Winter project: Electronics upgrade on '05 320

[sb in gp]

I am in the research phase of upgrading my electronics. I have read most of the recent posts on the Electronics Q&A section, and at this point I'm looking for general advice.

Here are some of my current requirements:

I'd like to spend around $3K (if possible)

I've had good luck with Garmin, and with Raymarine's recent financial trouble, I'm leaning towards Garmin (Boat currently has a small Garmin 198C, which is a nice little unit, but too small, so this will be e-bay'd).

I plan to do some longer cruising in 2010, and I occassional cruise at night, so I want radar. Posters here have noted that the open arrays are the best, but I know nothing about Radar, having never owned it or used it for a significant period of time. *Edit*: Radome will be fine if budget requires. *Edit*

I have a Raytheon VHF with DSC, which I'd like to keep if possible, and I want to integrate the DSC into the chartplotter.

I'd like to use XM Sat for weather (Boat currently has Sirius Sat radio)

Boat has Smartcraft, a Garmin antenna, and a larger canoe-shaped transducer (with a paddle) underneath. I'd like to avoid drilling holes if possible.

Any help is appreciated.

Scott

 

[tobnpr]

What are you currently using for a sounder, and are you planning to change that, as well?

Any open array antenna would blow your $3K budget (and then some) by itself...
Not necessary, anyway for basic close-range collision avoidance.

 

[Sparkey600]

I just upgraded my electronices on my 2005 29' amberjack, After researching the forum I went with Garmin 4210 chartplotter with Garmin Bluechart G2 chip and Garmin GRM 18 HD Radome. I shop on line to get the best price, I would have had to get them from three web site. After I got the best price I called Northeast Marine Electronics who I used before, Great people to talk to. I told them what I want and that I shop on line for the best price, I told then I could get it for $ 3,000.00 on line, Thay said they would match the price with on tax or shipping.:thumbsup: I had the electronics in my house in three days.I cant wait to use then in the water, I wired then up in my office to a transformer so I can play with then, Works great :smt038

Northeast Marine Electronics
Watertown, CT
860-274-9173

 

[sb in gp]

What are you currently using for a sounder, and are you planning to change that, as well?

Any open array antenna would blow your $3K budget (and then some) by itself...
Not necessary, anyway for basic close-range collision avoidance.

Thanks Tobnpr. I guess i will scale back on the radar requirement. I'll try to edit previous post.

The Garmin 198C is a called a "Sounder". Your post brings up a good point (and possibly a stupid question): why are some units called "Sounders" and some called "Chartplotters", when they appear to have the same functionality. I see that some are called "Displays", which I assume means it does not have the GPS built-in and you have to provide that.

 

[sb in gp]

I just upgraded my electronices on my 2005 29' amberjack, After researching the forum I went with Garmin 4210 chartplotter with Garmin Bluechart G2 chip and Garmin GRM 18 HD Radome. I shop on line to get the best price, I would have had to get them from three web site. After I got the best price I called Northeast Marine Electronics who I used before, Great people to talk to. I told them what I want and that I shop on line for the best price, I told then I could get it for $ 3,000.00 on line, Thay said they would match the price with on tax or shipping.:thumbsup: I had the electronics in my house in three days.I cant wait to use then in the water, I wired then up in my office to a transformer so I can play with then, Works great :smt038

Northeast Marine Electronics
Watertown, CT
860-274-9173

Thanks. I'll look at that combo.

I'm planning to make this a DIY project. Can anyone offer advice to someone with fairly good mechanical and technical skill, but zero radar experience?

 

[hack4alivin]

I think you are going to find it hard to get all the options you want in the price range you provided. Too bad you are ruling out the Raymarine line because I think a C80 might get you close to what you are looking to spend. I would use the 2k dome radar; you don’t need the 4k open array, for god shakes what to you need that kind of range for. I use my radar (at night) and all I am worried about is what is close to me, so I zoom in all the time. I can tell you because I have it, the Sirius weather option is a great tool, I use it much more that the radar, so if I was cutting some corners on my cost I would have that rather than radar. Bear in mind though, once you have it you still need the subscription to Sirius, and the weather option is more a month than the standard radio subscription.

