Northstar GPS

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Rick
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Northstar GPS

Post by Rick »

We had Fishing Tournament with the Patriots last weekend and it feels like I'm going to be fixing the boat for the rest of the Summer. We got caught in the worst Thunderstorm I've ever been in, lasted for 45+ minutes and it's a wonder no one got killed but somehow we all got through it. I've got a Northstar 951X from Y2K and it didn't make it through the storm. I think ESD smoked it and if anyone has dealt with Northstar service lately, you'll know why I'm looking for a new one. The amount they want just to look at it in 3 weeks is enough to buy a new one. So what's everyone using these days ? Looks like Garmin & Raymarine are the two you want to choose from. I'm just beginning my search and have a long way to go. Any advice would be a huge help. Rick Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's Falmouth, MA
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dougl33
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Post by dougl33 »

What Patriots were you fishing with? Did your boat get struck by lightning? I have an old Garmin 182c that I bought brand new when I got the boat back in 2002. I'm also running a Raymarine C120 (radar, chart plotter, and weather) and a Raymarine C70 (fish finder, chart plotter). All 3 are inter-faced. While I like the size of the C120, I do all my course work and routes on the 182C. Its far easier to use. I've opened the Garmin's owners manual maybe 3 times since 2002. I got the C70 in 2004, and the C120 in 2007. I have to open the Raymarine manual at least 2-3 times per season. Maybe the new Garmins are different, but the old Raymarine C and E series are just not user friendly when used side by side with Garmin. Also, the tidal and celestial features are easier to use on the Garmin. Raymarine uses Navionics and Garmin uses their own charts. Its little things like I can't get a marina's phone number on my Navionics platinum chip (new in 2008, but phone numbers weren't available until 2009 and the PLatinum PLus chip were available!), but I can get it from my 2002 Garmin Bluechart chip. Plus Raymarine is on the rocks financially. I'd go with Garmin.
Regards, Doug L.
1986 33 Bertram FBC Cummins 6BTA's Queen Elizabeth
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Rick
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Post by Rick »

Doug, No, I didn't get struck but there was bolts & blasts all over the place. Definitely the worst lightening storm I've ever been in, including Navy years. I fished with Rob Ninkovich - a 3rd string linebacker and three other guys. It was a fundraiser for crippled NFL players. I'll give you a quick story.... So Captn's Meeting starts and it's John Hannah, Steve Grogan and Peter Brock up there. Peter Brock doing most of the talking...introducing everyone, very upbeat and then he starts going over the rules. He says "this tournament is all about catching the most fish but releasing as much as you can". Right away we're all looking at each other...something's up because no one trusts no one in fishing tourneys. He said "there's prizes for first fish, last fish, biggest fish, smallest fish...you've got to call the committee boat about your catches". So we fire away with questions "do you have to report every fish ?......do we have to release any fish ?......."what time does fishing stop ?"...all kinds of questions. And he said "well....whatever you guys want to do". The guys that fished with us and the Patriots paid $5,000 to go fishing for the day......look what they got...... [img]http://www.bertram33.com/images/uploads ... _Storm.jpg[/img] Rick Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's Falmouth, MA
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dougl33
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Post by dougl33 »

Except for the rain and the rules I'll bet it was fun.
Regards, Doug L.
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Marblehead, MA
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Rick
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Post by Rick »

A blast...didn't catch jack for fish but it was fun....especially the night before. I had a long talk and a few beers with John Hannah. Very down to earth kind of guy, does a lot of fishing in Alabama these days and is loving life. Rick Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's Falmouth, MA
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franklyprice
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Post by franklyprice »

Rick, I have a Garmin 4212. I like the way it functions but I'm on my second one and still not that happy with problems with it. I would buy Furuno if I could afford it . garmin also has only one year warranty which to us means essentially a few months, whereas Furuno has two years. Garmin is Chinese crap.
Frank Price
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Post by IRGuy »

