Any radar specific feature gaps between Openplotter and B&G MFD?

[hlev00]

I have a Raymarine Pathfinder RL70RCplus with radar on our 42' sailboat. This is adequate but obviously a bit long in the tooth at this point. The RL70 is at the helm and I have a repeater at our nav station that can display and control the radar. I have an iPad that i use Navionics to supplement. I'd like to move to a Halo Radar, but between being interested in Openplotter and trying to avoid laying out the full upgrade cost now or ever if I can avoid it, I was thinking of going with the Halo and Openplotter on a laptop or iPad, and everything in between to connect it all up. I am wondering what sort of radar functionality I might be foregoing to use Openplotter instead of a B&G MFD (likely zeus3).

What do people do for firmware updates to the radar? B & G says use the MFD. Does the Openplotter plugin support firmware updates to the radar?

I gather that when trying to troubleshoot, one step seems to be "plug it into an MFD to see if there is a problem in the radar". Are there other support issues that people run into, like the vendor saying that it has to be plugged into one of their MFDs for service and support?

Beyond those basics I am also wondering if there are radar features that won't be available over Openplotter that are in the B & G MFD radar control. If you have encountered gaps with other vendor radar gear that will be useful too.

Sorry if this is a lot in one go.

Thanks,
Harry

[Hakan]

Harry..
- Openplotter: This is a wonderful package including OpenCPN, a Signal K server and much more. All primarily meant for Linux and Raspberry Pi.

- iPad does not support OpenCPN. (Due to its rules about open GNU licensing.) Android phones and tablets are supported.

- Radar_pi is a plugin to OpenCPN handling some broadband radar scanners including Navico Halo types. But the plugin radar_pi is not supported by Androids, so you've to stick to a laptop or RPi. See more here: https://github.com/opencpn-radar-pi/radar_pi/wiki

- Navico radars are sold with Lowrance, Simrad and B&G labels.

- To update firmware and other similar functions for Navico radars you do need a MFD, correct. The plugin radar_pi can't handle these functions.

- There are normally not more functions in radar_pi than what's available on the MFD. But radar_pi has it's own (M)ARPA function independent of connected radar scanner type. For the Halo types radar_pi can now also mark a doppler identified target as an approaching ARPA target.

Read more in the other Radar threads on this forum.