What's Worse Then A Cocaine Habit? A Marine Electronics Habit!

Sharphooks

Sharphooks

Well-Known Member
Santa was good to me this year-- new Furuno UHD radar--decided to do the install myself (it's piped in to a Navnet 3D MFD12) -- I bolted it to the wheelhouse bracket, then installed a fluxgate heading sensor to provide the NEMA 0183 data necessary for radar/GPS overlay)

Stunning picture from the UHD 2 Kw radar, but you can see, I still have some tweaking to do--radar pic of shoreline doesn't line up with GPS charting info-- that would be fun in pea soup fog!

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Santa also left a Furuno 587 on my doorstep. It is the newest additiion to the Furuno FCV line-up. has a bottom discrimination feature that is interesting. Might pay off for hali searching. I currently have it hooked to a P66 600W Airmar transom mount-- with that unit, I could count the rotations of my plug-cut herring at 40 meters.

Next step is a 1Kw shoebox that I'm hanging off the stern. Will have to rob a bank to finance it, though (or deal drugs for a month or so...). Zeroing in on a TM270W --- 25 degree cone coverage in both 50 Kzh and 200 Kzh. You can see your neighbor's DR ball and what gear he's using half a Km away as you pass him going 30 knts...


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I think we should try to help him out with his problems. So lets go remove these units from his boat and let him try going cold turkey for awhile.
 
Could it be the delay in the gps not caught up with the radar?
 
Hey Westcap19, yes, it's the PG500R. I tried to swing it but not sure I was successful. I did sea trials yesterday and as there was major fog going on, it was a bit awkward dodging boats and trying to fine-tune the radar overlay at the same time. There might also be a Baud rate issue---I learned a lot and I think my second time out on the water will be a bit more constructive. My understanding, Birdnest, is that once you get the heading sensor properly calibrated, the radar properly tuned so that a target object dead ahead shows dead ahead on the screen, then the GPS chart will properly overly (or underlay) on the radar picture

While investigating that issue, I learned of a lawsuit from a mariner who went after one of the radar manufacturers due to a collision (he was relying on a proper radar/GPS overlay that apparently wasn't quite so accurate)

I'll also admit that I'm within spitting range of the village idiot when it comes to being conversant in radar jargon, as in relative and true display mode, EBL vs. VRM. Still learning my way around the terminology and how it translates into proper understanding of targets and what you're seeing.

I stripped Lowrance Broadband radar off my boat when I purchased it. Always wondered if I made a mistake doing that. After seeing the clarity and power of UHD Furuno yesterday, though, I'm glad I busted that move--- it was worth the wait!
 
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My understanding, Birdnest, is that once you get the heading sensor properly calibrated, the radar properly tuned so that a target object dead ahead shows dead ahead on the screen, then the GPS chart will properly overly (or underlay) on the radar picture
Click to expand...

The best thing you can do is get the radar tuned and practice, practice, practice. Don't bust out your radar on the foggy days only. Use your radar in excellent visibility until you get comfortable/confident with the identification of targets. Play with the gain and sea clutter and rain clutter to get an idea of how they effect it marks on screen. Try to tune your radar to pick up crab traps. There is so much going on when driving in fog that the practice will allow you to drive the boat and watch for traffic. ITs hard. One time, at band camp lol, i was way off shore traveling to fish tuna in the fog and I saw a target on the radar and I was curious to see if it was a tuna boat. It was a nice solid big mark so I approached it to get a look at it. Well I miss judged the size of the mark and the range. As I am expecting to see the boat any moment my eye got big fast and my head tilts back to look up at a full size cruse liner only 150 yards away. Notation to self complete not to mention the mark in my shorts. Just be careful. Otherwise radar is fun and empowering on the ocean. Radar overlay is far superior than looking at two screens IMO.
 
steel_dreamin said:
So how is the Furuno better than the Lowrance?

Target resolution? clutter?
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When I first started hearing about Lowrance/Simrad broadband radar, the reoccurring theme with those units was they were great for in close target resolution but beyond 4 miles they were close to useless. If you do a search into some of the Panbo articles comparing Furuno to Lowrance (a Marine Electronics Blog) you'll see I'm not making this up.

Some of that is old news---maybe they've figured that part of radar out. I use radar for collision avoidance but when I took my boat from Port Hardy up through Central Coast last August I realized that radar can be a wonderful navigation tool as well as a collision avoidance tool. Furuno is excellent both in close and long range. The UHD radar (ultra high definition) requires almost no fiddling with clutter--the auto function is waaaay better then the Furuno 1623 I had before UHD.

My guess is Navico has resolved the long range weakness part of their radars now. Not sure.

I did hear that they use less power then a Furuno, but perhaps that's why they fell short in the long range part of target resolution to begin with.
 
