Stand alone radar recommendations

[Arne Sand]

Looking for recommendations on the best radar.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. I have Raymarine equipment and am very satisfied with it. I have had excellent support from them.

 

[SoWhat]

Best is relative to what you want it to do.
Raymarine Quantum is all digital and good for short ranges and will pick up birds.
Raymarine HD is magnetron, good for long ranges and will burn through weather.
Fishermen seem to be convinced Furuno is the best.
MFD's are available in a variety of sizes. Ease of use is a personal judgment.

So I think you have to select the features you want at the price point you want.
The major names manufacture capable equipment.

 

[High Wire]

Looking for recommendations on the best radar.

What size? What price range?
Furuno has many stand alone radar units from 16 to 72 miles range.

 

[mvweebles]

I went through this a couple years ago. Standalone seems to be either very bottom of market or top/black box.

I ended up with Simrad MFD. All the major brands make a decent radar. Choice seems to be based on nuances, perceived reputation, and what your best buddy has.

 

[C lectric]

I bought a stand alone Furuno 1815 three years ago. It does what I wanted. I did not want to tie it to everything. As it is it can do far more than I have learned to do and take inputs that I have not hooked up such as Compass, GPS, AIS inputs.

In my case budget was also a factor.



I agree though that BEST is up to you. What you like, dislike, and that will take some effort and research. They all produce good equipment.

Most of these units will do far more than most of us will ever learn to use UNLESS you are using it almost full time.

Once you start to narrow things down a bit then start asking questions.

Another edit: I also suggest you get a book and start reading about radar in general so start understanding what some of the differences mean. It does not need to be highly technical but describe what a radar can and cannot do, most of the many features and what they can do for you.
After that then get online and download some mfgr. manuals.

 

[caltexflanc]

https://www.furunousa.com/en/products/far2127

 

[fgarriso]

Looking for recommendations on the best radar.

Furuno FAR1513 should do the job.

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

Pick your favorite electronics brand... Today they are all really good. Best? I would argue for Furuno...

 

[mvweebles]

For fun, I just scrolled through Defenders selection of standalone radar sets. Four Furuno, one Sitex. None are N2K compatible, not all accept GPS input, the combination means no AIS/heading info. Adding a second display at a flybridge is not possible with most.

Assuming the price point is not $10k and above for a commercial set, why is the OP asking for a standalone radar? These days, it's like wanting to buy a new car but it must have hand crank windows. Unicorn comes go mind.

Peter

 

[Mako]

OP why don’t you check out ONWA radars. Probably the best from a price perspective

 

[bayview]

I like individual displays.
My Furuno had key pad problems after ten years. Furuno replaced the keypad, repaired it and upgrades the software for $500.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Interesting that the newer stand alone radars won't take heading and AIS input because they are not N2K compatible. I've used many radars over the years without N2K on board. They accepted heading and AIS, depending of course on the output of the heading and AIS data.

I'm with the OP wanting stand alone as long as I have the space to have stand alone for everything. I'm not particularly fond of overlays, just my style. I've found the primary weak point in marine electronics to be the screen. The secondary the weak point buttons, knobs etc. On a MFD if you loose screen or buttons you loose your entire system. Radar, plotter, heading, AIS, sounder. It's happened to me enough that I've learned I really don't like being totally in the dark.

For fun, I just scrolled through Defenders selection of standalone radar sets. Four Furuno, one Sitex. None are N2K compatible, not all accept GPS input, the combination means no AIS/heading info. Adding a second display at a flybridge is not possible with most.

Assuming the price point is not $10k and above for a commercial set, why is the OP asking for a standalone radar? These days, it's like wanting to buy a new car but it must have hand crank windows. Unicorn comes go mind.

Peter

 

[rslifkin]

With the networkable MFD systems, there's no reason you can't install more than 1. Then you can use 1 for charts, 1 for radar normally, or whatever combination you want. And if one fails, you can re-configure (and maybe need to move a depth transducer plug to the other unit), but you don't lose any of the features.

