Upgrading Electronics - Looking for information

[JB MARSHALL]

I am looking to upgrade my electronics (MFD, radar & autopilot). Has anyone upgraded from the E120's/Autopilot? What brand and equipment did you upgrade to, are you happy with your upgrade, what would you do different now? What are recommended cautions you can provide? I also spoke to a couple of installers, they informed me the new Raymarine Axiom units will not talk with my vessel view monitor and provide me with my current fuel and trip data, I really like that info.

Thanks,
JB

 

[Third Edition]

I am looking to upgrade my electronics (MFD, radar & autopilot). Has anyone upgraded from the E120's/Autopilot? What brand and equipment did you upgrade to, are you happy with your upgrade, what would you do different now? What are recommended cautions you can provide? I also spoke to a couple of installers, they informed me the new Raymarine Axiom units will not talk with my vessel view monitor and provide me with my current fuel and trip data, I really like that info.

Thanks,
JB

I upgraded my 2002 Raymarine equipment to Raymarine eSeries MFDs. Older used units but still functional enough for me. The e97 was $600 and the e7d was $300. eBay. I have both in the dash. They are touch screen and also have dials and buttons (those are helpful when the water's rough). It was necessary to upgrade the SeaTalk to SeaTalk NG. I also added NEMA 2000 to get the engine data to the MFDs through Fox Marine Gateways, one for each engine. I will upgrade the transducer when the boat is hauled out in September for some repairs.

I opted to not get radar, and sold the old one through Craigslist.

Using the older MFDs and keeping the Lighthouse operating system at II, I'm able to have the MFDs control the existing autopilot. Lighthouse III would require a newer autopilot setup.

Did all the work myself, and the used equipment works great. Saved lots of money that way.

 

[Carpediem44DB]

I went from e120s to gs165 and quantum radar. I kept the original AP as it still works although it was never integrated to the chart plotter. Still working on configuration. I'm happy with the route I went realizing any upgrade, especially DIY is going to have its challenges.
Carpe Diem

 

[dtfeld]

There are lots of things to consider, but the biggest is what kind of boating are you going to be doing and where will you be doing it? I call that defining the mission, and then outfitting to meet those needs.

I would personally start by deciding on if you require radar, and then what kind of radar fits your intended mission. There are several different radars available, from magnetron powered open arrays to new CHIRP/Solid State/Doppler. These units can run $1k to almost $10K. This decision will dictate which MFD you will require. Then its just a matter of the size MFD that you can fit.

If budget is a concern (always is), then you may decide that a generation old used equipment will be fine. I stuck with Raymarine because at the time I started, the a Series w/ Lighthouse II still could be networked with the older Seatalk networked autopilots. However, once I added a Quantum 2 Doppler radar, I needed to upgrade to the Axiom series, and the old Seatalk autolpilots just dont integrate as nicely. If I want the autopilot integrated, I have to upgrade that system too. Some of my stuff is new/some used.

If budget allows, doing all the major components at once solve some of these issues. I like Raymarine, but Garmin has a lot to offer as well. They all do about the same thing, but different manufacturers have different strengths/weaknesses. Go with the one that best meets your needs.

 

[rwvw415]

JB, I went the full replacement program on my electronics, I replaced the Radar, both MFD Screens, Auto Pilot, GPS Receiver, added two new transducers and AIS to the boat. I did not change out the engine monitor as mine worked and I had read many conflicting stories about replacing the monitor. The reason I replaced the radar is that the bearings were shot and was making a lot of noise. With adding the two new transducers I was able to use the new 3D sonar that Raymarine offers on the Axiom Pro Touch Hybrid screens. The new open array Magnum radar is very good and the best I have ever had. I was very happy with the upgrades and the modernization of the entire system. When my plans for the boat changed and I decided to sell it I know that the new electronics gave me an competitive advantage over the other boats that had not made the change or had only changed out a few items .

 

[JB MARSHALL]

rwvw15 I am also planning a full electronics upgrade replacement similar to what you had done along with adding AIS. I don't have the need for sonar so I am hoping not to have to replace the transducer. I have not decided as of yet, what brand system I will install since it seems to be about 50/50 between Raymarine and Garmin. I have spoken to a couple of installers and they have not been very high on Raymarine right now, I take that with a grain of salt as it could be because they make more on other brands. I am really looking for comments from those who use the equipment and have good or bad first hand experiences using the equipment before I make a decision.

 

[dtfeld]

I would go play with both systems at a local west marine and watch some videos on youtube.

