wrote in message
...
On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 17:05:16 -0400, "Capt. Mooron"
wrote:

Forgetting price, for a moment, can you tell me about comparative quality,
and
why one entry level unit might be better than another brand? Is an entry
level
Furuno better than an entry level JRC? I can read brochures and magazines
myself
- I am looking for people who own or have used various models. Someone who
has
owned more than one radar would be especially helpful.

I have a Furuno, which I bought a couple of years ago. IMHO, there is
nothing wrong with the JRC radars. I have a very strong suspicion that some
of the other posters are comparing the cheapest JRC with slightly more
up-market models from other manufacturers.


I believe that JRC have been making professional radars for a long time.
They have been making small radars for the leisure market for many years,
but they have not been sold under their own name.

From the description of your intended use, I cannot see anything wrong with
the JRC.

There are three main features that you need to look at in a radar.
1. Resolution. This the ability of the radar to "see" small objects. The
bigger the antenna, the smaller the beamwith, and the better the
resolution. (Nothing to do with "Screen resolution".)

2. Display quality. (Self explanatory - I think)

3. Power consumption. Actually, these days you have little control over
this. It will be a function of the two preceeding points.
The "scan every 5 minutes" function is probably useful. However, in
practise, I leave the unit in stand-by, and do a manual scan every so
often.



Other things to (maybe) consider a-
Ability to display NMEA data, if your instruments are NMEA compatible.
GPS chart plotter.

Once you get your radar, you need to play with it in good visibility to get
to know it.


Regards


Donal
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