Quote:
I know there are top of the line products out there but the market is down. Is Si-Tex a OK product
|
Sitex has been a long time player. I have two really old (1989/1991)
GPS units you can have for the
shipping charges. I don't think you want to shop only on
price. For radar and chart plotters the new
game is "integrated". Both on one display. It can be argued it's not that great an advantage but it looks sexy. Those won't be on
sale.
It would be better to be rich but if you shop the bottom of the barrel you'll get there.
I would be less concerned about brand names and more about understanding what you really need and will use and more than that how you will use it. Most vendors sell different levels of
gear. You can buy a bottom of the line from anyone. I know a few that would argue they would rather have a radar than a
GPS. It depends on if you know how to use them. Radar is a powerful tool but the skills using them well are not so easy. Radar is only a reflection.
Learning to read reflections is not so out of the box on the best of systems. They are all only reflections not unlike a a doctor reading an XRay.
The market for high tech
gear is not that down. They don't depend on selling 500,000 units a month like the car companies do. It's a small pool of vendors and they all know what the other is doing. There can be deals had but don't confuse the situation as a way to steal a system for a really
cheap price. The boat industry has been here before back in the early 80's. Sitex was there and survived. Don't shop by brand name. Brand loyalty is a poor approach to most everything. It sounds easy to say pick the brand and be happy. They all rely on that.
For chart plotters it's the proprietary
charts that will get the rest of the
money you thought you saved. Think razor vs. the the blade. Given a free razor they can steal you blind forever on the blades. I have a beard (see avatar). I have radar but no plotter. I plot before I sail. Plotting on the fly can get you killed. I like GPS though. Been using it about as long as it was available though not always on a boat. Radar fills a gap that helps when you can't see. Reflections can be seeing when approached properly.
Technology needs understanding for proper application.