A couple general observations (I own Raymarine)

Raymarine -

The hardware is solid, last a long time and there is good tech support either online or by phone. Audio integration is with Fusion or Rock Fosgate, and the Fusion app is decent, but not as good as Garmin. My biggest complain was/is the Lighthouse 3 firmware was rushed out and isn't as robust/solid as the LH2. We are several years into its development and I just installed the 3.12 update that finally implemented a night mode. That's something that should have been in V 1.0 in my opinion. I will say that right now I think the firmware has finally reached "acceptable" and getting better. Raymarine has some innovative products such as the Augmented Reality (AR) that in combo with AIS and or radar/thermal camera, makes all weather navigation possible and safer. Raymarine has been the standard on Sea Ray for a long time and its a good solid product.

Garmin -

Gets great reviews for it user interface, and with Fusion being owned by Garmin, the audio integration is better than Raymarine IMHO (or at least they get in implemented faster). If stereo integration in important, Garmin might be a better option especially if you like Fusion. Garmin seems to be leading in the radar department as I just noticed yesterday that they now have a 4' or 6' open array solid state radar with MotionScope (Doppler radar). Those were not available last year and Raymarine doesn't have an answer to that at this time. Of course thats an $8k radar pedestal, and I personally think a $2k-$3k dome will get you 99% of the features and performance of the more expensive OA unit. Comparing the 24" domes...Garmin's has a lower beam angle which in theory should get you better target definition.

Both are good choices, but again, one might offer something that tick a must have box, and I would think both would be close to the same investment comparing apples to apples.

 

[Great Lakes]

JB, I went the full replacement program on my electronics, I replaced the Radar, both MFD Screens, Auto Pilot, GPS Receiver, added two new transducers and AIS to the boat. I did not change out the engine monitor as mine worked and I had read many conflicting stories about replacing the monitor. The reason I replaced the radar is that the bearings were shot and was making a lot of noise. With adding the two new transducers I was able to use the new 3D sonar that Raymarine offers on the Axiom Pro Touch Hybrid screens. The new open array Magnum radar is very good and the best I have ever had. I was very happy with the upgrades and the modernization of the entire system. When my plans for the boat changed and I decided to sell it I know that the new electronics gave me an competitive advantage over the other boats that had not made the change or had only changed out a few items .

I did this exact changeover last year. I added gateways from the motors too. Wasn’t cheap but well worth it

 

[JB MARSHALL]

This is Great info! Thank you all for your input, it is greatly appreciated. Sounds like both are good systems and have as expected pro's and con's.

Would you or did you tack the new install on your own or should I leave it to the professionals?

Best,
JB

 

[Henry Boyd]

I did a full upgrade with Raymarine as well: twin Axiom Pro 12s, new EV-2 autopilot, EC100 gateway. I kept the existing AIS, HD Color radar array, and depth transducer. The electronics work fine, but the new Raymarine customer service model leaves a great deal to be desired. I’ve documented my poor experience in other threads so I won’t rehash.

 

[alnav]

I went all-Garmin a couple of years ago and have been very happy. At least compared to Raymarine at the time, I found the user interface to be much better and that was the main selling point.

As to whether to try DIY, I guess it depends. Installing the basic NMEA 2000 network, chart plotters and other dash equipment you want/need is pretty straightforward. You will probably need to get new dash panels made and that can be done through Tecnografic, a site advertiser here. Beyond those it gets harder. A radar install involves mounting and aligning the scanner and running wires. An autopilot changeout potentially includes working on the steering hydraulics. So you might choose a tiered installation strategy where you outsource the complicated stuff (whatever that means in your case) and do the rest yourself. In any event, if you use an installer, make sure they have installed exactly what you are putting in before, otherwise you will be paying them to learn. I learned that the hard way once.

I would recommend calling BOE, the site sponsor. They will give good advice on configuring the system and will of course sell anything you need to you at the going price. They also install; I used those services once and they were very cost-effective and professional. I'm local to their HQ but I know they have a network of affiliated installers around the country, not sure if that includes your area.

 

[gerryb]

Glad to see there are more and more of us who have made the upgrade to newer gen products. I would actually love to see a forum set-up just on that topic as there is a very steep learning curve if you diy the upgrade. We moved up from the e120 class to lighthouse 2-based e125. Also upgraded to vesselview and new digital magnum radar. I upgraded autopilot controller but I still have the old autopilot main unit and stern hardware as well as the original VHF radio and transducer. All this is on a new Seatalkng bus and I'll also have a raynet based high-speed network. Lastly, I decided to keep a completely isolated Garmin 7208 (not connected in with ANY of the raymarine equipment or network) as I like the level of security it adds in I have a standalone backup unit without any dependencies/integration issues.

After learning quite a bit about the raymarine world of marine electronics and support... I hate to say that I too would go with all-Garmin if I had the choice.