Peter Aitken wrote:

snip Larry's rant
Thanks for the excellent report. In fact I was considering the 2KW radome. I
will keep this in mind.

Please bear in mind that this is one of Larry's pet rants. It shows up
about 30 times a year, he probably has it stored as boilerplate and
regurgitates it with a hot key.

I have opened up the radomes of many of the same model radar he mentions
and have never found one badly corroded. I have once or twice seen
light surface rust on the magnetron's iron core laminations. Very light
surface oxidation is sometimes seen on the aluminum panels and covers.
I have never seen any corrosion on PCB's or electronic components or
connectors.

Not even on radars that had been in service for periods of up to 4-5
years have I ever seen significant corrosion. These were, for the most
part, on pleasure boats and seasonally used.

It may be that Larry's problem is associated with the radars he installs
and because of the way he install them.

Do not plug the provided drain tube in an attempt to prevent
condensation build up inside the domes. I find little or no evidence of
moisture accumulation inside Raymarine radomes. But trapping the
moisture from condensation inside is not going to help anything.

The installation instructions for Raymarine radars are clear and
explicit, installations can by anyone with common sense and good
mechanical and electrical skills simply by following the directions.

I consider Furuno radars to be comparable to Raymarine in quality
service. I admittedly have had much less experience with Furuno than
Raymarine.

The controls and menus on the two brands are quite different in use, I
have heard a number of marine technicians and boat owners express a
preference for one over the other based on perceived ease of using the
controls, menus, and submenus.

I find Raymarine controls and menus to be a little more logical or
intuitive in use than Furuno's. The Furuno operation and service
manuals have also been a weak point for me, calls often had to be made
to their technical support to resolve settings. Their tech support is
good, I have had their techs tell me to "rip that page out and throw it
away" on some configuration and setup problems.

Networking multiple displays, other equipments, and PC's is a less
expensive with Furuno because it is basically an TCP/IP network. But
that does not mean that everything you know about networking PC's will
be found to be the same.

If you can spend some time at a marine dealer who has working display or
simulators set up, if may help you decide between the two brands. Boat
rides can even better if you can get one with a knowledgeable user.

Good luck,

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)