 

[sb in gp]

I think you are going to find it hard to get all the options you want in the price range you provided. Too bad you are ruling out the Raymarine line because I think a C80 might get you close to what you are looking to spend. I would use the 2k dome radar; you don’t need the 4k open array, for god shakes what to you need that kind of range for. I use my radar (at night) and all I am worried about is what is close to me, so I zoom in all the time. I can tell you because I have it, the Sirius weather option is a great tool, I use it much more that the radar, so if I was cutting some corners on my cost I would have that rather than radar. Bear in mind though, once you have it you still need the subscription to Sirius, and the weather option is more a month than the standard radio subscription.

Thanks Hack. Like I said, I have zero radar experience, so I appreciate your advice on the most adequate for my use and budget. No, I don't need tremendous range. Just need to avoid hitting things in poor visibility situations. Does the 2K mean that is has a 2000' range?

I have factory-installed Sirius on the boat now, but I'm not sure if this means I am good to go for XM/Sirus weather?

Scott

 

[bmac]

The 2k should be 2kW, a measurment of the power output of the antena. I think the 2kW radome has a maximum effective range of 24 nautical miles.

 

[sb in gp]

The 2k should be 2kW, a measurment of the power output of the antena. I think the 2kW radome has a maximum effective range of 24 nautical miles.

Thanks Brian. My radar education continues.

 

[hack4alivin]

I have factory-installed Sirius on the boat now, but I'm not sure if this means I am good to go for XM/Sirus weather?

Scott

No it is a separate option all together. It will include a module that hooks up to the chart plotter and a new antenna as well. The new antenna will replace your existing Sirius antenna. I had the Sirius radio as well before I upgraded, but now my radio selection is controlled through my C80 chart plotter panel and the audio comes from the Raymarine module to your Clarlon radio through the aux inputs. I no longer use the satellite tuner in the radio. Selecting channels through the C80 is nice as it displays more info about your selections than the radio can. I believe my unit was around 700 hundred when my lovely Admiral bought for me for my birthday. This year maybe I can talk her into buying me the C80 widescreen, then I can run the video output from the chart plotter to the new 26 inch TV I mounted in the cabin. That would be cool!:thumbsup:

 

[sb in gp]

No it is a separate option all together. It will include a module that hooks up to the chart plotter and a new antenna as well. The new antenna will replace your existing Sirius antenna. I had the Sirius radio as well before I upgraded, but now my radio selection is controlled through my C80 chart plotter panel and the audio comes from the Raymarine module to your Clarlon radio through the aux inputs. I no longer use the satellite tuner in the radio. Selecting channels through the C80 is nice as it displays more info about your selections than the radio can. I believe my unit was around 700 hundred when my lovely Admiral bought for me for my birthday. This year maybe I can talk her into buying me the C80 widescreen, then I can run the video output from the chart plotter to the new 26 inch TV I mounted in the cabin. That would be cool!:thumbsup:

Thanks Hack, what value would it be to hook the plotter to the TV? Is your TV DC so that you can see it while underway? I have read your thread about installing the 26" on the forward bulkhead. Probably something I will do this year too. I'll post a reply to that thread with a question or two.

 

[CSR_Admin]

With a 3K budget i would suggest getting the Garmin 3210 Bundle. There are still some left. Its $1579, you get the 10" display, FF Module, and XM weather module. You can add the 4kW 18" dome for $1027. For transducer you can possibly use the one already in the boat if it was previously connected to a Garmin unit. Otherwise either get one to fit the same fairing block or use an in-hull P79.

 

[barryg]

On my 05 320 I upgraded with a Garmin 5208- I had a Raymarine E80 in my last boat and just wanted to try something a little different. I also put in the new 4KW Garmin Raydome (now they even have a HD version), as well as the Garmin GSD 22 remote sounder, XM weather module-love the XM weather, a reverse camera attached to the arch facing the back of the boat, and a new 26" HDTV in the cabin bulkhead, and have it all wired together (along with an Apple TV) that lets me show what's on the Chartplotter on the tv below as well as the camera that points behind the boat. Of course it was definitely more than $3,000, but the garmin system is a good one, and if you can fit a 10", the 3210 might be worth looking into.

Good luck.

