Whats in a good radar

[gameover]

Been looking around this winter at some upgrades on the boat.

On the subject of radar: My boat is a larger Diesel center console, The hard top is about 10' give or take above the water with a slight radar pod.

I have the raymarine C80, and a Sitex bottom machine.

Is it worth the money to upgrade the Radar? The sitex is on its way to the junk yard so I have been using a dsm 250 on the raymarine c80.

I have been considering the Furuno nav net vx2 ( not the new version) and a 6kw 48" open array. just because of the price advantage. I would not be using it for a sounder at this time, I would be using my c80 for that function.
The other consideration is a stand alone radar unit such as a 1932 mark II set up? I know that I will loose the other functions with a stand alone radar. But is there any difference in the radars?

Or am I putting to much radar on the boat? is a 6kw unit not going to be utilized and Should I remain with the 2kw dome?

Im looking for birds, but also more definition as far as if an object is moving and what direction its going. But also I would like more definition for night time navigating, avoiding crab pots. and polyballs.

Thanks, I hope these questions make sense!
Taylor

[Fishovertime]

Taylor,
I have the Northstar M121- 4kw dome unit on a similar diesel center console set up ,My dome is 9' above the water and is a total waste of time ...looks good on the boat though.

Andrew
Sunny Barbados.

[gameover]

Taylor,
I have the Northstar M121- 4kw dome unit on a similar diesel center console set up ,My dome is 9' above the water and is a total waste of time ...looks good on the boat though.

Andrew
Sunny Barbados.

Thanks andrew,
But are you stating that its a total waste because its a 4kw dome or because its "too much radar"? or because its only 9' above the water line?

Thanks,
Taylor

[gameover]

man I was really looking for some good opinions to come out in this one. It is a big investment for me and I dont want to spend money that isnt going to be fully utilized.

Hope someone chimes in...

Thanks,
Taylor

[Sea Sparks]

Taylor... I have been lurking on here for a while, and I'll help you out... I wouldn't go with a 6kw Navnet on your boat. There is little comparison between the 4k and 6k at the ranges you will be using it. The 1932 is a great unit, but the Green CRT will be all but impossible to so in even a hint of daylight.

I would go with the 1934c (10" Navnet ) Cmap version. This way you can add Sirius weather later, add a scope if you want it, or some of the other nice addons they have. The Navionics version dosent support weather.

There are a few big differences between the open array antenna vs the dome. The largest is beam width and target resolution. The beam that comes from a dome is about 3-3.5 times wider than that of a open array. This is huge when trying to tell the size of a object.

No matter what unit you go with, be sure to have a seatrial / tune done to the units. Furuno radars run great out of the box, but are amazing when tuned 3-5 miles off the beach.

[Fishovertime]

Taylor,
I think its a combination...only 9' above water does not help ,I just do not get any range from the unit.
I have spoken to Northstar and gone through everything I can think of.

Andrew

[gameover]

Thanks again,

I agree. I have been looking also at the nav net vx2 with the 4kw 3.5' array. Looks like a good unit and the prices are very good right now. $5100.- $5300. and the ability to add features in the future is a plus.

Thanks,
Taylor

[craigwill201]

Hey Taylor
I have the 1934c and love it. My experience with Furuno has always been positive.
Craig

[Captain Jay Kavanagh]

You need atleast 4kw or you are pissing in the wind.

[Capt.Troy Crane]

You need atleast 4kw or you are pissing in the wind.

I agree with Jay,
if you are looking for birds as you stated, the 6kw is the least I would go with.
I have the 6kw NavNet VX2 and use it during the winter striper season looking for birds. I have the 4 foot open array that sits on top of my fly bridge hard top and on a good day I can mark the birds out to 12 miles but 8 miles just about anytime.
Some of the guys fishing with me use the 12 and 25 kw and they can really see some stuff, even at a lower level than mine is mounted.
I use my NavNet strictly for the radar and plotter funtion, I have a Furuno 585 color machine I use for the bottom.

I bought the vx 2 right after it came out and have not had any issues at all and it gets used a lot.

Good luck,
Troy