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Topic starter
August 19, 2018 7:04 pm
Hi All,
We are full-time bluewater cruisers. Just purchased (though not installed) a set of Garmin instruments (GMI & GNX - wind & DST) to replace our aging Navman setup. We need to upgrade our radar as well -- we have a Raytheon SL70 (note that it is old enough to not be Raymarine!). I believe it makes sense to stick with Garmin as we will be using their instruments. However, I'm unsure which radar to purchase. We really only have two choices: Fantom 24 or 24xHD.
Our most important and primary use of radar is for finding and tracking squalls in the tropics when on passage. In the past, I believe that broadband radars were not as good as traditional radars in detecting weather, but it seems that digital processing may have closed the gap. I certainly like the power & weight advantages of broadband.
Does anyone have any experience with either of these radars and tracking weather cells? Any feedback or advice will be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Bruce
s/v Migration
This topic was modified 6 years ago by Bruce Balan
August 19, 2018 8:14 pm
Hi Bruce,
Garmin let me replace the 24xHD radar I long tested on Gizmo with the Fantom 24 back in late 2016, and I subsequently wrote this review:
https://panbo.com/testing-the-garmin-fantom-24-in-a-new-world-of-solid-state-radar/
The Fantom seemed to have a similar range as the xHD and it's been improved with firmware updates since then. This spring I was impressed with how its Doppler feature (called MotionScope) marked squalls headed toward me in the dark of night off Delaware Bay...
https://panbo.com/standing-a-24-hour-watch-am-i-nuts/
...though, sorry, I did not publish screenshots illustrating that (though I have them somewhere 😉
At any rate, I advise you to pay a little extra for the Fantom, though I'll also note that I don't think Garmin quite deserves the prices they charge for any of their radars relative to some of the competition, Furuno in particular.
Topic starter
August 20, 2018 2:06 pm
Hi Ben,
Thanks so much for the quick reply. I did read your Fantom 24 test but not sure how I missed the post about using it with weather. Appreciate the link. I also appreciate your comment on the price. The Fantom does seem really expensive. Especially since I will have to add an MFD. As you know from our previous correspondence (Garmin SOG/COG Smoothing), I don't use a chartplotter so paying another 2K on top of the almost 3K for the Fantom means I end up with a (sort of) stand-alone radar for 5K. I completely appreciate the ability to overlay radar on a chart but we use OpenCPN for charting and don't pay the big bucks for charts on an MFD every time we sail to new part of the world. Makes me think there is no reason to stick with Garmin and I should start looking at Furuno stand-alones.
As always, love your site and your writing style and truly appreciate your feedback.
Cheers,
Bruce
s/v Migration
Steve Mitchell reacted
Topic starter
August 23, 2018 6:05 pm
Hi Ben,
Continued with my research and I kept coming back to the Furuno standalone radars. Read your 2017 review of the 1815 and it does seem like the right choice for us. Only NMEA 0183 but that's not too big a problem for us. Wondering if there are any other downsides to the unit that your readers might know of.
Thanks,
Bruce
