What radar to buy-need help?

May 20, 2016
3,014
Catalina 36 MK1 94 Everett, WA
If I were to upgrade - I would definitely go with one that has Doppler - both Garmin and Raymarine have them. I’m also not a fan of standalone units. - either more maps to buy or no maps plus the need for more screen real estate near where your helm is.
 
Feb 14, 2014
7,399
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
Is this a decent setup for coastal sailing and is $2000 a good price
No.
I got Raymarine Digital in April 2015, [boat show discounts]. Total price installed by a Raymarine Tech, with warranties ≈$1200. The new CHIRP Radars are beyond belief at their images.
Jim...
 
Mar 20, 2004
1,729
Hunter 356 and 216 Portland, ME
Mains Sail's correct, the sales staff is blowing smoke. The Navy phased arrays electronically steer the beam; if you've got a billion dollars and are a foreign ally, you could get one of those. All of the small boat solid state radars spin, but may have dedicated send and receive elements (like Navico, my personal favorite). They are all much better than the old analog sets, and I doubt you could get a radar to work with your C80 - the interface is completely different. Raymarine in particular always changed the interface with every model change, forcing you to replace everything - that's why I dumped Raymarine when I dumped my original C70. In contrast, the original Navico BR24 solid state radar works with 4 generations of chartplotters and vice-versa
 
Oct 5, 2015
80
Hunter 33 33 Halifax
James,
What model (dome and display) was the Raymarine Digital system you purchased?
 
Feb 14, 2014
7,399
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
What model (dome and display)
http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=313&collectionid=163&col=309
The non-color one, but Color was not available then.
My MFD is a9 series
http://www.raymarine.com/view/index.cfm?id=4954
_____
My old radar worked fine, but the Nav station repeater bit the dust.
____
I am amazed how much change has been done in 2.5 years on both Radar, Sonar, and MFD's.
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To me, Radar is major Safety device on our boat.;)
____
One lazy sunny cruising day, I hailed a barge about 5 nm on my Starboard beam. We were on parallel course about the same speed. My Radar, using MARPA, gave me his course and speed, and showed no potential collision.
I asked him on a different FM Channel, if he saw us and what his Radar told him.
He had his Radar tracking us too.:clap:
My Radar detected His was "painting" us, his showed the same about our Radar.
So...
Get a good radar, with modern MARPA tracking.
Jim...

PS: I use the radar at night to set up a "Guard Zone" when at anchor.:)
 
Jan 19, 2010
1,169
Catalina 34 Casco Bay
No.
I got Raymarine Digital in April 2015, [boat show discounts]. Total price installed by a Raymarine Tech, with warranties ≈$1200. The new CHIRP Radars are beyond belief at their images.
Jim...
I too went with Raymarine. I have an e7 chart plotter that came with Navionics. The radar is HD Color Digital.
The e7 MFD is a touch screen. Autohelm is integrate. Lay in a course my touching the screen for marks, make them a route and tell the system to " go to". viola.... Radar overlay on the chart paints in purple.. outstanding.. All in $2k.
 
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Sep 11, 2015
147
Hunter 31 Marina del Rey
Please, realize that any radar, including the Pathfinder RL70 (circa 2001) will do that (Marpa & autopilot integration) and of course, it is very useful for racing (tracking other boats), at anchor, in fog or in general. The new solid state radars (3G and up, Quantum, Fantom) use less power and have instant on. The HD Color mentioned above is one of the best radars available today and it is better than the solid state radars in every aspect (Raymarine says so too). The key here is to learn how to use radar effectively not the equipment.

SV Pizzazz
 
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