Thread starter Halfhitch Start date Feb 13, Halfhitch GreatGrady Captain. I still have the original plotter that was installed on my Grady. It has a 6 inch screen which is small for this day but the resolution and viewability is great. It appears to be far behind current standards. The plotter will operate on a 2K backbone. If this plotter could benefit from a more modern receiver, any idea which one?
I would appreciate any advice you may have to offer. I plan to connect an AP also. Simrad uses its own style connectors for this network but does offer cables with a SimNet connector on one end and a certified NMEA connector on the other.
Fifteen levels of screen brightness control and nine color palettes make for a wide range of screen-brilliance settings. Keypad brightness is adjusted separately. The CX33 screen performed well in sunlight, but it darkens a bit when viewed with polarized sunglasses. At night, we noted the CXE did not dim as far as the Navman, even with the night palette selected.
We rated the Simrad Good for both day and night viewability. Though the Simrad has outstanding hardware, its software is not as intuitive as some of the other units tested. Most others can be operated right out of the box without ever cracking open the manual.
To run the Simrad, we needed to occasionally refer to the manual. Although the Simrad is a bit harder to use at first, its software sophistication, alphanumeric keypad, and abundance of dedicated function keys earn it a Good rating for user interface. The CXE sounder software utilizes an active cursor pad function that allows the user to adjust the gain without going into any menus.
We like the easy access gain control. Even though we found its menu system less user-friendly than some of the other units, the Simrad sounder earned a Good for user interface due to features like the active cursor. Presentation also was rated Good. Bottom Line: The Simrad has a slightly smaller and significantly lower resolution screen than some of the better units, plus its software is not as easy to learn.
Additional equipment in our test package included an external GPS sensor and a dual-frequency transducer; the unit is also available with an internal GPS antenna. The ColorMax Wide comes with a quick-release bracket that allows easy removal of the display without fooling around with any wiring or connectors.
A nice feature but, in our opinion, the bracket is a little wobbly. Flush mounting is another option and can be easily accomplished using the threaded holes on the rear panel. Installation wiring is more complicated because of its black box sounder, which needs to be mounted in a spray-free environment.
Several small wires need to be connected from the display mount to the antenna and the sounder. It has six levels of brightness and 11 levels of contrast control. Using a combination of these controls and one of the four selectable color palettes provides more than ample management of the screen brilliance in day or night conditions.
When viewing the unit with polarized sunglasses, our tester noted no screen darkening. We rated the ColorMax 6 Excellent for both day and night viewability. Selecting a present position waypoint with the ColorMax Wide takes a tad longer than on some of the other machines. Placing the cursor on a waypoint brings up soft-key functions to move, delete, edit, and go to that waypoint.
Routes with up to 50 waypoints can be built right on the map page with the cursor and enter key. You can easily modify the route on the map page. Other plotter highlights include two map orientations, an easy-to-see course predictor line, and adjustable data boxes.
Limited split-screen capability and less-than-friendly software hold this unit back. To select the sounder screen from the map page, you must go deep into the menu system. The soft keys for the sounder—gain, noise, and range—become active when the unit is displaying the sounder in full screen, or when the sounder is the active window in a split-screen display. There is no fast way to select full or split-screen sounder.
The sounder worked best when we operated it in manual modes; auto gain and depth ranging did not work very well, in our estimation. When compared to the other test units, the ES only managed a Fair rating for ease of use and a Good rating for presentation. Bottom Line: While price makes this an attractive entry point to black-box systems, this unit did not stand out in this particular test. Conclusions The Navman screen is impressive and so is its software.
We especially like the tall screen for sounder usage and the ease with which the split screen sizes can be changed. Its moderate price and full two-year warranty are pluses.
Furuno garners our second choice with some improvements over previous units tested. We like the soft key approach a little better. Sounder capabilities of the GP are comparable to the highly touted Furuno L.
Performance was rated Good in both shallow and deep water. We found the WF version at www. Our test unit was equipped with a 5. Fifteen levels of brightness control are available and keypad brightness is adjusted separately.
The unit can be mounted on the supplied metal bracket or flush-mounted. Installation was simple and straightforward. The CE33 screen is not as easy to see in sunlight as the Furuno.
It appears somewhat darker, darkening further when viewed with polarized sunglasses. Like the Furuno, it completely blanks when viewed from more than a degree angle with the polarized glasses. Reflectivity is far higher than the Furuno. While we were on the water reviewing both units, the middle portion of the Simrad screen fogged up. It was still usable, but certainly an annoyance.
We were out for nearly two hours and in that time the screen did not clear. We asked Simrad about the fogging. In early , Simrad incorporated a GoreTex filter into all 33 series products. That reduced the likelihood of fogging, but unfortunately, rare instances of display fogging could still occur. Fogging incidents are covered by our limited warranty and an exchange unit is issued.
Good response. We gave the Simrad a Fair rating in the daytime-view department, more for the reflectivity than for the fogging, which presumably would be a one-time problem. It was a different story at night. Nine color palettes are available: 1 and 2 are designed for bright sunlight, 3 for normal daylight, and 4 for night viewing.
We used number 1 for our daytime view ratings and number 4 for night viewing—the color changes do make a difference in viewability. One must read the manual thoroughly to operate the Simrad well.
One strong point of the Simrad software is the context-sensitive cursor pad. For instance, in the echo sounder mode, the cursor is active as the depth range selector and gain control. After a period of extended use, one should become familiar enough with the idiosyncrasies of the Simrad software to make the user-interface differences between the two machines a non-issue. The active cursor control let us rate the Simrad software Good, even though we found it more difficult to learn than the Furuno.
FLIR I. NEW Simrad App You can now download the new Simrad App for free and connect it to your Simrad MFD for added benefits — from device registration and manual downloads to saving waypoints and places — accessible both on and off the water.
New Instruments Application A fresh new look to the Instruments App for Simrad GO MFDs, offering more intuitive behaviour of the page in horizontal, vertical and split screens and the visibility of multiple instruments at one time, as well as an expanded choice in the presentation of specific gauges.
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