Upgrade with Raymarine or Simrad

[Robf]

Everyone, I currently have a 2004 390 MY that has the original Raymarine electronics including the VHF, Open Array Color Radar, and the old style GPS without chartplotter. The GPS has a depleted internal battery, I am told, and it loses its fix continuously and sets off the annoying alarms on it and the radar, and then the VHF. I want to upgrade the electronics starting with the GPS only as the radar works fine and am trying to decide if there is any benefit to staying in the Raymarine family or if the new electronics still wont talk to the old electronics. My second option is to go with the new line of Simrad Evo line to replace the GPS and sonar, and later upgrade the radar to Simrad's Broadband. (If I went the Raymarine route, I would probably eventually upgrade to their pulse radar)
I would be interested in any and all opinions!
Rob

 

[BurgundyS24]

I'm a simrad fanboy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sbw1]

I replaced all of our electronics a couple of years ago and was advised to stay with one brand as the components will work better with one another. I did buy an Icom radio as I like they way they work and have had good luck with their radios. As far as the old and the new working well together there could be some issues. Again, my advice was mixing analog equipment with digital is a non-starter. The techies will probably weigh in on your question. My experience with Raymarine has been excellent, although the Simrad pilot held a plot within 30 to 40 feet in almost any sea condition. The Ray pilot is very good but the Simrad was better. Having said that, the Ray is good enough.

 

[fwebster]

I am dealing with the same issue re: age - old/new technologies.

My boat left the factory with the B&G/ Furuno electronics package. Slowly, over 4 years, both of my Furuno plotters died and I found that there is no support, even from Furuno for either of them. My dealer is a Garmin, Raymarine, Simrad dealer and is experienced with all of them. My old B&G system is a tough, commercial grade, extremely accurate, but is a closed a closed network. The autopilot is so accurate when driven by a differential receiver that on a 60 mile open water trip I have to turn off the AP and drive around the sea bouy to keep from knocking the paint off of it. I chose the Raymarine e127 12" MFD (model w/ built in bottom machine) because it was a little easier to interface with my existing radar (original 64 mile Furuno and the B&G AP). Now, my second or back up Furuno plotter has failed and I am installing a 9" a95 Raymarine MFD. Interfacing is much easier this time since all it takes is 2 cables to and from the e127 and communications from the a95 will be thru the e127 to the B&G network.

Thru this process I have learned the following:

1. I should have upgraded plotters long ago.
2. Current technology displays are much brighter, higher definition and blistering fast.
3. Interfacing with older electronics can be a challenge particularly if you have to communicate to radar or AP with a NMEA 0183 or 2000 link...certainly not plug and play.
4. The new MFD will be much faster than the old AP so be prepared for a 2 speed system when using an older slower component.
5. Some features on new MFD's don't work with older AP's for example when using a route I now have to manually engage the AP when passing a waypoint in order to pick up the next WP. This has really turned out to be a safety feature since a course change of 90˚ or so can cause t he boat to radically change directions for which passengers are not prepared. In other words, the waypoint arrival alarm isn't transmitting from the new plotter to the old AP.
6. Be prepared from some minor incompatibility issues between old and new equipment, particularly between brands and technologies.
7. Take your brand decision seriously because you will want to stay with one brand if possible during your upgrade.


Raymarine, Garmin and Simrad are good equipment. It will be hard to make a mistake........just be forewarned that older technologies don't always play well with newer ones and sometimes different brands don't always play well with competitors. I am happy with Raymarine, since we figured out the interface issues, and will continue to upgrade within their product portfolio if and when my older radar and AP fail.

 

[Blueone]

I went thru the same thing a while back. I have always been a Raymarine fan so I really didn't look elsewhere. I ended up with a E125, I70, A65 and a HD Color Open array radar.

I used my existing ST7001 Smartpilot and integrated it into the above and it works flawlessly.

I am in the process of installing an Alba-Combi converter over the winter to help me eventually get away from the analog gages.

All in all I am very happy with the setup

 

[Billfletcher]

Both are good, and opinions vary.

A lot of sport fishers in my area use Simrad, and that includes boats in the 40 to 60 ft. Range.

I have had Simrad Evo 1 gear for two years and like it. Evo 2 is better, faster, and the displays are quite sharp.. the rumor is, Evo 3 is coming out at Flibs, so I am hoping it gets to the west coast soon. I am planning a major overhaul and going with their Halo open array and an NSS 16 Mdf. Only telling you this, because that is how much I like it.

playing with this stuff at WM is always fun.

 

[Boat Guy]

Between these two, I don't think you can go wrong.

I've had great service with RM...Though, I have had some failures...The Simrad stuff, esp. the low-energy radar looks great.

Right now, if I was to choose, I'd pick the new Simrad stuff.

Good luck

 

[Robf]

Thanks for all the responses. I gather that both brands are equally good but I can most likely forget interfacing the old stuff with the new. Since I do not have an AP, probably not an issue. I do like the Broad Band radar as I boat on in land rivers and it appears the definition for close on navigation is superior as I don't currently need long range. My gut is that I will go with the Simrad Evo 2 or 3 for the GPS Chartplotter and upgrade the radar next year, depending on budget. (need a canvas upgrade as well!) I believe I also need a new cockpit amp. Love the over winter projects to get ready for spring!
Rob

 

[Billfletcher]

My .02:

I think you are correct, and for close in nav, say 2 miles and less, you can’t beat the solid state gear from anyone.

They are not as good as a high output magnetron for longer distances, but those gaps are closing, especially with new Halo open array.

The low energy output is about the same as a cell phone, which is nice for EC (Dancer) type boats when the radar is mounted low, in line with people’s heads.

