Bjarke Christensen wrote:
Funny. I've met so many happy 182C owners. I guess that talks in favour of
the 292C that must be improved new model of the 182C.

I'd put the model progression path down as 182C - 192C - 292. I've
used a Garmin GPSMAP 192C with the internal antenna for a bit over a
year now in a small sailboat and it has worked very well. The display
really is sunlight readable, even with sunglasses on, as long as you
mind the viewing angle. Map drawing when scrolling with the cursor past
a certain point doesn't happen in realtime with 192C, but it only takes
a second or two to redraw the map completely.

The main differences between 192C and 292 seem to be BlueChart g2 and
CANet support. Too bad the 292 still doesn't seem to offer AIS data
input, so you could see where exactly the big boys are on the map (with
an external AIS receiver).

Then if you opt for Garmin (still like to hear why not raymaring or a third
make) I guess the choice is between 292, the 20xx that is like the 292 just
with bigger screens and then the new "networked" 3000 series. Is it worth
the money ? In the 3000 series we are talking 3-4000 USD ...

I'm not sure which of those offer radar overlays on the map, but when
available, the feature is very nice. If you plan your routes beforehand
on a paper map or on a computer, having a big screen on a plain chart
plotter might be a waste of money and precious space. With a radar
overlay, you might want something bigger than the typical 5" display of
a small plotter.

Currently there isn't much you can do with regards to being able to
select between several map formats in one chart plotter. When you buy a
chart plotter, the odds are that it will only accept maps from one provider.

You might want to make sure that your autopilot has an NMEA 0183 input,
in case you decide to buy a non-raymarine chart plotter that doesn't
have a seatalk interface.

Tapio