Chartplotter-Fish Finder-Radar Upgrade
- Thread starter Harstine
- Start date
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That's almost like asking everyone what's better?, a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge! (when we all know the correct answer is Ford! ☺... just joking, I don't want to start a war here)...
My vote goes to Garmin. We have the 1040 XS MFD, 18" HD radar, and the fancy-wancy, depth/fish-find/ side-vu thingy, (That I'm still trying to learn how to use!). Garmin equipment, especially the 1040 XS is super-easy to use, and I've found Garmins' customer service to be great when I once had to trouble shoot an issue. (turns out, the issue was NOT a problem with the Garmin equipment, but with the installation, and me not doing the 'updates'!)...
The only experience I've had with Raymarine has been on other peoples boats, so I have no useful opinion. Lastly, I know a lot of folks here like Simrad, and I'm sure it's good equipment. My dislike for Simrad stems back to the 1990's when they bought out Navico, and abandoned all segments of their customer service and support;... At that time I decided to never 'support' them by buying their equipment; (Us old elephants have long memories!)..
Grandpa Ken
Member
I second Garmin. I also have the 1040 XS with radar. I haven't had any issues.
Thank you!
warthog5
Well-known member
Garmin is the MOST user friendly 
How I describe user friendly..........You can operate 90 to 95% of it without opening the manual.
How I describe user friendly..........You can operate 90 to 95% of it without opening the manual.
DanLovingood
Well-known member
Harstine,
I agree with warthog, Garmin is most user friendly in my experience. I have a Simrad Go7XSE on my 1800 and although it is a great little unit, there are some things you can't figure out even with the manual. I had a setting screwed up on mine and couldn't get the structure scan to work. Couldn't figure it out with the manual or by using youtube. After going to the boat and sitting on hold with Simrad tech support for an hour, he walked me right through the fix. I asked him how I was supposed to to know that and he said "it's not in the manual". I guess that's why you have to wait an hour for tech support! My 2520 has Garmin....much easier to operate.
Cap'n Dan
I agree with warthog, Garmin is most user friendly in my experience. I have a Simrad Go7XSE on my 1800 and although it is a great little unit, there are some things you can't figure out even with the manual. I had a setting screwed up on mine and couldn't get the structure scan to work. Couldn't figure it out with the manual or by using youtube. After going to the boat and sitting on hold with Simrad tech support for an hour, he walked me right through the fix. I asked him how I was supposed to to know that and he said "it's not in the manual". I guess that's why you have to wait an hour for tech support! My 2520 has Garmin....much easier to operate.
Cap'n Dan
Great feedback thank you!
I'll throw in a vote for Simrad. I prefer their interface over the Garmins, and the way their products look. Simple personal preference.
Between consumer brand electronics, you'll be hard pressed to find hugely significant differences in performance or product lines. Most of the MFRs offer the same types of products, with similar features, and they all perform at pretty comparable levels. Warranty is reportedly an issue (specifically with the "R" brand), but overall you're going to be pretty well off with any of the major brands.
I would recommend going down to your local West Marine and playing with the units you're interested in, and seeing which ones you like the best. Depending on what you're buying, I've noticed that a lot of MFRs seem to be setting their retail prices and WM isn't that much more expensive than online. Plus, if you're a member, you get $10 for every $250 you spend, which adds up pretty quick on a big purchase. Even if you're buying online, it's worth it to at least see the units in person before ordering.
Between consumer brand electronics, you'll be hard pressed to find hugely significant differences in performance or product lines. Most of the MFRs offer the same types of products, with similar features, and they all perform at pretty comparable levels. Warranty is reportedly an issue (specifically with the "R" brand), but overall you're going to be pretty well off with any of the major brands.
I would recommend going down to your local West Marine and playing with the units you're interested in, and seeing which ones you like the best. Depending on what you're buying, I've noticed that a lot of MFRs seem to be setting their retail prices and WM isn't that much more expensive than online. Plus, if you're a member, you get $10 for every $250 you spend, which adds up pretty quick on a big purchase. Even if you're buying online, it's worth it to at least see the units in person before ordering.
HOTPURSUIT
Well-known member
I have a lowrance HDS GEN 2 and a HDS LIVE. I also had programming issues that are not in the manual, but when I placed a call to support they have always returned the call within an hour and provided excellent service and prompt answers but I have added about every bell and whistle they offer. One great option is their single outboard autopilot for boats under 30’ costs just $999.00. It’s is an awesome addition to keeping the boat on course while setting lines in wind and waves. When I repowered last year with a new 300 Yamaha I purchased the HDS 7 LIVE and have all my motors info, temp, GPH, oil pressure, hours etc. shown on my gps screen. I installed the LIVE in lieu of the Yamaha gauge package to get a bigger bang for my buck and downloaded the Yamaha app into my unit. It is confusing on which unit to buy. But once you have had any unit for a while you will get comfortable with it. Here is a sample of the HDs live unit with the 3in1 transducer with chirp overlay on the downscan 
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HOTPURSUIT
Well-known member
When I purchased my autopilot from west marine for $999.00 I picked it up on a triple rewards weekend that’s $40.00 x3 = $120.00 bucks back!!! Great point
Can confirm this. The Simrad GO 9 XSE I have on the 1700 is a nice unit, but it sucks to make adjustments underway, forget about it if you're wearing gloves. Usually I just set it and forget it. The 2530 will be getting NSS 12s with buttons, if only for the sole purpose of being able to zoom without the touchscreen.
I went with dual Garmin 1042xsv units. I was given the same advice, stay away from touch screens; glad that I listened. The "knob" system is much easier to use when it gets choppy and on a good day when the fish are biting and your hands are dirty your screen stays clean.
Agree with Warthog, the user interface is very simple. The only time I've had to pull the manual out was to learn how to zoom in on a particular area of the water column when in split screen mode.
And as Andy said, their customer service is outstanding. I had a small issue develop after a software update. I called customer service at 9:00am and was on hold for 12 minutes (yes, I timed them to see how responsive they would be). The tech rep talked me through the fix which took all of ten minutes.
If you decide to go with Garmins PM me, I have a contact that provides great pricing and quick shipping.
Agree with Warthog, the user interface is very simple. The only time I've had to pull the manual out was to learn how to zoom in on a particular area of the water column when in split screen mode.
And as Andy said, their customer service is outstanding. I had a small issue develop after a software update. I called customer service at 9:00am and was on hold for 12 minutes (yes, I timed them to see how responsive they would be). The tech rep talked me through the fix which took all of ten minutes.
If you decide to go with Garmins PM me, I have a contact that provides great pricing and quick shipping.
Awesome, thank you!
