So... the new boat will be delivered to the dealer in approx. Feb 15. We've negotiated the install of any electronics we bring to the table as part of our deal. One thing for certain is that we will be going all Garmin. Right now, it's looking like we'll be going with the following for the main system and then build on that later if needed:
Garmin 7610xsv.
GT51TM Ducer
Garmin GMR18xhd Radar
Opinions are welcome!
Other than some tunes which are easy for us to figure out..... the other main item we need to decide on is a fixed mount VHF. Very interested to hear any opinions or input on radios and antennas.
PS.... 3 Weight... Sure would like to see some pics of your helm layout and electronics placement! Also, placement of antenna on your 22OP.
Thanks...
I am running the Standard Horizon 2150 VHF with AIS, Shakespeare stainless ratchet bracket and Digital 529 8 foot black antenna.
Just curious but
Why is everything Garmin ?
Am I missing something ?
I love my Garmin radar, gps/sounde, additional gps sounder and through hull 1k chirp ducer! Easy set up with great performance and so easy to use I don't have to be a tech geek. Only limitation is the proprietary maps but that's just a hundred and some change additional....
Hunter, my boat is living in a buddy's big shop for the winter... I'll try to take some pictures when I get over there again, but it might be a while given the weather :doh:
Since I moor my boat, I wanted to be able to remove my head unit when needed easily. I used a Johnny Ray detachable swivel base mounted on the left side of the dash, with room on the right for a small Standard Horizon 1700 VHF to be mounted in easy reach. This SH unit is extremely compact, I doubt anything else could be mounted there (I had to angle it so my throttle didn't hit it). I have a 2nd radio mounted up on the overhead shelf above the dash.
I have one antenna mounted on the starboard side of the hardtop, near the front, just above the window (dealer installed). The other is on a ratchet mount that is clamped to the rail on the hard top on the port side. I would have preferred to have both of them mounted to the rail, in hindsight.
Here's the photos I have now... you can see the side mounted antenna pretty well, and you can just make out the roof mounted one on the far side. The roof mounted one is a Digital 529... I highly recommend that antenna.
(http://www.arimaowners.com/gallery/8/4-051016111424.jpeg)
You can see a bit of my dash layout here. I like this location as it is easy to see from the rear helm station.
(http://www.arimaowners.com/gallery/8/4-280316160437-80982459.jpeg)
I'm running an ICOM M506B radio and a Digital 529-VW antenna. Reception (both distance and signal strength) is outstanding - head and shoulders above the Ray 215 radio and Shakespeare antenna (don't know the model #) they replaced. Since they were both swapped at the same time, I couldn't tell you if the added performance was from the radio, the antenna, or both (likely).
I almost went with the SH GX2150 that Chief mentioned, but it didn't have the N2K connectivity I wanted.
It's hard to beat Garmin, you really can't go wrong with that choice. And there are other options that work fine also, but as a Garmin user myself I would be sticking with Garmin.
3Wt - that is a pretty looking boat!
Make sure you talk to Dave at J&G Marine in Tacoma. A friend of mine who rigged his new boat with Garmin last Spring found them to be the price leader. They even shipped the product down to his boat dealer in Portland for install, which provided another bit of savings. :wink:
Quote from: ak-angler on January 13, 2017, 09:50:32 AM
I'm running an ICOM M506B radio and a Digital 529-VW antenna. Reception (both distance and signal strength) is outstanding
I also have an Icom & Digital combo, my antenna is only 4' up on the skip top but same result as yourself....
Thanks for all the advice and pics..
Yep.... we are most definitely going all Garmin. I've played around with all the usual suspects at WM and the user friendly touch and go features of the Garmin's are exactly what we want.
I'll check out J & G...... but so far after checking a lot of online options... Gil Travis over on THT is giving me the best price I can find...no tax and shipping direct to my dealer. I have till mid Feb to make my final decision so I'll probably wait for the Seattle boat show to see if some killer deal pop's up before pulling the trigger.
Steve.... is that display unit mounted on the left side of the dash a 10in display? Looks like a good location..
Thanks!
Garmin 7610xsv.
GT51TM Ducer
Garmin GMR18xhd Radar
We have these plus a bunch more Garmin....1040xs, 840xs, GFS10, VHF200, AIS600, etc...
No regrets going all Garmin. Everything has been simple plug and play.
Probably adding Panoptix this spring.
Did anyone mention that your new VHF should have DCS? That's a cool feature and it has a magic button that can save your but in a emergency. It will talk to your Garmin GPS and let people around you know where you are in an emergency. Could be more important than AIS depending where you boat.
Also consider that most AIS radios receive only unless you pay extra and get one that transmits AIS. Basically the super tankers will not see you but you can see them in the fog. I'm no expert. Mine works with my Garmin 70s via the old NEMA connection.
I love my Garmin and especially it's touch screen. I wish I had gotten DownView but it was lots $ extra 3 years ago.
Ya good call on the DSC radio...most new ones are, more and more have the built in GPS ( no need to tie to your plotter or gps antenna)
If this is either a new boat or simply electronics overhaul i would go ahead and install a Nmea 2K network and tie everything together... engine, electronics, radios, radar etc etc.