A lot of offshore fisherman still prefer the high output systems to see birds.

Thanks for all the responses. I gather that both brands are equally good but I can most likely forget interfacing the old stuff with the new. Since I do not have an AP, probably not an issue. I do like the Broad Band radar as I boat on in land rivers and it appears the definition for close on navigation is superior as I don't currently need long range. My gut is that I will go with the Simrad Evo 2 or 3 for the GPS Chartplotter and upgrade the radar next year, depending on budget. (need a canvas upgrade as well!) I believe I also need a new cockpit amp. Love the over winter projects to get ready for spring!
Rob

 

[sbw1]

I boat with a friend who just added new RM electronics. He bought the Pulse radar largely because it required no modification to the superstructure of his trawler. All the bolt holes matched up perfectly. He also does the great loop so navigating in rivers with accuracy is critical and he liked the reviews he saw. We were boating a couple of weeks ago and I was helping him learn how to use the new equipment. I was was struck by how similar the radar screen images appear to those of my open array. There may be some differences but none that I could see. You can hardly go wrong with RM's new technology. I suspect the same can be said for Simrad. Garmin also seems to be showing up high end boats so that is probably worth evaluating as well.

 

[rondds]

Rob
Are you going to add a new plotter and leave the old RL80c in place (I'm thinking that's what you have) to serve as the radar display. Reason I ask is b/c no new plotter will be compatible with your old radar scanner, even if you stick with Ray products. I'm going through this right now as my open array has died. RL80c and 4kW array coming out and all Garmin stuff going in.

The Ray AP and Ray VHF will communicate with the new plotter via NMEA0183, but my Tri-Data will not. That would be where SeaTalk comes in handy. Only down side is I won't be able to see depth on the plotter, which is fine b/c I don't look there for it anyway.

 

[Robf]

Ron, You are correct on the radar model I currently have. I did intend to leave it in stand alone for now and put in a new plotter and possibly new sonar. I like the new forward scanning units that Simrad has and some of the new structure scan units that give the 3d imagery. (not sure if the structure scan is Raymarine or other.) For my eventual replacement of the radar, I plan on putting in either the new Quantum Pulse units if I go with Raymarine, or the Simrad Halo systems.
Rob

Rob
Are you going to add a new plotter and leave the old RL80c in place (I'm thinking that's what you have) to serve as the radar display. Reason I ask is b/c no new plotter will be compatible with your old radar scanner, even if you stick with Ray products. I'm going through this right now as my open array has died. RL80c and 4kW array coming out and all Garmin stuff going in.

The Ray AP and Ray VHF will communicate with the new plotter via NMEA0183, but my Tri-Data will not. That would be where SeaTalk comes in handy. Only down side is I won't be able to see depth on the plotter, which is fine b/c I don't look there for it anyway.

 

[rondds]

Got it. Do you have room in the helm to flush mount the new plotter, or do you have to do a dash-top mount?

 

[Robf]

I should have space for a 9 inch and 12 inch displays. My plan is to put in a 9 inch plotter/sonar first and put in a twelve inch display when I upgrade the radar and network the two displays. Rob

Got it. Do you have room in the helm to flush mount the new plotter, or do you have to do a dash-top mount?

 

[Boston-boater]

Good discussion here. I just took the plunge and ordered the new simrad GO9xse with 3G radar, sounder, and VHF with AIS receiver along with a heading sensor for overlay and fuel flow sensors. Most of the kit is being installed next week except the GO9 which is back ordered. I did a lot of shopping and for the price, the new simrad gear is a great value. It even includes Navionics+ card.

 

[Billfletcher]

The AIS is money well spent. The AIS vector will lag a tad behind the actual real time radar image, but other boats vectors and their data box are very helpful to see, especially at night. If everyone had it, we would all be safer.

Good discussion here. I just took the plunge and ordered the new simrad GO9xse with 3G radar, sounder, and VHF with AIS receiver along with a heading sensor for overlay and fuel flow sensors. Most of the kit is being installed next week except the GO9 which is back ordered. I did a lot of shopping and for the price, the new simrad gear is a great value. It even includes Navionics+ card.

 

[Robf]

I was actually looking at that very same model for my GPS display. I also liked that it supported the Navionics which I like. Let me know how your install goes and how happy you are with the setup.
Rob

Good discussion here. I just took the plunge and ordered the new simrad GO9xse with 3G radar, sounder, and VHF with AIS receiver along with a heading sensor for overlay and fuel flow sensors. Most of the kit is being installed next week except the GO9 which is back ordered. I did a lot of shopping and for the price, the new simrad gear is a great value. It even includes Navionics+ card.

 

[rondds]

There are insane deals on the garmin 82xx series right now. 8" (8208) can be had for about $1200 and the 12" (8212) for around $1500. Worth a look. These are very sophisticated units that regularly cost upwards of $4k.

 

[dpmulvey]

Between these two, I don't think you can go wrong.

I've had great service with RM...

Good luck

dwna1a would disagree with that statement.

 

[dpmulvey]

I look at things a bit more pragmatically. If you are from Winfield, WV you are running the Kanawha and/or Ohio Rivers or driving some serious miles to get to big water. That said, what electronics are going to suit your needs vs. tickle your fancy. Is Simrad necessary or will Lowrance do? Both are owned by Navico, as is B&G. Just sayin'!

OH YEAH!!! Those engines aren't talking to anything without some sort of Merc Bridge inbetween. Thanks for nothing Merc.

If I were king or at least if I had a brain, I would figure a way to run all the data; GPS, engine, gennie, weather, etc.... through a PC and display all the information on monitors at the helm. I would think it would be cheaper to upgrade software and memory than electronic hardware. But what do I know or matter..... I'm just the customer.