 

[Portage_Bay]

True. At the cost of 2 full systems.

 

[twistedtree]

Interesting that the newer stand alone radars won't take heading and AIS input because they are not N2K compatible. I've used many radars over the years without N2K on board. They accepted heading and AIS, depending of course on the output of the heading and AIS data.

.

This has been my experience as well. All I have looked at accept GPS, heading, AIS, and more

 

[bshanafelt]

another vote for Furuno.
Had a black and white version for 15 years, then upgraded to the Furuno 1815 color unit.

Having tails show is a nice feature as it indicates the direction of the target readily.

Also agree that standalone has value

 

[MYTraveler]

None are N2K compatible, not all accept GPS input, the combination means no AIS/heading info.

That would mean to ARPA (or MARPA), which would severely limit the collision avoidance value. Perhaps there is another way to provide heading data, such as NMEA 0183.

 

[mvweebles]

That would mean to ARPA (or MARPA), which would severely limit the collision avoidance value. Perhaps there is another way to provide heading data, such as NMEA 0183.

I should have been more clear. There are dome-systems that are lower-end radar sets - around $1300-$4000 with 7"-10" LCD screens, some not even color. Only one listed in Defender accepted an interface, and it was 0183, not N2K. Some do allow AIS, but will require a Furuno interface.

There are open-array systems in the $7000 range, but still 0183 interface - yesterday's technology.

Or you can go black-box for standalone, which gets pretty expensive.

Anything is possible I suppose, but the question stands: why does the OP want a standalone system? What problem is being solved? If it's redundancy, well, there are other ways. If it's money, well the low cost carries reduced functionality. If it's a higher-end system, well that still needs a budget because the sky is the limit.

Peter

 

[Island Cessna]

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 V]

I had the Furuno 1715 for 10 years and it handled my needs very well in the PNW waters I cruise in from Bellingham to Port Hardy. Thanks to our government I upgraded to a Furuno 1815 recently with my stimulas checks. I much prefer stand alone systems and have 2 stand alone chart plotters/depth finders in 12" and 8" size. Yes, it requires two GPS sensors and two transducers but then I have the redundancy I want and find it easier to troubleshoot a problem with them.

And yes I like crank up windows, they work much longer then any power windows I have ever owned.

 

[tozz]

Another edit: I also suggest you get a book and start reading about radar in general so start understanding what some of the differences mean. It does not need to be highly technical but describe what a radar can and cannot do, most of the many features and what they can do for you.
After that then get online and download some mfgr. manuals.

I agree. This book is pretty good:

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

 

[mvweebles]

I much prefer stand alone systems and have 2 stand alone chart plotters/depth finders in 12" and 8" size. Yes, it requires two GPS sensors and two transducers.

A lot is sacrificed to have independent systems. Instead of two identical depth sounders, you could have a 200hz and a 50hz, or a forward-scan, or more of a fish-finder. If networked, you could select the one that makes the most sense for your current conditions. You may want to run your radar in dual-range mode on separate screens, which you can with a networked system. Instead of having two independent GPSs, you could have one GPS and one heading sensor (which is more accurate for A/P and radar overlay if you use it). There are times where a radar is useless but a chart plotter is important such as a channel - with MFDs, you can change the size of the display.

I can think of dozens and dozens of reasons to have a fully networked MFD-based system. I can only think of one for having a standalone system - redundancy (okay, maybe cost). Over the years, I have had a 25-year old radar crap out on me, and that's about it. I have PC's die that were running charting SW, but the onboard MFDs seem pretty reliable, so the risk reduction of going standalone is miniscule compared to the lost functionality.

At least in my opinion.

