B&G Zeus MFD - Has Anyone Tried it ?

[hoppy]

I am quite intrigued by the Zeus MFD due to some of the software feature that are very sailing specific and look they my be quite useful.

I have not found any B&G Zeus units to play with a I can even find the almost identical Simrad unit.

‪Sea trial of B&G Zeus 12 on Grand Soleil 50‬‏ - YouTube

‪B&G launch a new sailing boat dedicated chart plotter - Zeus Sailing Navigation System‬‏ - YouTube

The videos look impressive an the prices are comparable to the Raymarine E series which I am looking at as well. I'm not sure what functionality does not work if I connect my Raymarine wind/depth/auto helm/log via an nmea multiplexor with Seatailk conversion.

[noelex 77]

Sorry no info on the Zeus.
I do have a B&G instrument system with Raymarine and simrad gear. If you have a Ray autopilot this will send the NMEA info from the B&G on to the seatalknetwork without a multiplexer.

[alaskanviking]

hi,
yes installed one last month. while i havent been able to try out all its features, so far i am very impressed. the basics are not any different than the Simrad NSE. but the ability to use laylines and grib files on screen is very usefull. so far my main complaint is that B&G sacrificed polars unless you have their expensive halcyon computer, a $10k upgrade in itself. i am hoping simad comes up with a nav software solution as well. either the zues or the NSE system will save you money. it functions as an autopilot head, has a screen for all your guages. it eliminated a lot of gear. i will add a few of the wind and rudder displays later soley as a plan b or when i want to save power. i installed the Zeus 12, and the AC42 autopilot, interfaced with the raymarine converter into a maretron backbone. was easy to install with nmea2k, did it myself.

[xymotic]

I work at a medium sized west marine and we have a Simrad NSE 8 on display. I assume most of the mid to large size WM's have one to play with.

HTH

[MehmetCan]

Maybe a stupid question, but, then again...

B&G looks really great, no question about that. However, the Raymarine E series look much more versatile, especially after becoming compatible with Tacktick. And an E series (or even a cheap E7) along with a tacktick hand remote and maybe some maxi displays seem like a great configuraiton -not to mention the ease of touch screen interface along with ios compatibility.

So the question is, which one would you prefer? I love everything electronic, but Zeus seems way too complicated to switch around tasks and/or edit courses, since the main idea is to sail sail sail...

Thanks a lot in advance for the replies...

M.

[s/v Jedi]

Even my simple Furuno RD33 repeater displays show lay lines. I don't think it's so new at all.

cheers,
Nick.

[rhunton]

The RD33 is very cool and displays lay lines, but it doesn't correct them for current. That's really important around here. It also doesn't compute time and distance to the laylines. The Zeus does. The Zeus also gives you strip charts for TWS, TWD and a bunch of other values so you can monitor wind oscillations and other things that change over time.

Just got done setting mine up with the 4G radar and I like it very much.

[bobconnie]

Here we go again LOL a bunch more I don't understand !! Boy this site makes me feel OLD LOL Bob and Connie

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

Here we go again LOL a bunch more I don't understand !! Boy this site makes me feel OLD LOL Bob and Connie

Hey Bob, I'm sure you know laylines... if you every sailed upwind to a buoy or something that you wanted to go around... then you have been wandering if you would make it if you tack now or wait another minute. Those are laylines

ciao!
Nick.

[goboatingnow]

Ive sailed with Simrad NSE stuff and played with the Zeus one. Hmm I can't see the advantage of the B&G over the SImrad. I don't believe currently the autopilot control head is available in the Zeus setup.

dave

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Ive sailed with Simrad NSE stuff and played with the Zeus one. Hmm I can't see the advantage of the B&G over the SImrad. I don't believe currently the autopilot control head is available in the Zeus setup.

dave

huh? *any* autopilot will work with the Zeus. The advantages are layed out pretty good above^^^^

The Zeus calculates the course based on your boat's sailing performance, wind and current. If you're motoring to a waypoint there is no advantage. If you're sailing the Zeus is pretty damned cool.