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Fair enough - appreciate the comments. I, like you, am always on the quest for greater performance from my marine (and home...) electronics. I went ahead and installed a TM260 this fall and the resolution on that unit is incredible. Coupled with a side scan unit I have the water column covered within the effective fishing area. Amazing when you can see prawns at 380ft with complete clarity.
 
Hey steel-- do you find that TM260 a good transducer for downrigger fishing in shallow to medium depths? I have a M260 in-hull and I can only see my DR if it's hanging directly below my boat---then it loses the picture.

My in-hull is mounted approx. five feet away from the transom, dead center of the keel. I figured the beam was too narrow --- at 30 Meters, the downrigger gear was outside the effective beam window of that transducer.

I'm considering a SS264W through-hull or a TM270W to address that--- don't want to spend all that $$$ for a transom mount 270W but I'm also not so sure I want to drill a hole through my deck for a through-hull option.

The guys who have that SS264W say they are the best transducer on the market for west coast salmon applications
 
Haven't tried it for shallow water applications yet - installed this fall. Can't see my gear at 150' on the display at 50kHz but can at 40 - 60'

That said, I'm not overly concerned about seeing my cannonball on the display. The water column is covered well with the 19 degree cone and the structure scan does the rest.

As long as I'm marking fish under the boat I'm happy.
 
sharphooks...I also considered the TM270W but changed my mind due to the size of the unit...its BIG! (At least it would be on my boat--you have an Arima too by the looks of your pics in your earlier post?) I'm sticking to my P66 (for now...)
 
Hey Westcap19-- yes,, I have a 21 ft SR. Learned something interesting the other day---the owner of Airmar (of Airmar tansducers in New Hampshire) was out on the west coast a decade or so ago. He saw an Arima, and immediately saw that you don't get a better boat then an Arima for flat deck, no combing, no wood, no foam. As in the perfect set-up for in-hull transducers and thru-hull transducers.

So he bought an Arima and his tech guys used it extensively for many years doing R&R with their new transducer design prototype. One of the ARima guys who told me the story said when they finally sold the boat here on the west coast, lots of prospective buyers lost interest because of all the glassed-in holes they saw all over the floor!

And here I am obsessing over whether I should drill just ONE for a possible thru-hull SS264W

Yes, the TW270W is a beast to hang off a transom--but I know it would make that Furuno 587 light up like a Christmas tree!
 
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I have both the Airmar B60 thru hull and the TM270W on my 21' Trophy. Went for the transom mount for only one reason. Due to the cost I can remove it if I ever sell the boat as paid $1600 just over 2 years ago. Never use 50kHZ as 200kHZ shows more than the B60 at 50kHZ. As the TM270 is 25 degrees at both 50 and 200 I can see my cannon balls all the time, this is depending on the current. I have watched fish hit at over 150'. Have watched my jig drop 200' + and very clear. You cannot go wrong with the TM270 and the Furnuo 587.

/fishon
 
Thanks for that, H.T---nice to hear feedback from a west coast salmon guy on those big Airmar 1Kw transducers---most of the internet chatter about M260's and TM270w's is from Norway (fresh water lakes) or Florida (deep-water tuna guys)

I'm thinking of mounting on an adjustable/removable bracket so I can like you mentioned, remove if I ever sell the boat, but also so I can lift it out of the water when boat camping (beaching the boat or having the boat swing into the shallows on a low tide) , and as an anti-theft device.

I also worry about mounting---if it's too deep on the transom, I can imagine that after loading up with gas (I have a stern mounted tank) that transducer will throw a helluva roostertail and promote drag

These pix capture the size and the mounting options:

TM270WAIRMAR_zps27180263.jpg


dscn2774smalll_zps994e6945.jpg
 
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Birdsnest said:
The best thing you can do is get the radar tuned and practice, practice, practice. Don't bust out your radar on the foggy days only. Use your radar in excellent visibility until you get comfortable/confident with the identification of targets. Play with the gain and sea clutter and rain clutter to get an idea of how they effect it marks on screen. Try to tune your radar to pick up crab traps. There is so much going on when driving in fog that the practice will allow you to drive the boat and watch for traffic. ITs hard. One time, at band camp lol, i was way off shore traveling to fish tuna in the fog and I saw a target on the radar and I was curious to see if it was a tuna boat. It was a nice solid big mark so I approached it to get a look at it. Well I miss judged the size of the mark and the range. As I am expecting to see the boat any moment my eye got big fast and my head tilts back to look up at a full size cruse liner only 150 yards away. Notation to self complete not to mention the mark in my shorts. Just be careful. Otherwise radar is fun and empowering on the ocean. Radar overlay is far superior than looking at two screens IMO.
Click to expand...

Great advice! A well tuned radar is vital for fishing in fog. Had some ugly days fishing this summer on a poorly setup unit.
 
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