Hi John,
I'll try to get back to you later this evening. But, in brief, much depends
upon your current gear. If your present radar works well, I would stay with
it. However, if it is 14 years old, and is a CRT type of display, I would
be inclined to consider changing it. I personally like the notion of an
integrated radar+chartplotter, but in practice have had repeated bad
experiences with single units of that sort. If one dies, then you lose both
when it has to be repaired.

The choice of brands depends upon your budget and personal preferences in
software, interface, etc.
I went with the Standard Horizon chartplotter, VHF, and sailing
instruments. In large measure it was because of price, but also because I
thought that they come close to a well integrated package. They don't have
radar, so it wasn't a problem in view of my attitude about combined single
screen radar+plotter. I would probably wait a month or two for the newest
model of their 300i (internal antenna) with the 7" screen. With a Panda
40 and the somewhat larger cockpit than on our Tayana 37, I would be sorely
tempted to even wait for their forthcoming model 500i with a 12" screen, if
you have the space and the money.
more later,
Harvey

10:26 AM 3/1/2007 -0800, you wrote:
> Is it wise to get an integrated chartplotter/AIS/radar/ depthsounder
> system? And if so, which manufacturers do you like? On
>the computer side, I have used Windows for many years and so I am now
>firmly in Mr. Jobs' camp. I was very interested in the Mac Mini
>solution discussed in this thread.
>
>I should say that Cantata is a Panda 40 Pilothouse, so the ideal
>solution would be a principal display at the inside steering station
>and a satellite display in the cockpit. At present I have a 14 year
>old Panasonic radar that functions just fine, two handheld GPS units
>(one a chartplotter) and a desk full of paper charts. I've been
>waiting for marine electronics to become more fully integrated, low
>power, and bulletproof, and it seems that moment has arrived.

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Received on Thu Mar 1 10:47:09 2007