avoid issues. Given the amount invested in boating, an extra US$29.99 a month to add security is dollars well spent as far as I'm concerned.

Cell networks also help (we use an iPhone and Blackberry for weather maps), as does the local weather network received on the SAT TV, and when storms come in, we use Radar to provide data (however you've got to be careful to ensure you understand what you're seeing and understand that there are anomalies with radar readings). There were still times though, that a buddy of mine was receiving more and better information through the Sirius weather link.

BTW, Sirius Weather is also not officially available in Canada, so if anyone asks, I live in Arizona... :wink:

Paul