Peter

 

[Bill V]

A lot is sacrificed to have independent systems. Instead of two identical depth sounders, you could have a 200hz and a 50hz, or a forward-scan, or more of a fish-finder. If networked, you could select the one that makes the most sense for your current conditions. You may want to run your radar in dual-range mode on separate screens, which you can with a networked system. Instead of having two independent GPSs, you could have one GPS and one heading sensor (which is more accurate for A/P and radar overlay if you use it). There are times where a radar is useless but a chart plotter is important such as a channel - with MFDs, you can change the size of the display.

I can think of dozens and dozens of reasons to have a fully networked MFD-based system. I can only think of one for having a standalone system - redundancy (okay, maybe cost). Over the years, I have had a 25-year old radar crap out on me, and that's about it. I have PC's die that were running charting SW, but the onboard MFDs seem pretty reliable, so the risk reduction of going standalone is miniscule compared to the lost functionality.

At least in my opinion.

Peter

After 45 years as an Industrial Control Electrician working on many networks in mining and manufacturing I understand the many benefits of networks and the drawbacks. Too many times I saw "networks down" and everything on it was useless. I travel in areas that can be hostile to a boater if he has a total network failure. Depth is crucial, location can be at times too and in those locations fog is very common and comes on fast. I use an Airmar B765LM and a B744 depth transducers which give me excellent fish finding and bottom pictures. Having independent systems aids me to troubleshoot equipment problems very fast and bouncing around in a boat while trying to repair electronics is not my idea of fun. Much easier to turn it off and after arriving in port troubleshoot the problems. Since I still have my Furuno 1715 I'm actually thinking of mounting it as a backup to my new unit. You will not find a charter fishing boat in my area that runs networked systems primarily because the knowledge needed to maintain them is far and few to find. For me, in bad weather, I run one chartplotter zoomed out and the other zoomed in, radar is monitoring vessels around me since I fish many times in the shipping lanes and I have the screen of my large MFD split screened to show the bottom and fish location. Has worked well for me for 15 years I have fished the "big waters" off the west side of Vancouver Island, a very remote and hostile areas at times.

 

[mvweebles]

I too have worked in networking, and held a Cisco CCNA credential for many years. Networking has come a long way in the last 15-years with the advent of smart phones, proliferation of video communications, whole-house routers, wifi, etc. Up-to-date networking has become incredibly stable without the contention issues that caused failures and losses common just a few years ago. N2k is a decent protocol and while not perfect, is a quantum leap past the simplex communications of N0183 that is limited in the number of talkers. 0183 works fine once you setup and troubleshoot any bugs out of it such as selecting the right data strings to interface with an A/P (that fact this must be manually selected should be a clue as to the maturity of the systems). I mean, why should the operator have to select the right datum for a chart plotter?

Every operator has to make their own decision on how to equip their dashboard. While I'm rusty, when I was delivering, Furuno NavNet was on almost every boat I delivered. Even they needed to be power-cycled from time to time. I just don't see a reliability difference between old and new. But I do see a HUGE difference in functionality.

Peter

 

[rslifkin]

As far as networking issues with MFDs, many have built in sounder / fishfinder capability. So you can always hook a transducer directly to one of the units (and move the plug to a neighboring one if needed) to retain depth display if the entire network fails.

 

[TBill36]

I don't think I fully understand what stand alone means. A radar needs a screen to read it. If the OP means that is the only thing that screen can do, then I think he leaves a lot on the table than if he installs an MFD to view it - probably not much cost difference. The MFD will come with GPS and a map. So, if he means a different brand of electronics than what he all ready has, then I don't understand the perceived added redundancy. If he buys the same brand just don't link the systems if you think one will take down the other.

 

[BobMc]

Hands down - Furuno. Check out all the commercial fishing boats and you'll understand why,.

 

[MYTraveler]

Hands down - Furuno. Check out all the commercial fishing boats and you'll understand why,.

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.

 

[Mark Laurnen]

I selected Furuno for a complete refit a year ago. It was a hard decision until I looked at customer support. Everyone makes excellent equipment these days, but Furuno will support you until the Smithsonian comes knocking on your door asking for your your gear.