Furuno Vs. Lowrance Radar

[smellslikefish]

I'm thinking of putting radar on my boat for this fishing season and given my lack of knowledge, need help. I have a Lowrance LCX28HD that is a ff/gps combo. It also is radar cabable, all you have to do is plug in antenna. I talked to Jim at BOE Marine and got some info from him. He said that if you want to find birds, you really need 6kw and I would spend 6g's for it. He said you can see birds on the 4kw but you can see those birds with your eyes on the horizon. I know theres been some discussen about this before that some 4kw units can see birds. Seeing birds would be nice but having radar at night or in the fog is my main concern. HAS ANYONE HEAR USED LOWRANCE RADAR? BOE told me that Lowrance has decent radar but it hasn't caught on with the public yet. He did say Lowrance's features can be limiting. He recommended looking at the Furuno 1715 2.2kw dome set-up. This unit comeplete from BOE is $1433. I can get a 24" 4kw dome for my Lowrance, but I would be linking this to my FF and have to run a split screen....Radar/FF....witch means I would have a 5"high by maybe 3-3 1/2"wide screen,vs. a 7" diag. screen with the Furuno. By the way, the Lowrance dome is $1405.

One more thing, if my next year project(i try to do an upgrade every year)was to install auto pilot, do they work in conjuction with the radar and would this effect my radar decision? Thank You very much for any help!!!

[obxnative]

I've got the Lowrance LCX111C-HD with a 4kw closed dome radar. Its ok for picking up other boats & such, but for birds, you can see them by eye by the time the radar picks them up. Maybe with a more power. Its hard to beat Furuno.

[27 sailfish]

For most of us- radar range is not too important.In fog or at night I'm using the 1/4 mile or 1/2 mile range the most to avoid hitting anything.I will zoom out to 1, 2 then 4 miles to see what is ahead of me-like ships/tugs.

I use my auto pilot with the radar running all the time-no trouble at all.

Radar range is limited to how high the dome or array is.I can pick up ships from 8 miles but will miss small boats at 4 miles.Flat shoreline gives a sucky return but the cliffs near Breezy Point are great.

The radar will also pick up bouys/markers -combine that with your GPS and you don't need to look out the windshield :D.If you can afford a radar- I recommend it strongly.Be sure to use it on clear days so you learn what the blips are- since you can see them.

I run a Furuno unit but nowadays most brands are good for what the average fisherman needs. Skip

[kwalk59]

I had the lcx 26 and used the split screen all the time. I upgraded to the lcx111 for a larger screen to split. Then like you I decided to buy a radar system. Everything that I read and learned on this site and others directed me to a stand alone unit and I am so glad that I got the seperate unit. I went for a 4kw c-70 raymarine, but I dont think you will here a bad word about furuno. Keith

[fishin` fool II]

If your radome/open array is 15' above waterline your radar horizon is 8 miles and will only pickup objects within that 8 miles or large objects that rise above the horizon - ships, sailboats with radar deflectors, tuna towers, etc. On a small boat with the antenna typically 8' above the water line 2kw is OK, 4kw is a bit better because the beam is a bit more narrow.

As Skip said, working 1 - 2 miles at night or in a fog/haze, a 2kw is a great tool for getting home.

[jwinds]

What is the recommendation on mounting the radome on a mast vs roof? Also, should any downtilt be considered?

[fishin` fool II]

The higher the radar the farther the horizon. What is important is that the dome is solidly attached. 2 - 4 degrees is a reasonable down tilt but on smaller radars the beam is so wide it isn't critical. What horizon you would pickup on plane you would lose at idle.

I can't speak for or against Furuno or Lowrance - I'm on the Raymarine pro staff.

[fish stories]

Smellslikefish: Would you keep me posted on your outcome? I did alot of research as well, and was leaning heavily toward the Lowrance due to its plug and play with my head end AND the fact that with my boat, another HE unit is a real issue....

I didn't call BOE, but I basically got the same advice, and ir was to go with Furuno. I didn't price out that one; is the 2.2 KW set-up complete, including the HE?

Thanks-

Joe

[27 sailfish]

One thing about radar and small boats to consider is when it is rough the signal will go all over the place :D.The higher it is mounted-the worse the effect.Think of a fixed mounted spotlight on a rough night.

Alot of guys use a wedge to put about 4-5* down angle to offset bow rise when running.I trim the bow down slightly with the tabs if I notice the radar signal is breaking up on targets. Skip

[smellslikefish]

I guess my delema is if both units, Lowrance and Furuno, are both $1400, should I go with the 4kw Lowrance or the 2.2kw Furuno. Also is there going to be a huge advantage to the Furuno being a seperate unit. I did just get back from Boaters world in Severna Park. Two things I did'nt know....the Furuno will interface with the Lowrance's gps via cables.....and the Lowrance, which they had in demo mode, actually shows returns in different colors. Why do these decisions have to be so hard. One question, if you have a 4kw unit that is suppose to show more detail farther away, do you lose closs up returns...say 6mph bouys? I'll try to post some pics of my radar screen....

