Raymarine E Series Problems

[rabend]

I have the Raymarine E Series E120 display and RD218 Radar. My first problem occured when my E120 display blanked out due to a "known bad batch" of displays causing the failure when dimming the display. My second problem occured when my battery bank dropped to 11.6 volts and the E120 radar menu became inoperative; so I could not use the radar. My third problem occured when I upgraded my E120 to the version 4.29 operating system and my radar stopped working again. It turned out that the upgrade instructions were wrong in that they did not include a necessary factory reset. I am really becoming disallusioned with Raymarine since the support to resolve my issues has been less than stellar. Has anyone had similar problems?

Bob
rabend@linkline.com

[AnchorageGuy]

All of the time. Just because they have such a large piece of the market it is not an indicator of their quality.

[SurfNRG]

Nope, mine (e80) works great. Only problem I've ever encountered was sporadic on and off on the display as I was making my way around Peanut Island (Palm Beach,FL) on my way out the Inlet at 3 a.m. to do the Gulfstream crossing. I notified the five other boats ahead of me of my chartplotter spazzing out, hence my lagging behind. One of the boats replied that he had encountered the same problem on his identical e80 but it went away as they made it halfway out the Inlet. I kept heading out and then just as described, the unit stayed on continually and found all the satellites. We suspected that maybe something interferred with the unit (perhaps Coast Guard station nearby). The unit worked flawlessly the entire trip and has always been 100% prior and after that one incident (knock on wood). But I don't have radar so can't help you with that. Actually was thinking of installing the Smart Radio AIS unit prior to the trip to see other ships at night but decided to hold off on the expenditure and use the money instead for beer.

[GordMay]

Raymarine Marine Electronics - Support Home

[Vasco]

I'm still on v2 (( think) of the software. It's functioning fine even though last year they said it would not be accurate without updating. I'm afraid to update as I've heard horror stories of what can happen.

[Ram]

I have the e120 with radar and have over a 1000 operating hours on it and it works perfect , I love it! I have also updaded the software no trouble

[AnchorageGuy]

You folks that have had your units for 10 years without issues need to consider that those units are not the same quality as those built by Raymarine today and when the finally die you may not get the same service out of a new system that you had from the old. Yes, lots of the older models are still functioning but the odds are pretty good that the newer units will never have the lifespan of the older ones. We had a 12 year old Raytheon Radar that works flawlessly but it was NOT built by Raymarine.

[Roy M]

I'm happy with my E120 system. I've found the techs, when needed during the initial installation, to be helpful and on the money. Chuck, you seem very angry with them, and have been for some time. Is there something on your mind that you'd like to share?

[AnchorageGuy]

Yes, They have an inferior product and an outstanding market team. As a member of the boating community for 40 years I feel I have a duty to my fellow boaters through my experience to let them know there are better alternatives. Anger has nothing to do with my feelings, instead duty. Our society has fallen for all of this marketing hype and some of us have a need to try and put it right. But that is for another discussion. A better known, widely spread product does not always mean it is the best or even adequate. As I said, I have made a very good income as a result of their quality control.

[Roy M]

How does that explain those of us who are pleased with the product? I've seen several folks here who express positive responses from Raymarine. The fervor of your response sounds like something else is active here. Have they done you harm?

[AnchorageGuy]

Originally Posted by Roy M

How does that explain those of us who are pleased with the product? I've seen several folks here who express positive responses from Raymarine. The fervor of your response sounds like something else is active here. Have they done you harm?

Roy, you do persist so I will respond only one more time to your request. I have made a substantial amount of money servicing and replacing Raymarine products so they have been very good to me as a result of poor quality. You have seen a few responses on a internet forum and I have seen first hand on board hundred of folks boats the result of Raymarines issues. I service Garmin, Furuno, Standard Horizon and most other electronics manufacturers. I try to pass on my personal experience dealing with all of these units over a 35 year period so those that are considering what unit to purchase can get as much information as possible to make an informed decision by gathering more information than the guy on the dock that has only has experience with perhaps one unit, perhaps 10 years old or is just hearsay they gathered from a boating forum. I have experienced more failures from Raymarine equipment over my professional life than all of the others combined and over the last few years it has gotten worse and I can say that the market share has nothing to do with my observations. Fully half of the failures I have experienced have been brand new units right out of the box. AGAIN, I feel that if someone in the community is interested in my personal feedback on my experiences then they deserve it. BTW, Might you be in the mental health field?

[Roy M]

Chuck, I'm a boatbuilder and marine tech, with an eclectic background. As a member of Cruisers Forum for a relatively short time, a couple years, I have read your responses regarding Raymarine, and sensed a certain anger that hadn't been substantiated with specific examples. I, too, have spent some time working with a variety of systems, and haven't developed the same reactions. And, without seeing supporting responses from other readers, I simply thought you had had some bad experience that really bothered you. I operate on the philosophy that technology has flaws. New products come out without being fully tested, service and support can be spotty, and by the time a system becomes a standard, new models are introduced to start the cycle all over again. I swear a few times, then get on with the learning curve. Sure, Raymarine isn't perfect. So what? Furuno has a learning curve that is even steeper. Garmin is the new kid on the block for multifunction displays, so what? We buy what we can afford, what we can understand, we get the accessories that integrate with it as we grow in experience and need. All of these units have to be installed with care, and treated with some respect. And they continue to work. If they didn't, no amount of marketing would compensate for the outcry of frustrated users. I chose the Raymarine E-series because it appeared so easy to integrate all my electronics, which are now considerable. They worked well, partly because I did the installation myself, partly because they obviously worked. I've installed other brands, as well, in my customer's boats. They all seem to work just fine unless there was a bad install or inability to read and understand instructions. Now, along comes the G-series, which is pretty cool. But it's like new cars, new computers, and new boats. They learned from earlier mistakes (generally), added new features, and have their own gremlins that need attention.

I don't mean to impugn your experience, but without corroborating reports from others, and my own lack of abuse by Raymarine, I take what you have to say with a certain degree of salt, listening to it but not necessarily being convinced of it. I regret if you found this disturbing, and I will know better, in the future, to engage with you in matters Raymarine.

[Chief Engineer]

Maybe people want too many bells and whistles and don't rely on the Mark I Mod 0
Eyeball

[Sandero]

I have the C series, similar to the E and find the user interface way to complex. That's my biggest beef. The engineers who design these things don't get it. MFDs are fine but if you put all your eggs in one basket when you drop it you have a mess.

Mine has only crashed a few times probably from me pushing too many buttons without the thing having enough time to execute one command. I do find that it is "slow" and definitely over priced for what you get.

One feature I think needs to be part of plotters is the ability to define and area and have the thing zoom to that area. This can be done with touch screens where you "draw" a marquee or a mouse click and drag type thing. What we have to do instead is to move the cursor and then zoom in out out to present scales which not only takes many steps and time but does not show you EXACTLY what you want to see.

Further the things should "draw" a graphic representation ON the screen of the scale. What does 1/2NM mean on their idiotic zoom levels? Does it mean the the horizontal distance (longitude) displayed is 1/2 mile? Or would that be the vertical (latitude)?

And why not place a labeled GRID over/on the screen (you can toggle it on or off) so you can EASILY see distance displayed? These sorts of things are no brainers except to the idiots who designed the GUI on these plotters. They need to have their heads examined.

Just sayin'.

[shawnbush12]

I have an E120 also without issues.

Chuck, since you are looking for some Mental Health help, I can probably point you in the right direction if Roy cannot...