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Old 03-02-2010, 16:57   #1
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Si-Tex Radar / Plotter ?

Outfitting our boat on a limited budget and would like to leave this summer or fall on our family cruise 4-5 years if the beach house sells. But we all know how the market is - so we wait - and continue to house clean and sell it all.

Looking at outfitting our boat with a new radar and chartplotter by
Si-Tex. Our Raymarine radar (Raytheon) does not appear to function, at least the screen is faded out but does show some lines when powered on. Not a legible screen and a previous owner cut cable running to dome but attempted to splice back together. The chartplotter on board now is a old black and white Navman - pong would have been better graphics. We are ready to upgrade but we are not rich.

I know there are top of the line products out there but the market is down. Is Si-Tex a ok product? I am able to buy at a great price, so that is why I am leaning towards them. We have cruised before without radar and plotters. Just looking for your thoughts.

Wil
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Old 03-02-2010, 17:40   #2
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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.
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Old 03-02-2010, 18:16   #3
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Thanks for the great information, I have a friend who sells Si-Tex thru their marina and is selling the products at cost to me. I like your idea about just having radar because the cards are not very cheap. We were able to buy the boat at a repo auction last spring for a very good price.

We always plotted every shift change and only used GPS as a back up to see how good our DR was going. The old Navman has GPS on it and we have a portable back up to keep us going straight.

Wil
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Old 29-03-2010, 18:06   #4
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Did you get your SITEX radar? I am looking for info about Standard Horizon CP300 with SITEX MDS-8/9. What is your experience?
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Old 29-03-2010, 18:12   #5
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No, we have not purchased yet. Been changing out existing port glass for new glass.
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