Doug... Re: Your comment about Raymarine being in financial difficulty.. I learned a couple of weeks ago that Raymarine was just purchased by Flir Systems, the company I did about 90% of my infrared work with, and who makes some IR systems for recreational boats... personally I am not sure the two are a good fit, but Flir has solid management and I assume has (had?) a strong cash position.
Frank B - IRGuy@aol.com "Phoenix" 1983 FBC Cummins 6Bs - 315HP Wilmington, NC
dougl33
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Post by dougl33 »

I'd seen that too. Regardless, I still don't feel all warm and fuzzy about the direction Raymarine is heading. Add to that the fact that I find their stuff difficult and non-intuitive. Never seen a Furuno at work, though my boat did have an ancient Furuno radar when I first got it. It still worked great when I dumped it back in 2004. There was no way I was mounting a nearly 20 year old radome on my brand new hardtop. I will say that I do like the Raymarine radar. Its fairly easy to use. Its their chartplotting function that sucks. Frank Price, What problems are you having with your Garmin now?
Regards, Doug L.
1986 33 Bertram FBC Cummins 6BTA's Queen Elizabeth
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Rick
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Post by Rick »

Nothings easy ! Just based on about an hour of shopping around the web, GPS's are EXPEN$IVE these days and really a commitment of how you're going to navigate over the next 5 to 10 years. Everything is ISDN these days and it appears the NEMA interface is on it's way out. I might have to pick up a used unit on ebay/craigslist that will be pretty cheap - but I'm not giving up hope that I've got a blown fuse somewhere. If the unit is dead, I've got to think about the whole package. Rick Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's Falmouth, MA
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dougl33
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Post by dougl33 »

That must've been a trip talking with John Hannah. That guy was a beast.
Regards, Doug L.
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Marblehead, MA
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Post by captgene »

Furuno gets my vote. I have 2 on my boat. One is a basic machine with a plotter to use with the autopilot. I also have the 7000 map/fishfinder which did get fried once. Furuno service rep gave me a quick fix that cost me all my waypoints and routes, but I had them all backed up in the other unit. Never had another issue with it. I still have a old Garmin 175 I keep around for backup and finding spots from other boats I'm on. Still works fine. The chip is a bit slow compared to the newer technology..but still Garmin is a good unit, and simple to operate. Gene Dugan Boca Raton, Fl. "Nauti Marie" 1989 33 FBC 2007 8.1 Crusaders
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Rick
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Post by Rick »

This is why you talk to other Captains. I had Garmin & Raymarine as my options but now Furuno is turning into the diamond in the rough. Thanks ! Rick Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's Falmouth, MA
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Post by dealerschoice »

Garmin 4212 here. A very good unit especially with the 4kw HD radar. Weather is nice but probably the Northstar may be a little better. The guys I know rigging boats now are going to Garmin away from Northstar. My buddie with the 36 Yellowfin has had an awful time with the Northstar system. I definitely would not go with Raymarine and Furuno is always a quality unit. Scott 1987 B33 SF Dealer's Choice V Edisto Beach, SC
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Rick
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Post by Rick »

Northstar products & service just went out the window when they sold. It's too bad because they had a good thing going. This ESD thing is complicated and I although I worked with ESD devices for years at Analog Devices, this one has me confused and the structure of ESD devices is not at all trivial. I've heard you lose your electronics in a lightening storm because the lightening hits the water and your earth ground is now at 100,000 volts and because it's now a reversed direction, the current just passes through the device inputs. But isn't everything relative to earth ground in the boat ? Clearly, I need to read up on what's going on here. Not sure if there's anything I can do to prevent future losses but if stumble across something, I'll let you know. Rick Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's Falmouth, MA
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Post by franklyprice »

Doug, My garmin has some small stupid issues. The auto darkening feature is so dark I can't see the screen, and the trip info is somehow buried under "engine gauges" Can't figure that one out. All this is on the re manufactured unit that they gave me to replace the one I bought. Before this I didn't think you could have a problem with a GPS. I have completely lost faith in Garmin and am afraid of when it will let me down.
Frank Price
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Rowley Ma
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