It's been way too long since I've been able to post, between some family stuff and the business, BUT I am back with a vengeance!! That said, this thread is such a classic that it bears more than a few mentions. First off, let me place a disclaimer that I have nowhere NEAR the amount of on the water or even LIFE experience of the vast majority of members here. I can only comment on what I've seen in my short time in this world, and I would love to see some guys chime in on some of the choices, whether to shit on them or perhaps agree; but most of all encourage all other guys on here to put their 2 cents in on their choices.
I'll give a nod to each basic category; plotter, sounder, radar. I'll avoid any 'combo' units as that will open up a whole bag of potatoes. I'll also try to keep the choices to the more economical, more common and popular units rather than the more high end or commercial grade equipment. That's a whole different thread!
So, in no particular order:
Chartplotters
Northstar 951/952/957/958 - Even to this day, I still repair them and own TWO 952XWs for when I actually GET a boat of my own. In my opinion, the best pure chartplotter ever made.
Honorable Mentions: Garmin 2x00 and 3x00 series. This was Garmin when they were at their best; incredibly simply, a button for every common function, and unfortunately they decided to get too clever for their own good with their later models.
Echosounders/Fishfinders
Furuno FCV582L
The first LCD, non CRT sounder that Furuno released with a simpler feel to its operation; compact, knobs for adjusting gain, range, and modes, features that that have become the standard on all of their sounders today. Even at 600W, it still outperforms some of the other sounders made by others, and the best part, they just keep working.
Honorable Mention:
Si-Tex CVS-106 - Bulletproof, great performance, has stood the test of time, and like the model mentioned above, still in use as it was incredibly simple to tune and operate, and I've been personally extremely glad to see Si-Tex regroup and get back to their root recently, putting out some great and affordable machines yet again.
Radar
Furuno 1832/1932/1942 CRTs. - I know these weren't as popular as say the 1621 monocrome units or as expansive as the FR models, but these units have been absolute beasts, and up until the end of 2013, Furuno was still selling the 1942MkII variant. Just a real, meat and potatoes radar, very easy to adjust and interpret, bright enough to avoid a hood. Even used these systems still pull some serious dough, and would head to sea in any condition with one of them at the helm; the true test of any equipment.
Honorable Mention: Raytheon (JRC) RXX Radar Series
Nothing spectacular needed to say other than that they worked well (and still do), were made available in enough variations for the small lobster boat to the sportfish, even some smaller sailboats who had some pretty limited choices. All in all, a solid scanner, well supported, and another unit that I've seen take men around the world in some nasty shit!
Oh, and a surprise! One more category!
AUTOPILOT
Robertson AP200DL
In the spirit of the the thread, 'Old School' is the first thing I thought of when I first saw an AP200. The thing looked like an original VHS player (yes, I AM old enough to remember those!) However, the owner let me engage it to try it out, and I was shocked at how well it held a course, and how I was able to even adjust the rudder gain and counter rudder response levels without having to navigate any menu. Since then, I have seen more of these pilots on boats STILL operational than any other pilot model combined. Well, maybe that's a stretch, but you get the idea. So this was in essence, the absolute winner of the 'Old School Get The Job Done' electronics award.
Honorable Mention: Simrad AP35 - Simply the best pilot ever made for an ocean going boat, from tugs to trawlers, the work mode profiles making life so much easier. Also, bulletproof. It wasn't until recently that Simrad was able to come up with a proper replacement, the AP70, which performs to the same standard, not overkill like the AP45 or AP50s, and is incredibly simple to use and is honestly beautiful. Pair it with a satellite compass, and you have the perfect pilot without breaking the bank. (The Sat Compass renaissance is something we will get into another thread, as it is a huge deal now with prices dropping, considering what it provides not only to a pilot's performance, but your radar targeting accuracy and true motion trails, and the heaving compensation for certain sounders),
Hope you all enjoyed this little rant, so until the next time fellas!
- Wharfie :geek: