Stand alone radar recommendations

[Moonfish]

I have been intrigued by this one: https://www.furunousa.com/en/products/drs4w

It is in a different league than the others discussed here, but I do have at least two iPads with me on the boat at all times, and if this unit has typical Furuno reliability I think it is a viable option. The small antenna has limitations but requiring only DC power is attractive. Anyone have real world experience with it? I have only seen it at a boat show. Purchase price and installation simplicity are attractive.

Bill

Bill -

That's the radar we have. The system works great for our purpose, which is cruising the coastal Pacific NW. We also switched from Navionics to TZ iBoat as the DRS4W overlays on the charts (the app also has an optional AIS module).

We made a couple videos and sell them in our store. Use the coupon code WIRELESS100 to get the unit for $995: https://www.pacificnwboatertested.com/products/furuno-1st-watch-wireless-radar-drs4w

 

[rgano]

Hey there, Arne. So now maybe you see that your question was considered a bit vague by some of the folks here. They all gave you their best guess at what you might want.
How do you feel about the responses? Did any of it help you make up your mind.

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

Most of the Furuno radars on commercial boats have a blue front with white lettering, rather than the blue lettering against a white background that is typically found on recreational vessels. Those commercial radars are a different animal, with a separate support group at Furuno (called something like the "Blue Seas" division). The Furuno tech support guys that are trained on recreational radar (and other products) are not trained on the blue seas stuff and vice versa. So, if you really want to choose your radar based on what commercial fishermen do, you will need the blue seas products.

I think all the Furuno radars you can change the color... We have one green and one yellow. User choice. We just had the magnatrons changed out on both radars as a preventive measure... One radar had 33,000 hrs and the other, significantly more. I believe Furuno suggests mag change at 10k or 20k. I really like the Sitex radars too. Not sure why anyone would buy a "stand alone" radar today...

 

[MYTraveler]

I think all the Furuno radars you can change the color...

Probably, but I don't think it is a factory option. I used to think that the blue radars were just an older style, but once called Furuno for support and they transferred me to the Blue Seas (?) division where I learned about Furuno's distinction between recreational and commercial equipment. According to the Blue Seas tech with whom I spoke, the commercial radars come with a blue background on the antenna face.

 

[Xlshrimp]

Read a lot of mixed reviews on that one, but that’s true for most gadgets.
I went with Raymarine axiom 9+ As I didn’t have room for the Furuno 1815

 

[C lectric]

I agree. This book is pretty good:

https://www.amazon.com/Radar-Book-E...=The+Radar+Book&qid=1615230908&s=books&sr=1-1

That was the book I had in mind and I have it Just could not for the life of me remember it or the Author's name.

There are others.