Anyone with hands on experience with Garmin GMR18 HD radar?

[thylacene]

Can see merits in it, can pick one up for $1300 shipped. Looking for feedback before I commit to buying.

Thanks

Thy

[Qlder1]

I bought one last year for my 6.25m boat. I have a 750 plotter which is OK as a split screen but it would be better to have a bigger screen or stand alone . The only thing which was a bit of a pain is if you have to cut the plug off the cable to route it through targas etc you will need a special tool to reconnect it.

I find I use it mostly on 1.5nm or 3nm ranges with the forward bias set, it will pick up a tinny from several miles at least , and glass boats a bit less, but still well before any danger of running into them.

After having it I would definitely have one on any offshore boat I buy in future, it really makes you feel better about heading off into the big black night hoping there is no idiot without lights just ahead.

[johncar]

Yes +1, Thy, same experience as Qlder1. Great unit, very easy to hook up and use.
It certainly let's me feel a lot more relaxed when traveling in the dark or poor visibility. Mind you I still keep a good watch on everything else.
One of the real good aspects is to be able to ascertain distance from objects and other vessels which can be otherwise difficult at night.
In calm conditions with the sensitivity wound up a little, it shows crab pot floats as well.
I run mine split screen also on the 5012 and I prefer that to the overlay option and only run on about 1 - 2 NM.

[thylacene]

Yes, an extra set of features rather than the primary mechanism. Had a couple of close calls Pre dawn with unlit boats, and can see it being useful to pick out the freighters in the shipping lane. Not something I think I would use every outing, but on those occasions we head off at 4am.

I don't get why they feel the need to fit such large lugs on all this gear, makes cable routing a challenge. I am comfortable making network cables, they mention field replaceable plug comes with it, Did either of you use it? Is the power cable just two wires?

When you mounted the unit did you elevate it above the height of your rocket launchers?

Apologies for all the questions, but need to consider the fitting challenges, only a 6.3m boat, and hardtop, so may need some stainless work up top to support it.

Thanks

Thy

[johncar]

Thy, the radar comes with a very good kit of cables and fittings for the istallation. They supply two piece clip together lugs for the data cable and I had no problems routing the supplied cables. But I was wiring through a hard top Ally boat with plenty of hollow sections supporting the roof to use as ducts. Garmin also supply a few good size blank rubber grommets to install around the cable entries when all done so Ijust drilled holes to that size which was around 25 - 32 mm from memory.
If you have to feed through tubes and limited with hole size then it would be no problem just to make your own data cable but I would try and use the supplied cable as it seems nice and robust plus the ends seal nicely being fit for purpose.
I did raise my dome up about 300 mm above the roof because it is a big surface plus it assisted with my fold down idea to do it that way but I don't think it is neccesary for a fixed mount on a regular canopy or hard top, so long as the direction you are heading has an unobstructed view.
I will send a pic though when I get on the computer, don't know how to do it on this tablet thingy.

[johncar]

Some pics of my dome setup, but if I didn't have to fold it down I probably would have just sat it straight on the roof. I also ended up incorporating my anchor light on the radar bracket so it all folds down together. It only takes less than a minute to fold down or up.
The first picture of the boat is before I made up the raiser bracket

DSC01127 reduced.jpgfisher with dome reduced.jpgradar fold down mount reduced.jpgDSC01165 reduced.jpg

DSC01189 reduced.jpg

[thylacene]

Nice work!

[johncar]

Have you got any pics of your radar mounted Qlder1? I would like to see how it all ended up.

[Qlder1]

Have you got any pics of your radar mounted Qlder1? I would like to see how it all ended up.

Haha as you can see by my avatar I'm a bit slack taking photos....

I will try to take some over the weekend, I have mounted mine directly onto the targa frame via a 3mm alloy plate. I ran the cables inside the uprights as per the lights and antenna cables. Even though it is in line with the rocket launchers it doesn't seem to affect the picture to any degree.

I also really need to raise my anchor light...

[Qlder1]

Have you got any pics of your radar mounted Qlder1? I would like to see how it all ended up.

Hey johncar I have added some pics to my gallery if you are interested to see what yer old boat looks like now...not really too much just added the autopilot, radar, outriggers, tackle lockers, and modified (ie removed) the grabrails . Also put a cowl cover and a removable carpet on the floor(it is too hard to keep the glass floor clean).. overall really happy with the boat after @150 hours of use since the purchase..

[johncar]

Excellent, Thanks for the pics Brad she's lookin' great, all good addons. You are giving it plenty of use too, nice to hear. No doubt one of the nicest 625's you would find anywhere.
Glad to hear you are enjoying it.