Raymarine in the News Again

[Roy M]

Here's something some folks "in the biz" just forwarded to me regarding the viability of Raymarine:

http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20091020152519ibinews.html

[Stillraining]

sure that's the right link?

[Roy M]

Yup! I just clicked on it to check: International Boating Industry News. The info was sent to me from a contact at Port Supply because I am a Raymarine installer and technician.

[Stillraining]

OK...I had to copy and paste your link to get to the right page..other wise it just took me to cox advertising page.


Well all I can say is maybe they should have paid more attention to customers complaints and customer service?...This does not surprise me in the least quit frankly.

[FrankZ]

FYI: I fixed the link.

[Roy M]

Thank you FrankZ! Now, if only Garmin would develop a line of autopilots to go with the rest of their gear, I could make a smooth transition. For the moment, I'm recommending the Raymarine drives and control modules with the Garmin ensembles.

[FrankZ]

After buying Bellesa I did an outfit of Garmin stuff with the Raymarine autopilot cause Garmin didn't have anything that would work for me. Employee pricing on Garmin is a nice incentive.

[barnakiel]

I liked the old stuff from Garmin and few newer things (the new 620 and 640 are on my list). The company went towards big pricey units but note nil new simple units (like say 72) since when?

Good for the company but not for the little guy in the field.

b.

[blubaju]

That explains why I do not receive any answer from Raymarine asking the customer service where to have my new and never used unit repaired. Sitting in the Philippines (no dealer/service here) and having the E-Series backlight problem (the embedded computer is fine, even the display is there, but no backlight) I asked them what to do, found many complaints about this fault o the Internet, but no other solution than to send it in, easy if one is located in US, AUS or EU. But Raymaarine, no answer in 10 days.

[s/v Jedi]

And now I'd like to hear from all those forum members who insisted that Raymarine was a top choice, regardless of so many warning to buy Furuno, Garmin etc. It's a shame and a waste of money that cruisers only now will start believing that... when Raymarine goes belly up. A bit late isn't it?

cheers,
Nick.

[Roy M]

blubaju: What, exactly, do you mean by "no backlight"? Do you mean you have a black screen during daylight hours? If so, that is a common mistake made by an operator who inadvertently taps the "palette" key after the screen boots up. The day/night button will magically bring the screen up to view. It drives newbies nuts, but you will eventually learn the ropes. See page 19 of the reference manual. Good luck! The E-series is really cooll, once you get past the rigorous initiation hazing.

[Roy M]

Jedi, don't be a bitter old man. That Raymarine is going out of business is because of stupid management. They obviously have some very good products or they wouldn't have gotten as far as they did. This will be evident when the other companies fight for its patents. Every company has its individual oddities and limits, especially your beloved Furuno. The gear that is out there will still be in service for a decade and providing value. New gear, and new companies are constantly coming forward. Old companies either stay abreast of the wave or fall back. No one stays on top for long. Raymarine has it problems, so does Garmin, Furuno, Humminbird, etc., etc. We pays our money and takes our chances. My customers are not suffering for having purchased Raymarine, but if they could purchase next Tuesday, what do you recommend they buy?

[blubaju]

Originally Posted by Roy M

blubaju: What, exactly, do you mean by "no backlight"? Do you mean you have a black screen during daylight hours? If so, that is a common mistake made by an operator who inadvertently taps the "palette" key after the screen boots up. The day/night button will magically bring the screen up to view. It drives newbies nuts, but you will eventually learn the ropes. See page 19 of the reference manual. Good luck! The E-series is really cooll, once you get past the rigorous initiation hazing.

Sorry, not everyone can be God of knowledge like you, I am still trying to learn, I am only using Raymarine/Raytheon/Autohelm since about 1995. This unit though was purchased late 2007.

Btw. I have not the slightest idea what the CF card has to do with the backlight because page 19, the one you referred, is about CF, at least in my manusl (81244_4/March 2006)

Surprisingly I did find a way to adjust the backlight and it did work for 2 years and as I wrote: It is not there any more, not in day setting and not in night setting, though night setting the monitor is darker, like a violet shim over everything. On daysetting you see the PC works fine, I asume you know for sure this is an embedded linux PC, with a flashlight or bright sunlight you could actually work with it, only it is very tiresome as the display was not designed for top light vision.

