Best GPS chartplotter for Fountain
 

I’m looking for the largest and most visible in direct sunlight chartplottet for my 35 Fountain with the low windshield. Any advice or experience would be greatly appreaciated. Thanks

I'm curious to this as well. garmin and simrad seem to be the 2 go too choices. curious the pros/cons in peoples opinion that have already made the decision what way to go.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...7ce7276363.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...40079521e5.jpg
I put the 7607 in mine last summer. I like it so far.
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I have 2 garmins and a simrad on my boat. I love the garmins but the screen on the simrad is much nicer. Not sure if you can tell it in these pictures but the simrad is much more flush fit. The simrad also has a physical knob in addition to the touch screen that is much easier to use while underway. Reason for the different brands is the previous owner had installed the garmins and it already had a Northstar GPS/radar screen where the simrad sits now. The boat also had a simrad Autopilot. The northstar screen was damaged in hurricane Irma and needed to be replaced and guess what. The old radar and autopilot were not nmea 2000 and the northstar screen is NLA. So if If put a garmin screen there, it would not be compatible with the old radar or autopilot. The new simrad would also not be compatible with the old radar but the autopilot steering pump and rudder position sensor could be re-used with a simrad unit. Simrad had a package deal going for all 3 that was cheaper than comparable garmin and the pump and rudder indicator could be re-used so that is the way I went. Also the simraad looks way better being almost flush. The Garmin screens do seem a little more fluid when scrolling or moving the map with your finger. Also Garmins Auto Dim at night. The Simrad brightness has to be MANUALLY ADJUSTED. This is a big miss on simrads part. But hey I don't drive the boat at night unless I have to. Hope this helps.
https://mightytext.net/zrw4VS

Chris

Mounting it 'in dash' or on top of dash?

On top of the dash.

I also have the 742xs I just recently replaced my factory head unit with a newer kenwood replacement hoping the remote would still work. no such luck. and the bluetooth with their app and pandora doesn't work well with the iphone 8 plus. Using my garmin for this and the engine monitor is now my new plan, which head unit did you go with? MS-RA70N? what harness was needed to connect from the head unit to the garmin?

I put the MS-RA70N in our boat - it works great. There are higher end options for the Fusion, but we only needed a Bluetooth connection and N2k compatibility.

Thats the info i needed. My head unit is mounted in the cabin so I never really use it directly. I don't need anything fancy just something that works with what I have. What was needed to get the N2K hooked up?

Just build a simple powered N2k network. Then T's to route a cable to each device.

I started at the head unit, added a T for the 7607, then a T for the Fusion helm remote. It's pretty simple once you get your head around it. I struggled for a couple days during install, as I didn't understand (RTFM) the need for a powered N2k network. That just means you need fused power and ground for the network. Fusion sent me the part numbers I needed for Fusion head unit to 7607 display to NRX300 remote...
T Connector: CAB000581
Power Cable: CAB000541
Drop Cable: 010-11076-00

Shop around for the cables and T's - they are not Garmin/Fusion specific and can be found on Amazon much cheaper.

I bought the UD650 because I thought I would us the internal slot for my I-pod more but we seem to use the Bluetooth link from every ones phone more now. I also use the controls on the Garmin more or my phone app.

Funny one day we got home from dinner and got out of our car. The boat was in front of the house and my wife had left the cabin power on, it all of sudden connected to my phone and started playing ZZ top "A fool for your stockings". At first we didn't know where the music was coming from just thought someone was partying,,,,,,,,,,, didn't know it was our boat.

For the NEMA back bone you will need a power loop and then cables, "T's" and terminators. I got my stuff from:[img]cid:[email protected][/img]
Ron Muller at electronics unlimited. He is on the board here.
3229 S. Andrews Avenue

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

PH# 954-467-2695

[email protected]

www.elec-unlimited.com

The easiest way to start the nmea 2000 network is a starter kit. It's cheaper than the stuff individually and you don't have to make sure you have the correct pieces. if you care about how clean the wiring is, and you don't plan on adding many accessories Actisense has some cool ones that are just a power wire, with a 4 port n2k end.