Radar: Furuno wireless DRS4W or Garmin GMR 18HD+

[IronZebra]

Have decided to add radar to my Atlas Acadia 25. I have narrowed it down to the Furuno wireless or the Garmin GMR 18HD+. There is less that $100 difference between the two.

I currently have the following on the boat: Garmin GPSmap 740s (which is compatible with the GMR 18HD+) and a 9" iPad dedicated to navigation fed with a Bad Elf wireless GPS (which I could use with the Furuno wireless).

Have search all over for comparisons but just can't figure out which. Will be used most heavily inland on rivers and also some exploring coastal cruising.

 

[caltexflanc]

You may likely find some users of these on The Hull Truth's marine electronics forum.
Hard to go wrong, especially resale wise, with a Furuno radar, though that is a very generalized statement.

 

[Baker]

As much as I like the idea of the wireless radar and to embrace technology, I would lean toward a hardwired radar....especially since you already have a compatible display. Now if there was a $1000 savings, I would go with the Furuno. But since the money is a wash, go hard wired.

 

[JohnEasley]

It's hard to argue with either previous opinion. George is right about the resale value of Furuno and Baker is right about going with hard-wired.

We had the Furuno DRS4W on a previous boat and it worked great. The user-friendly nature of the Garmin is hard to beat.

All of that being said, in your case I would recommend the Garmin. A) It's Garmin and dead simple to use, B) Hard-wired, and C) Your iPad is dedicated to navigation. If you go with the Garmin unit, you can have radar on one screen and nav on the other. And your Garmin will become the back up nav unit. I am not a proponent of having everything pumped into one unit; if it goes down, you lose everything.

Yes, you can go the other way. With the Furuno unit pumped into the iPad display, the 740s can become your primary nav. However, you lose the hard-wired dependability and uber-easy user interface.

Just one person's opinion. Your Mileage May Vary.

John

 

[Moonfish]

You can have the Furuno and nav app on the same iPad. The DRS4W overlays on the Timezero nav charts, even in 3D mode w/satellite imagery.

We switched to Timezero from Navionics (which I really liked) solely because of the radar overlay. Once I got used to Timezero charts/information I like them even better.

If you do end up deciding on Furuno, we have the DRS4W in the Commercial Market section: https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s57/furuno-wireless-radar-$995-40937.html

 

[Pete Meisinger]

Im going to go with the Furuno because I like the idea of being able to watch the radar from 2 locations at the same time. Granted, one will be a small picture on my iPhone but still I like the idea.

What I don't like about wired radar is the fact that I can't decide where to put the screen. Above, where I almost always steer from, or below where I would be during bad weather.
I used to have the display below and I never became familiar with it's operation because I was always up above.

pete

 

[danderer]

I gambled and installed a Raymarine wireless radar a few years ago. Never had a hiccup with it.

While I'm normally a wired-is-better guy in this case wireless worked out well.

 

[IronZebra]

Is there any problems with an iPad receiving two different WiFi signals (Bad Elf GPS and Furuno wireless radar)?

 

[Cigatoo]

Is there any problems with an iPad receiving two different WiFi signals (Bad Elf GPS and Furuno wireless radar)?

I think Bad Elf is Bluetooth and the Furuno will be WiFi. 2 different signals.

 

[IronZebra]

The Furuno wireless was released in 2014. Do you know if it has any upgrades or newer features added 6 years later (2020)? Any newer models coming out?

Would hate to purchase the Furuno and then a couple of months later see the "Furuno 2" or a new "Garmin wirless" being released.

 

[BruceP]

I really like the MARPA functionality with a Garmin radar and plotter. Unfortunately, it looks like the 740s doesn't support MARPA