Garmin Product Comparison

[Semarias Alfna]

Allthree units are solid-state pulse compression radar scanners with doppler object detection. The power output of the units varies from the 20-watt Quantum 2 to the Garmin 18x with 50 watts. The Halo 20+ sits in between with a 25 watt output.

The first several tests were done on the Caloosahatchee River with all three radars set to their harbor presets. These presets tune the radars for short range and close targets. The only parameter I changed from each preset is range. I set all three radar displays to show 1/2 mile range so the scale is the same.

My first screenshots come from a relatively wide section of the Caloosahatchee river with a bridge span crossing the river. The three screenshots above are in alphabetical order, but conveniently, that also happens to be my order of preference. I found in this situation, the Garmin produced the least detail. The Raymarine adds more of the bridge and additional details behind some of the large land masses. Finally, the Simrad produced the most detailed return; it clearly shows a lot of detail behind the land mass ahead of the boat.

I certainly can. I was out during the week to do these captures and post-Ian boat traffic is well down. Getting out this weekend and getting some on-the-water time on a weekend day should give some good opportunities.

Nice article. I think this also highlights the standard approach to turn it on, leave everything in auto and see what you see. As noted, each system is different and could likely do the job. The real gotcha for any user is to practice using the manual features, particularly gain in good weather. Then you will be confident in bad weather.

I would be interested in (1) pics (or short videos) during heavy rain, or close to heavy in the harbor and off-shore and your feeling of the workload using the three radars in conditions heavy rain and in night sailing. Perhaps when you estimate workload you can take estimate at what safe speed you can operate the boat and maintain situational awareness and if that is different for the three radars, or in some other manner judge how well you can maintain situational awareness using features for collision avoidance in a mix of boats with and without AIS. Lastly, if you could comment, on how well the products present radar targets that have an AIS return.

All of this is by way of pointing out that some of the missing detections or enhancements you observed can be caused by radar location on the vessel, sea conditions and effects of the vessel structure on the antenna pattern. If the test boat was rotated a bit or moved longitudinally what is missing may appear and what is detected may disappear. All of this makes your challenge of offering performance comparison a difficult one.

Other comments I could make would be to point out that any radar that you choose must be located as high on the vessel as possible and with the least amount of physical blockage in way of the radar as possible. I have seen many radars mounted in terrible locations with kayaks, dinghies, flybridge structure and even crew sitting locations physically blocking the radar system. ANY impediment to the clear view of the area surrounding the radar will cause loss of detection and odd reflection characteristics that will be hard to understand. If boaters thought of the radar as being a laser beam they would better understand why placing objects in way of the radar is going to prevent the laser beam from ever reaching a target.

One other good way to evaluate radar detections is to use a chart overlay with AIS vessels also plotted. We have seen AIS symbols for a large vessel that does not show a TOW that can be 600ft long that is following a large tug some 1000ft behind. Now only a radar will show you there are TWO vessels to worry about. In the Pacific Northwest we have a lot of commercial traffic that requires respect and planning.

So, as I stated initially you have taken on a huge task. I compliment the level of effort and care in installation and image collection process that is not a simple thing to do! Great effort and article. Looking forward to seeing marine target detection comparisons as these are most valuable from my perspective.

Hi Ben, Great report for a challenging comparison. I guess the guys at Raymarine must have heard what you were going to say about the Doppler colours as my unit offers full colour mode on LightHouse 4 software!

I spent about six hours on the water over the weekend and took over six hundred screenshots trying to capture all the nuances I saw between the units. I did a bunch with doppler on and off, only one radar transmitting at a time, and every other permutation I could think of and test in the conditions I had.

I forgot to offer compliments in my post. Well done. I suspect the doppler coloring and other features of these radars have an effect on reducing the amount of time required to obtain situational awareness of the boats around the user. Potentially one of these radars excels over the others?

In regards to choosing offshore mode, I would be curious why this needs to be a user option. I would think the various automatic noise filters can deduce if a boat is offshore or not, so then I wonder is the option there for some other reason and perhaps it just became clearer to give the control the onshore/offshore designation for some unrelated reason you could share with us?