[smellslikefish]

Here's my unit set on the full radar screen which is 4" high by 5 1/2" wide....
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff145/whoughton/outriggers012.jpg
Here's the slit screen....4" high by 3 1/2" wide....
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff145/whoughton/outriggers013.jpg
Here is the menu of the different settings that my Lowrance radar would have...
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff145/whoughton/outriggers014.jpg
WHAT SHOULD I DO???:eek2:

[get the net]

It was nice talking to you at BW tonight, good luck with your decision. That website I recommended is Boating & Fishing Forum - The Hull Truth (http://www.thehulltruth.com)

[TerpHeels]

I've give u some advice and you'll have to make your own decision. I had a 2kw JRC 1500 MKII dome, very decent little machine. Dead on comparable to the 2kw Furuno (I've seen them both). It did a fine job for general navigation and it would even pick up fish net stakes at 1/2 nm.

I do a bit of ocean fishing where it's all about the birds so I began looking into 4/6kw open arrays. Well I found a JRC 2254 4kw 4' open array, 2.0 hor bandwith 30* vertical, 182hrs, 48nm. You can ask Pat N Mike or Catch22 on this board as they were along, it had no trouble finding bird plays at 4+ nm. I bought the unit for $600 + $50 shipping. I sold my other JRC unit for 660 + 50 shipping so I ended up making $. From the bass grounds off OC it had the shoreline hard pinging the condos, that's 10nm or better. The antenna/pedestal is flat mounted to the hardtop on my 24 Albemarle. It is flat out bad a$$ for what I paid and I like the looks of that swinger up there.

What I'm basically telling u is that there are deals like this on ebay including older Furuno units. A 4kw Furuno open array went for $280 or so just the other day. If u find 1 on ebay inquire about the hours on the unit as the magnetron has a limited life. Also, I know for a fact that JRC made some of the Raymarine/Raytheon units. My JRC 2254 was sold by Raytheon as their R41XX for instance.

[TerpHeels]

See where this ends up...Raytheon radar (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Raytheon-R21XX-radar-complete_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ31276QQihZ013Q QitemZ230220901302QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW)

[CapitanAmerica]

I installed a Lowrance lra 2000. It has worked as well as any 4kw radar I have ever used. Birds? Get a higher powered open array. For the original purpose of radar the Lowrance is as good as any in th 4kw class, and if you have a radar ready head unit you are already that far ahead. I have radar overlay, nice but not really necessary. Many color combinations on the radar display.
The lra 2000 is made by Koden, not Lowrance. This ia a company that has been in the radar business sense 1947.


http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm241/capitamamerica/apr2007.jpg


Be happy to give you a demo if you want.

[CapitanAmerica]

Radar shots from LRA 2000 made Oct 2007. 10.4" unit screen.


http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm241/capitamamerica/Screen003.jpg


http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm241/capitamamerica/Screen002.jpg


http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm241/capitamamerica/Screen000.jpg


Chart overlay 03/27/2008
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm241/capitamamerica/platinumwithradaroverlay03-27-08.jpg

[pipewrench]

Some of the other things to consider are your eyesight, everytime you split a screen to show multiple images, say your plotter and radar, they are smaller, I wear bifocals and that is an issue with me. Also if you want to overlay your radar on the plotter, you'll need a heading sensor to tell the radar which direction it is pointing, kinda a simple explanation but important if you want overlay. I have the furuno 1722C combo plotter/radar and it has served me well. if you want to see birds, go open array at 4kw or better and learn how to tune it to see the buggers. Like the other guys, I spend a lot of time with it on during clear days learning to interpret what I'm seeing. I got to tell you, when the fog rolls in, and ya'll know what I'm talking about, your a$$ cheeks are clenched together sooo tight, you hear those other boats zipping around, lost by the way because they don't have radar or don't know how to us it, it sure is nice to be able to see the other guys, steer clear and work your way back to the dock where you can un-pucker...anyway, good luck on which ever way you go and just because you've got radar, know when to just stay in the slip and give it a chance to lift...MY2CENTSWORTH

[riznfall]

Check this link. Not to bad IMO
Lowrance LRA-5000 4kW 52NM 5' Radar Open Array Antenna - 121-04 - BoatersWorld.com (http://www.boatersworld.com/product/319393054.htm)
Lowrance LRA-4000 4kW 48NM 4' Radar Open Array Antenna - 121-03 - BoatersWorld.com (http://www.boatersworld.com/product/319393047.htm)

[TOPAZ 24]

I have a Lowrance 113C-HD with a 1000 watt tilted angle low profile transducer along with the LRA 4000 open array radar antenna.It kicks a$$.It is not just plug and play though.you do have to have another power source for the new antenna.Like the gentleman said before,it's made by Koden which has been around for a long time.It would probably be advantageous to you to add the antenna to what you have now.Hope this helps you out. RED EYE-24 TOPAZ