Unlike some guys flaming at people they do not know I usually try to stay technical, so back to the backlight, there are two, one at the display and another at the keyboard (not the remote, the built-in keys at the display, they are green). Now when adjusting from left to right the green diodes go from faint to bright until the indicator bar reaches approx. 1/2" to the right end, then the light goes back until off at the far right position. There is no change on the lcd-display. Turning the knob very fast left/right for a dozen times, sometimes there is a light flash from the right side.

The linux PC is most likely some industry standard, the keyboard though some homebrew from Raymarine, either not perfect design or a batch of not the best electronic parts. Only, Raymarine service does not answer at all and after reading the attachment, I am scared to send the unit to them from the Philippines. Maybe some reader has a technical hint or knows where to get/buy a diagram
-----------------------------
Raymarine's troubles continue
By IBI Magazine
Raymarine's troubles don't appear to be easing. In the wake of its latest trading statement, shares fell to an all-time low of 7.5p on Friday after the company admitted it was unable to meet its debt covenants.

Stockbroker Panmure Gordon also stopped research coverage of the stock. "Due to the company's uncertain future and the failure of a trade buyer to emerge during the summer, we have decided to cease research coverage in this stock," says Panmure.

Yesterday Raymarine told the market that it could not meet certain financial covenants and it reported a 23 per cent drop in sales in the first 10 months of 2009. Other brokers have Raymarine as a 'sell' stock. "There is unlikely to be much left in the way of value for shareholders, even if the company does get taken over," says Seymour Pierce. Earlier this year Raymarine was talking with Garmin as a possible buyer but no deal came of it.

Raymarine developed a strong leadership in manufacturing and supplying navigation systems, which was fine while the market was strong. The downturn and the company's heavy indebtedness of some £91.6m at the end of October have seen its fortunes reversed. It is now in desperate need of a buyer and without one it may well face collapse.

(20 November 2009)

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Roy M

Jedi, don't be a bitter old man. That Raymarine is going out of business is because of stupid management. They obviously have some very good products or they wouldn't have gotten as far as they did. This will be evident when the other companies fight for its patents. Every company has its individual oddities and limits, especially your beloved Furuno. The gear that is out there will still be in service for a decade and providing value. New gear, and new companies are constantly coming forward. Old companies either stay abreast of the wave or fall back. No one stays on top for long. Raymarine has it problems, so does Garmin, Furuno, Humminbird, etc., etc. We pays our money and takes our chances. My customers are not suffering for having purchased Raymarine, but if they could purchase next Tuesday, what do you recommend they buy?

Roy,

I'm not bitter at all, I'm relieved!

You sure know that Raymarine isn't a company like Garmin or Furuno: it's was a split off Raytheon and the great product they had was the radar which was (and probably still is) a Raytheon patent. That split was the moment that quality was let go and replaced with just marketing.

Also, Raymarine has that "worst customer service rating" for as long as I remember. It was never good. Furuno has been at the top of service ratings for ever. Ray also had some really bad products on the market like that RN300 GPS and all the GPS sensor products from that era.

They tried to sell Raymarine to Garmin but Garmin said thanks but no thanks. Not really a fight for patents, they all have their own stuff now. And although I don't follow the stock markets, I'm sure that Garmin nor Furuno are going belly up any time soon because of their professional customer base.

cheers,
Nick.

[Roy M]

And about the autopilots? Sorry if I mischaracterized you, but it sure sounds like things are black and white in your reality. In mine, Raymarine gear has worked well for my needs, and for those of many others. We are either totally misguided, or there must be some value in these products. Raymarine is not a good company for customer support, as compared to Garmin. But, they still have guided me, eventually, to successful resolution of difficulties. The tech guys probably feel defensive about the output of the engineering and marketing types. Life's tough. At least some of us have useful gear that meets our needs and didn't cost us as much as other options for the same objective. And, Raymarine, despite its tendencies toward All-Raymarine, All-the-time, system of networking and proprietary connectors, does have a complete, integrated electronics package that includes everything from AIS to autopilots, all plug and play. The other guys are still working on that. Lighten up, folks. Nobody here is a god. And Raymarine gear is going to remain on a lot of boats for some time to come, so it ought to be considered by some as a viable option. If not, any of you want to sell me your tired old E120 display for my second nav station? I'd expect it to be dirt cheap, you understand, because it's so useless and archaic.

P.S., Blubaju: Check out the online reference materials for your E-series at Raymarine Marine Electronics - Welcome. The manuals, as well as the software, need occasional tweaking. Your manual must be, as you noted, from 2006 or earlier. The current version online is January 2008, and the software just got revised, as well. Then again, maybe you got a lemon. Stuff happens.