I've been using Bob Campbell out of Annapolis as a consultant on my major electrical/electronics upgrades. He ran his own marine electronics business for years, has an excellent reputation and is extremely knowledgeable . . .with endless patience for weekend warriors like me. Most of our interaction is via email or phone but he also traveled to the boat to inspect my work before we powered up. (Everything worked perfectly
) His rates are reasonable . . . orders of magnitude less than if I'd paid to have pros do the work . . . plus, I learned a lot about what makes Stella tick.
Sounds like you might be committed to Garmin with the new GPS. But if not, Furuno has a great rebate offer going. I just got $1200 back on two 12-inch MFDs and their Doppler radar that Ben, at Panbo, gushes about. I have to say, based on totally subjective first impressions out of the box, the Furuno MFDs
feel more substantial and sturdy than the relatively new Garmin I just sold. Hope I like the operation and interface as much.