In advance of my thru-hike later this month of the Kings Canyon High Basin Route, I purchased a DeLorme inReach Explorer and Delorme inReach SE. I bought both so that I could evaluate them in-person before returning one, and I thought I would share my assessment and my buying recommendations.

The inReach will replace my SPOT Gen3 Satellite Messenger (long-term review), which has been a very reliable device but which only offers 1-way communication. With the 2-way inReach, family and friends can send me messages, too. For my wife, Amanda, this was a must-have feature, since I have a history of being gone during the worst of times, including the 2013 Boulder floods and when our fur child had to be taken to the vet ER.

Specs. Physically, the units seem to be exactly the same. Same size, same weight (6.9 oz), same screen, and same buttons. On the inside, some of the hardware (e.g. battery, antenna, memory) is no doubt the same, too. However, the Explorer has some additional features: a digital compass, barometric altimeter, accelerometer, and more memory.

In contrast, the inReach SE is almost strictly a communication device. One exception: it does provide its current location, which can be overlaid on a topographic map with the same grid system, e.g. UTM.

Most definitely, I will be keeping the inReach SE and returning the inReach Explorer. The Explorer fails to offer $80 in extra value as a GPS unit, and these funds would be much better spent on a 2-year GaiaGPS Pro account ($4/month, or $40/year) that allows me to use my smartphone as a kick-ass GPS unit. Alternatively, consider Backcountry Navigator or Trimble Outdoors Navigator Elite.

The inReach Explorer has a pitifully small and low-res screen, relative to the large, bright, and high-res screens on modern smartphones. While the Explorer must be operated with its clunky buttons, a smartphone allows for tapping, pinching, swiping, and rotating.

Furthermore, a GPS app offers a more extensive database of maps and imagery. With Gaia GPS, for example, I can view ariel imagery and USGS 7.5-minute quads, the gold standard for topographic maps in the US.

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Thank you for the evaluation! Perfect timing since I was planning on purchasing one of these units within the next month for my Jedediah Smith Wilderness 5 day solo trip coming up in August. I will be purchasing the unit for the exact same reasons. My wife will be alone in Wyoming and my daughter in Chicago, so this gives us a chance when needed, to communicate.

I was leaning towards the Explorer, because it has the added options of a Digital Compass, Barometric Altimeter, and Accelerometer, and of course the route planning and navigation features that you have pointed out.

Originally I was planning on purchasing the Explorer and keeping my Sunnoto Core watch at home to minimize weight and reduntacy. I do carry a Brunton compass with me so I can still navigate without an electronic issue, so those features in the Explorer become less important in some ways.

At some point, I imagine the next generation Inreach models might evolve to full touch screen interfaces like our smartphones or a small full QWERTY keyboard (think old school Blackberry). That would be a nice upgrade. Plus making it smaller and lighter with longer battery life.

It seems to me that I could either A) cover my emergency-only needs (ACR Resqlink or SPOT Gen3) and then bring a standalone GPS (considering the Garmin Oregon) or B) opt for a DeLorme device (considering the DeLorme inReach 1.5 or the SE), and then turn on my phone as needed to sync the plotted points with a map or provide direction.

My recommendation depends on the hardware that you already own and that you plan to bring with you. Assuming you already own a smartphone and intend to carry it along, I would use that as your GPS. Now you just need a satellite messenger. The SPOT and inReach will both broadcast your points to a privately shared page for your family and friends. The SPOT is smaller and lighter, and less expensive to buy and operate for your time frame. The inReach has 2-way communication, and the Explorer version could be a backup GPS.

I like the Anker PowerCore+ mini, the latest version of which is rated to 3350mAH. In comparison, the battery in my Suunto Ambit2 Peak watch is 480 mAh and my Google Nexus 5 smartphone is 2300 mAh. So with the Anker charger I could recharge the phone once and the battery twice. More powerful Anker charges are available.

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