Barry

 

[Alex F]

...Too bad you are ruling out the Raymarine line because I think a C80 might get you close to what you are looking to spend. I would use the 2k dome radar; you don’t need the 4k open array, for god shakes what to you need that kind of range for. I use my radar (at night) and all I am worried about is what is close to me, so I zoom in all the time. I can tell you because I have it, the Sirius weather option is a great tool, I use it much more that the radar, so if I was cutting some corners on my cost I would have that rather than radar.....

From what I've seen there are a lot of SRs in mid 30s range that came equiped with Raymarine. Mine did as well. I can't predict the future of the company, but so far I like the product based my needs. I love night cruising (do it almost every weekend during the season) and was caught few times in the bad fog and heavy rain storm with lightning at night, so this is where I disagree with Bill (hack4alivin). No matter what if it wasn't for a radar I doubt that I would be out there as much as I'm in limited visibility. You can have all the details about the weather, but ones visibility drops the radar adds so much security that once you have it there's no way back. I must confess that on two occasions, if it wasn't for my radar it would have been very close calls. But, I was able to pick up the targets and then finally make visual reference allowing myself a safe pass. One was a very fast moving idiot who popped up out of no where and ignored all the rules of the road (I had the right of way), again this was in pitch black night. The other time it was non-lid day marker. I'm sure that folks have plenty of stories on how radars save the day. So, IMO during the upgrades it's very important to have a list of must have items, which add safety and then go for nice to have items. While upgrading to a 320s I was not looking at those that didn't have a radar.

Hope this helps.

 

[gerryb]

On my 05 320 I upgraded with a Garmin 5208

+1. Spent time looking at all the units and the Garmin interface and touchscreen seems years ahead to me in terms of being able to easily use the system while underway. Also have the 18" dome. Cost about $3000 total for MFD and radar... the 5208 is not inexpensive.

 

[JYurgo]

Go to Mike's Marine in St Clair Shores, they will give you an education on what you need vs. what you want. If you're boating on St Clair at night you need radar, alot of a-holes out there. Figure out what you need and then go shopping online. There are some good deals out there, and business's are dealing. Don't forget West Marine will price match if you bring in something showing the price. I always bring my Defender catalog into West Marine and make them price match everything that I'm buying, they do without a issue. Good luck

 

[sb in gp]

With a 3K budget i would suggest getting the Garmin 3210 Bundle. There are still some left. Its $1579, you get the 10" display, FF Module, and XM weather module. You can add the 4kW 18" dome for $1027. For transducer you can possibly use the one already in the boat if it was previously connected to a Garmin unit. Otherwise either get one to fit the same fairing block or use an in-hull P79.

Thanks Jim. Any idea why the 3210 was discontinued? Lack of SD card support is a pain (I have the Garmin card reader but don't like lugging it with me everywhere). Is the lack of NMEA 2000 support a concern? Might have to increase the budget a bit.

 

[sb in gp]

With a 3K budget i would suggest getting the Garmin 3210 Bundle. There are still some left. Its $1579, you get the 10" display, FF Module, and XM weather module. You can add the 4kW 18" dome for $1027. For transducer you can possibly use the one already in the boat if it was previously connected to a Garmin unit. Otherwise either get one to fit the same fairing block or use an in-hull P79.

Go to Mike's Marine in St Clair Shores, they will give you an education on what you need vs. what you want. If you're boating on St Clair at night you need radar, alot of a-holes out there. Figure out what you need and then go shopping online. There are some good deals out there, and business's are dealing. Don't forget West Marine will price match if you bring in something showing the price. I always bring my Defender catalog into West Marine and make them price match everything that I'm buying, they do without a issue. Good luck

Thanks. I like the guys at Mike's in SCS. They are very helpful. I'll stop up there and talk to them.

I agree the radar is needed. Night driving without it is too risky.

I will likely buy from Jim at Boe (sponsor of this site). He took care of me when I inadvertently ordered the wrong unit before, and his prices are great.

 

[sb in gp]

Starting to lean towards the 4210. It is cheaper than the 5208 by about $800, has a bigger screen and higher resolution. 5208 is a touchscreen though - any comparison advice from those that have used the touchscreen versus side buttons?

Anyone know off the top of your head if the 4210 at 13.4" wide will fit on the left dash panel on a late model 320?

 

[barryg]

I have the 5208 on my 05 320 and that was the biggest display that would fit. You might be able to find a way to squeeze a larger one in, but I'd get the width and height and double check before you buy..

Good luck with whatever you decide.