I Need A New GPS

[RGrew176]

Last August I purchased my Carver. It is an 81 with some old electronics. The marine VHF radio transmits but does not receive. I think the speaker is shot so I will be purchasing a new VHF when I launch next month. The GPS worked my first time out and it worked good. When I next came aboard the unit would not turn on. I called Garmin gave them the model number. They said the unit is so old they no longer have any parts to repair it. They said it is a unit from the 80's.

I was really wanting to update the GPS anyway so the fact that the unit died only means I will need to replace it sooner rather than later. I was hoping to get this upcoming season out of the old unit but twas not to be.

I stopped by my local West Marine yesterday and looked at a few units mainly Garmin. I have narrowed it down to these two units (for now).

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the- ... 29894.html

I love the 9" screen on this model. It has a lot of data on the maps and at least the one in the store has some good data for Canadian waters.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the- ... 19867.html

This model is smaller has a lot of map data and is a touch screen vs the buttons on the 9" model above.

For the record I am leaning towards the 9" model as I love the size of the screen better than the 7" model. My old one was a 5" screen so going bigger was something I want to do when I get my next unit.

What say ye...................

[Viper]

The bigger the screen the better IMO. With the ability to have multiple functions displayed on the same screen, the more functions displayed at once the smaller that image gets which can be a challenge on a smaller screen even if all you want to display is a chart and depth contour. The only way around that is multiple screens which takes up real estate and $$$

Looking forward to some pics of the new install...hint hint

[AaHubb]

+1 on the larger screen. I also believe that buttons are a better choice on a boat in rough water.
..Aaron

[SplashyLady]

Both are nice units! I've seen a lot of 741 units - they are very popular, have nice resolution, and are about the smallest footprint that allows for a decent radar image (the 741 is plug-and-play for radar). The 741xs also has built-in networking if you ever want to mount an autopilot and has a remote/cellphone relay option. You can buy the 741xs for under $900 from several sources.

I agree - when it comes to screens - bigger is better. However, the 94sv does not have some of the features of the 741xs. The 94sv is mainly a plotter/depthfinder - although it says NMEA2000 compatible, setting up radar and networking through the NMEA process can be difficult. The 94sv is a very nice fishfinder, with side scan capabilities - do you need or use that, or do you just need depth straight down? At $1200, you get a bigger screen, but lose some upgrade and future function capabilities.

The 840xs gives you an 8" screen for $1500, but then the 1020xs looks really good at $1700 with a 10" screen. Since I'm spending your money (not my own ), I would go with the 1020xs. But if it was my money, probably the 741xs. A friend of mine just went through this process and came up with an interesting answer - he wanted a bigger screen, but had some mounting limitations and did not want to spend a ton of money on a big-screen unit. His answer was great - he got TWO 741xs units. The two 741 units cost less than a big 10" unit - he uses one for gps/depth, and one for radar and engine monitoring, or just sets the unit of choice for whatever he wants. It works great and provides flexibility in use and installation.

So many options out there - good luck with your decision!

[RGrew176]

I logged into the Garmin website and I can purchase the larger unit for $1049 without a transducer. I want the unit to be a GPS only and the 9" screen covers a lot of area whether zoomed in or out. I will update my sounder probably next season as the unit I have is ancient tech. I may post a pic later once the season starts. I do not fish so all I need is a sounder that gives the depth of water under my hull.

[Lyndon670]

Just a thought - for that kind of money you could buy 2 iPads or 2 Android tablets with RAM mounts, download Navionics or Nobeltec-timezero-marine-navigation, and download Marine Traffic and have 1 as a chart plotter and 1 as a real-time AIS display and real-time weather. That way you are never outdated, you can use the devices for other stuff (movies, music, etc ) off season.

My 506 has a Garmin chartplotter, but I only use it as a backup. I run everything through my iPad and Samsung tablet.

The same type of thing is happening in the Aviation industry - nobody is really retrofitting old GPS systems anymore, but using them as backups. A knee mount and a tablet works great. I also use my tablet at work in the helicopter.

[RGrew176]

I already have a Samsung tablet with Navionics installed. The problem with tablets is you cannot read the screen in the sunshine of daylight. I plan to use the tablet as my backup system.

[Lyndon670]

Location, location, location.......my pilot house has 360 degree glass, and a sunroof that 60" x 120" that is usually open.

[Viper]

Source of the post....nobody is really retrofitting old GPS systems anymore, but using them as backups....

Interesting, all the feedback that I've had is the opposite for various reasons. Still a ton of marine hardware being installed and mobile pads being used as back-up only or for secondary data. The inability to read in daylight as noted above is just one of the reasons. Unfortunately, not everybody has the luxury of hard or soft bridge enclosures and most have limited places where units can be mounted and still viewed safely. For that reason, view-ability on a bright sunny day is a crucial requirement for marine nav hardware. This along with internet and cell phone access in remote locations, third party cloud use, limited on-board memory, voltage concerns, and so on are some of the reasons given for mobile tabs being used as secondary nav aids in the marine industry.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea and have in a past installation used a laptop for navigation which I loved as the software allowed me to do so much more than the marine hardware on board. I'm just relaying some of the industry feedback I've gotten from boaters and installers. Whatever works for a boater's particular circumstance is the right way to go!

[tonyiiiafl]

I have a vintage 1994 Carver 390 Cockpit Motor Yacht with original electronics. I just bought a new RayMarine Hybrid touch e97 AND e127 which will be networked together using the Quantum Radar and also the AirMar B744V transducer. To me, if I was upgrading it was going to be to the latest and greatest.