Do it once
Do it right
All new radios sold in the US are required to have the DSC function.
Some still require splicing wires w/ your chartplotter for the position info.
Some more expensive units are using NMEA 2000 connections.
I prefer the units with built-in GPS capability. If for whatever reason your plotter fails, you still have DSC function. They will also give you your lat/long in numerical form on their screen... very nice if you need to aprise the Coast Guard of an issue short of setting off the DSC alarm. I have had multiple Standard Horizon 1600 and 1700 radios, and have several friends using them to. No issues with any of them, and the 1700 has a built in GPS. The great thing about these units is their size... they are very shallow and compact. About the same height/width as a standard VHF, but only about 4" deep.
I am also a firm believer of having redundant VHF radios with GPS capabilities on my vessel. My main radio is a SH.1700 w/ built in GPS, I have a 1600 wired into the Lowrance for GPS. In the ditch bag there is a HX870 VHF HH w/ GPS along with an ACR P-EPIRB. I have two ACR's on the boat now. One I wear and the other in the DB.
I also run an older ICOM HH VHF in a dash mount. Twice now I have shut down all wired electronics and drop both VHF antennas in the face of local thunderstorms. I still had the capability to navigate by compass and back that up with the stored way points/backtracks in the HX870 while monitoring com-freqs on the ICOM.... While just about my every hair on my body stood on end.
Quote from: Threeweight on January 13, 2017, 10:30:19 PM
All new radios sold in the US are required to have the DSC function.
Some still require splicing wires w/ your chartplotter for the position info.
Some more expensive units are using NMEA 2000 connections.
I prefer the units with built-in GPS capability. If for whatever reason your plotter fails, you still have DSC function. They will also give you your lat/long in numerical form on their screen... very nice if you need to aprise the Coast Guard of an issue short of setting off the DSC alarm. I have had multiple Standard Horizon 1600 and 1700 radios, and have several friends using them to. No issues with any of them, and the 1700 has a built in GPS. The great thing about these units is their size... they are very shallow and compact. About the same height/width as a standard VHF, but only about 4" deep.
X 2 for Dave at J & G Electronics. We call that place Judy & Greg's and we have our own parking space :biggrin:
Good idea to check out Seattle Boat Show. Last year we purchased an electronics package and saved over $800 plus having dealer install on new boat saved a bucket load.
Quote from: Hunter on January 13, 2017, 06:58:08 PM
Steve.... is that display unit mounted on the left side of the dash a 10in display? Looks like a good location..
Yep, it is a Raymarine A98 (9.5 ish inches diagonal). It is mounted as far left as I could get it without me brushing against it going up into the bow. The Johnny Ray mount lets you rotate it 360 degrees, as well as remove it quickly.
FYIW, the friend of mine that rigged with Garmin he purchased via J&G last Spring is as price conscientious as they come. He shopped on-line, he shopped the Portland and Seattle boat shows, and J&G beat them all.
Bump for having your 2nd VHF be a portable handheld for a few reasons.
Without a handheld:
- Lost power? All radios are dead
- Capsize: All Radios are dead
- Fall overboard: You may be dead without a handheld strapped to you. (great for boating alone)
Handhelds are also great for sending a person on the beach to scope out a camp site or coordinate something else.
Quote from: Peddler on January 16, 2017, 01:42:39 PM
FYIW, the friend of mine that rigged with Garmin he purchased via J&G last Spring is as price conscientious as they come. He shopped on-line, he shopped the Portland and Seattle boat shows, and J&G beat them all.
I had a real nice 20 or 30 min conversation with Dave @ J & G today. Super nice guy. He got back to me with his pricing and Gil Travis at Semperfi Fishing over on HTH is still the best price on the exact same package... but not by much.
The best part about talking with Dave was to find that he has the exact combo display and ducer that I am looking at on his own boat..
Garmin 7610 XSV
GT51TM - w/ CHIRP / Down-Vu / Side scan
Service and info after the sale is important to me
Dave has helped me by phone ten miles out of Westport correcting the temp sensor reading among other 'how to' questions
Quote from: GregE on January 16, 2017, 08:16:59 PM
Service and info after the sale is important to me
I totally agree with this.......
Quote from: SeaPacer on January 16, 2017, 04:35:18 PM
Bump for having your 2nd VHF be a portable handheld for a few reasons.
Or be super duper anal and have 2 fixed radios, one hard-wired (and fused) to the house battery, and a hand held. :whistle:
Standard Horizon makes a floating hand-held VHF with built in GPS and a DSC function... when my old West Marine hand held gives up the ghost, that is what I am replacing it with:
http://standardhorizon.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=85&encProdID=F074C5751E79473FCD911FF7D468A2E1&DivisionID=3&isArchived=0 (http://standardhorizon.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=85&encProdID=F074C5751E79473FCD911FF7D468A2E1&DivisionID=3&isArchived=0)
If your intended use is going to take your offshore, you might also consider investing in an EPIRB. Prices have come way way down on them in recent years $400 for a basic one now.