Electronics….. so many options

[Davidasailor26]

remotes is battery life. The B&G hand set has about an 8 hour life. We were often traveling longer than 8 hours with several overnight and multi-day passages, so we have 2 mics, one in use and the other charging.

We’ve replaced the battery in ours twice in 11 years as the old ones stopped holding a charge. Last time we were able to get a replacement with a few more mAH that still fits in the case. With that we routinely go for 9 hour day sails and still show more than half battery life at the end of the day. If you want to do overnights though you’d probably still need a backup handset.

 

[FastOlson]

We have had a Simrad VHF with the wireless remote for over a decade. It just works, as the saying goes.
I installed the "snap in" charging mount by our nav desk, and the handheld device is always ready to go outside for use. One caveat - applies to many many devices parked on the cupholder bracket in front of the wheel, is that if you are about to use/rely on your magnetic compass for information be Sure to remove the radio handset with its little speaker. But you knew that already.
We like the way it instantly communicate with our Lowrance Plotter/Radar with AIS (receive) info, as well.
Reliable tech, so far, at least.

 

[Tally Ho]

They don't operate when the mic on the radio is used, only with the remote mic, at least on the VH60.

I didn't mention earlier, a significant drawback to wireless remotes is battery life. The B&G hand set has about an 8 hour life. We were often traveling longer than 8 hours with several overnight and multi-day passages, so we have 2 mics, one in use and the other charging.

I mounted the charging cradle for my H50 remote mic in the cockpit and ran power to it….so when using it, it is close at hand AND it is being charged. I store it at the nav station when not in use and can charge it there with the USB port on the back (but I don’t usually need to do this if I am sailing often.

I suppose you could charge in the cockpit using the USB port, but I like having the radio in the cradle at the helm.



Greg

 

[capta]

If I had the money, I'd go with Furuno, all through. That's what most commercial fishing and workboats use. If you check out used radars, Furuno seems to be the longest lasting gear, finally getting replaced. I assume a complete suite of Furuno electronics would be at least a couple of grand more than Garmin.
I've no experience with the modern B&G gear (parent company; Navico), but their old stuff was excellent and market leaders.
I would not install anything by Raymarine, if you gave it to me, AND paid me to install it.

 

[Tally Ho]

.
I would not install anything by Raymarine, if you gave it to me, AND paid me to install it.

If any one calls and offers you a new suite of Ramarine stuff, please let me know! I will take it

Greg

 

[jssailem]

If I had the money, I'd go with Furuno, all through. That's what most commercial fishing and workboats use. If you check out used radars, Furuno seems to be the longest lasting gear, finally getting replaced.

 

[moe_1200]

All good information, thanks all! This has helped me get some ideas of what I might like to do. I also stumbled across OpenCPN last night so I might do some investigation on that system as well.

 

[dLj]

All good information, thanks all! This has helped me get some ideas of what I might like to do. I also stumbled across OpenCPN last night so I might do some investigation on that system as well.

I'm a fan of OpenCPN... It does have a bit of a learning curve but once you've gotten over the hump, it's an incredibly powerful program!

dj

 

[moe_1200]

After all the feedback I've decided to go with the following;

B&G Vulcan 7 (GPS, Chartplotter, Sensor Display)
Standard Horizon GX2410GPS (VHF, GPS, DSC, AIS Receive only)
Airmar DST810 Transducer (Depth, Speed, Temp, Heel)
B&G Wind Sensor

This should cover all of my needs and be a full N2K integration. I was also thinking of getting a simple Android OS tablet w/ GPS to run OpenCPN as a backup to the B&G but mostly for use at the chart table. I'm also going to keep my existing Standard Horizon GX1150 next to the chart table as a backup. I'm a big fan of redundancy, everything works great right up until I leave the dock then it decides to fail....

Thanks for all the input!

 

[Tally Ho]

After all the feedback I've decided to go with the following;

B&G Vulcan 7 (GPS, Chartplotter, Sensor Display)
Standard Horizon GX2410GPS (VHF, GPS, DSC, AIS Receive only)
Airmar DST810 Transducer (Depth, Speed, Temp, Heel)
B&G Wind Sensor

This should cover all of my needs and be a full N2K integration. I was also thinking of getting a simple Android OS tablet w/ GPS to run OpenCPN as a backup to the B&G but mostly for use at the chart table. I'm also going to keep my existing Standard Horizon GX1150 next to the chart table as a backup. I'm a big fan of redundancy, everything works great right up until I leave the dock then it decides to fail....

Thanks for all the input!

Is the wind sensor wireless? Or do you need to run N2K cable up,the mast? Is there a display or will you just use the CP?

List seems reasonable. No AP? Or using what you have now?

Greg

 

[moe_1200]

Is the wind sensor wireless? Or do you need to run N2K cable up,the mast? Is there a display or will you just use the CP?

List seems reasonable. No AP? Or using what you have now?

Greg

I’ll probably run a wire up the mast, it’s actually getting stepped this winter for the offseason so that’s partly why I want to do it now. I’m just going to use the B&G for the wind display. AP will be my existing tiller pilot for the time being. The boat has a helm so the tiller pilot is rigged to the emergency tiller.

 

[kappykaplan]

The boat has a helm so the tiller pilot is rigged to the emergency tiller.

Would love to see a photo of that set up. Just curious.