"cognisense" wrote in message
...
On Jan 29, 5:35 am, GeoffSchultz
wrote:
It's very clear that the OP has problems with the unit as the behavior
that it exhibits is not normal.
Other than the screen black-outs, my E120 displayed all other
complaints prior to sending the unit in for 'repair.' I have another
friend who has a brand-new unit, installed professionally onto a brand-
new 47 foot Island Packet. Same behavior on his unit as well.
Seeing the boat position jump around makes me think that
the GPS antenna ... is at fault.
I sent the GPS unit in at the same time as the E120, and they claimed
it was flawless.
It isn't clear where the video was shot, but if the video was shot
while at anchor, then you can easily understand why the
radar overlay of the charts isn't in sync
That portion of the video which shows the radar being out of sync with
the chart was shot while underway, doing 8.2 knots approaching Roche
Harbor in the San Juan Islands. I suspect that the true reason the
radar is out of sync is because the chart drawing routines are
significantly slower than the radar drawing routines. But regardless,
the behavior and reliability of the E120 is self-evident as
demonstrated in my videos.
You can walk into any Westmarine and play with the RayMarine units
as long as you want, so I don't have a lot of sympathy for this
complaint.
I did, in fact, play with the Raymarine in retail stores. Several, in
fact. In each and every one, the only charts available to me were the
built-in demo charts of the Port of Miami. I also played with it at
the Vancouver Boat Show, and had many targeted and specific questions
of the Raymarine representative. The bottom line is that the unit
looks beautiful when you're sitting still in a building on land. I'm
not making this stuff up - I posted these videos because I sincerely
want people to see what these systems are like - AFTER you've paid
your $15,000, drilled holes on your boat, and have taken the time to
install. When you actually get these products installed, and see them
in action, on the water, as my videos document, what you see is what
you actually get.
The software on the C120 allows you to view/log the SeaTalk data and
see error counts. I would concentrate on this and get some
professional assistance to debug the system.
I haven't yet posted my video documenting my attempts at getting
technical support from Raymarine, but believe me, I have tried. I
phoned my dealer within 2 weeks of installation, informing him of my
complaints. No satisfaction. So a month later, I phoned the
distributor of Raymarine products in Canada. The representative was
defensive, accusatory and blatantly rude. I phoned Raymarine tech
support. The tech told me to document the complaints and post it to
their website. I did so on Nov 10, 2007. No reply. I phoned
Raymarine warranty service on Dec 14. No reply. I phoned the VP of
International Sales, no reply.
I have a complete record of all of my attempts to resolve this
situation amicably. To date, I have received absolutely no help from
Raymarine, it's distributors nor my dealer.
Sounds like a legitimate complaint to me... perhaps you have recourse
through your credit card? I'm sure you've either thought of it or it isn't
possible. The only quibble I have is re the UI... isn't this something
that's independent of the jumping boat, screen blanking, etc.? Seems like
that part should have been observable before purchase.
I'm not sure how posting will help your efforts, but it will certainly alert
others to be uber-cautious with their products (as we should be with all
products, especially those costing $15K).
Perhaps you can file a complaint with your Better Business Bureau, and then
there is always the take-them-to-court option.
--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com