[rgleason]

I am interested in Simrad NSE or B&G Zeus MFD or Lowrange because they offer Navico broadband radar BR24, 3G, 4G (in Simrad, Lowrange or B&G versions) which is lighter (16 lbs), far more energy efficient (18 watts and 2 watts standby) than either Furuno or Raymarine Digital HD RD418D 4KW Radar E92130 (20.5" x 9.7", 21 lbs, 4 kw, 48nm, 40 watts (20watts standby). The Navico Broadband radar has instant on, low and safe RF transmission and excellent target discrimination, including close in, eliminating the dead zone in pulse radars.

The unit is a little thicker (or higher) than the Furuno and Raymarine Radars and almost as the same diameter. I don't understand why Navico doesn't have a 16 mile to 12 mile version that is smaller, just as useful for avoiding fast ferries and boats, etc, and would be very suitable for small sailboat backstay mounts and smaller console powerboats? This unit would probably draw even less and have less windage and cost less.

I also don't understand why Raymarine does not purchase or arrange to use the Simrad, B&G or Lowrange Broadband Radar technology (there is a development kit available and the radar has basically an ethernet connection with power) because the new series of Raymarine e series widescreen displays offer some very nice features! - The answer is, I guess, that they can't swallow their pride and create the best system.

When I talk to the pulse radar guys, I hear things like you need more power to blast through the fog, etc. - I am not so sure about that now with broadband radar available! The Furuno guys seem to get very frustrated and dismissive when I ask about broadband and the differences. - Any experience or thoughts about that? (-Lets discuss this thoughtfully, without passion!)

I am not going to purchase a new MFD + Radar until something suitable is available. Our 18 year old Raytheon Autohelm RL9 Radar draws less than current available radars, is lighter (16lbs) and smaller, and still has 16nm range. I am looking for Broadband radar with 16-12nm, 16" dia x 7" high approx, low power use and the other features of Navico broadband. It would be nice to have the Raymarine series display work with that, but I would settle for Simrad I think. Also if a low power, fast on, smaller pulse radar was available I might go for that, but I am very hesitant to spend so much money on radar and MFD.

I am intrigued by the functions in Zeus but wonder if they are as fully featured as Maxsea's software for example.

By the way, I am very impressed with the features in OpenCPN and finding it to be a very useful tool. It may even have connection to radar soon.

[xymotic]

Well, in the demo video from Lowrance, they deadpan: "100% of collisions occur at close range"

I laughed for a couple days over that.

I think if your concern is hitting stuff, then the 3 or 4 g stuff is AWESOME for all the reasons you cite. If your main concern is weather, than yeah, maybe you need 36 miles.

[rgleason]

Okay, the advantage of seeing weather is a good point, but wouldn't Sirius or whatever be more informative about weather? In our coastal cruising we have found our Motorola Android great for picking up Boston or NY radar and frontal information and advisories, either NoAA or Weatherbug.

I suppose if we were going offshore there'd be more of an interest in radar for weather because perhaps those services (weather) don't go out that far? (I actually don't know the answer but would be interested!!)

[rgleason]

Stopped by Dockside Electronics today and spoke with Tim very briefly about Pulse Radar (Garmin, Raymarine and Furuno) vs Navico Broadband (Simrad, Lowrange & B&G - BR24, 3G and 4G). He prefers pulse radar in the bigger unit size (18"-22") because when the raydome gets smaller they do not work as well. He prefers pulse radar over Navico Broadband because the Broadband radar seems to be sensitive to EMF from other radars and nearby units, such that the advantages of clarity and definition touted by Navico, are lost. He admitted that the broadband is better insofar as the nearby dead zone problem with pulse radars. He did not seem to think the lower power requirements or the instant on, and safety related to EMF emissions was that significant. I am not totally convinced by his thoughts but they sure are worth listening to. He did show a Simrad Broadband display with less definition than a Raymarine. Then he turned the Raymarine off and the Simrad radar display got a little better. I think I need to understand this broadband sensitivity to RF or EMF better before making any move.

So it really puzzles me now, why do I need such a monstrous raydome that weighs so much (21.5" dia, 21 lbs) when my Autohelm gets 16nm which I never use, and is 18" dia, 16 lbs) !