Thunder Cat

I am looking at installing all new electronics. Currently there are two 8" garmin MFD's. I am wanting to go all Furuno with the TZ Touch3 MFD. I could fit one 16" or two of the 9" displays. I will be adding a 4ft open array radar and debating between going with the 12Kw or 25kw and between the NXT or X series. The main use for the radar is finding birds so leaning towards the 25Kw X series but the NXT has some nice features. I also want to add a 3K transducer R599LM and use the DI-FF Amp. May add the DFF-3D down the road also for sonar. Also heard that the satellite compass is a good addition. Anything I am missing?

So are there any advantages or disadvantages that come to mind with a single 16" display vs two 9" displays? Can you run the transducer and the sonar on one display at the same time or do you need two? Running the 16" in split screen is probably about the same size as two 9' screens. I like the Idea of one large screen when looking at a single display but can see some value in two displays if for just back up alone if one went out.
Any feedback from you guys using these is very much welcome.

Thanks

Ironworker

The 12" and 16" are dual channel sounders and 9" is a single channel unit. Its primarily designed as a secondary unit for one of the larger units.

Nicky m

Just did 2 tz3 12 inch , AP, when the shrink wrap comes off open array , 1kw chirp , and scx20 compass goes in. This is my winter project so far.
All pieces were purchased through Semperfifishing , great deals

andosan

Sat compass is almost a must have. Highly accurate GPS, far better heading data than a rate compass, and the heave compensation is a game changer especially if you’re deep fishing with the big transducer.

Autopilot? The 711C is great, haven’t used the new 300 series model.

I have the 12kW X series radar with 4’ antenna. In reasonable conditions I can track individual birds from more than half a mile away.

Thunder Cat

Iron Worker, Did not realize that the 9" was only one channel..good to know. Thank you.
Nicky, Nice looking helm. what open array are you putting in? I was going to contact SemperfiFishing and the other electronics guys on here that support THT.
andosan, Was looking for better than 1/2 mile. Would like to track a frigate birds in the keys further out than that. How far can you see flocks or large single birds like a frigate? Was also considering a auto pilot but may install the optimus electronic steering in the future so want to wait on that. Sounds like the satellite compass is a must do.

Nicky m

I’m doing DRS6ANXT / 4 foot antenna , and B275LHW ducer. I also did an Icom command mic, with an 8 foot galaxy antenna

MegaMartin

What kind of fishing do you do, then you can select the correct devices. I would recommend giving Furuno a call the Florida sales person is Braden and he was a real nice guy. I spoke with him several times before selecting my package. PM me and I will give you his number. I was back and forth over the radar, I ended up with the 12kw x-class. The solid state was great but I don’t think the results warranted the price differential for my application chasing birds. As mentioned earlier the auto pilot with sat compass is a must do or at least certainly worth investigating. Most of my electronics will be concealed in an electronics box, so I added a remote to interact with the MFDs.

In addition I’m going to try and set up a connect between my phone and MDF as well as my phone and stereo so I’m able to stream tv/movies to my console while playing the sound through the stereo. Normally I wouldn’t care about tv but the kids like it and it will be pretty handy at the sand bar or in the islands at the marina. It’s inexpensive so why not.

jasonphilbrook

what to get for a transducer depends on how deep you fish.... Fishing >600 feet you would do well with the 3kw transducer... 1kw and not super deep you get a wider beam and see more stuff with a less powerful transducer because it sends things out in a wider pattern. If you are <600ft, the DFF3D is the thing to get..No comparison.

andosan

It may well do better than half a mile, and I’d say it will do much better at picking up flocks. We don’t really chase birds here and it’s rarely calm enough for bird mode to be useful anyway.

Ironworker

Another consideration is WHAT kind of boat and WHERE the electronics will be located. The DIFF amp absolutely must be located in a dry spot.

Nomans

If you really want to get the best bird finding performance from your radar, being able to display it full screen on a 16" MFD is important. The same is true of the DFF-3D if you are using the bottom mapping mode. There is a long discussion on the Furuno user forum discussing the merits of the solid state NXT open arrays versus the magnetron radars.

I had a 12kW Furuno magnetron radar with a 4' antenna in the past and now I have a solid state DRS25A-NXT with a 6' array. I debated getting a 25kW magnetron because of the importance to me of finding birds. but took a chance on the new high power solid state unit. It works great and I have no regrets. I can spot single larger birds and flocks out 4-6 miles and more if it is not too rough. The 6' array does help with birds so it's not quite apples to apples. I would say the open array NXT is better for navigation than the magnetron and it's nice not worrying about frying my crew's eyeballs (and the other balls too) when they go to the bow if the radar is running.

Thunder Cat

Thanks Nomans. Leaning to the single 16" display now. I will check out the furuno forum. How big of a difference are you seeing with the 25kw NXT 6' vs the 12kw x series 4'? I may not have room for a 6' so probably will need to go with a 4' but debating x vs nxt and power. finding birds is first priority for the radar and navigation second.
I have a World Cat 290 express cabin.

kimbrey54

I have a single 16" TZT3 plus for the engine gauges there is a Volvo 9" Glass cockpit display which is basically a 9" Garmin. The screen has full plotter capabilities. To put it bluntly it's too small to be used as a plotter.

Thunder Cat

thanks kimbrey. How do you like the 16"tztouch3? Does
a single 16" meet your needs?

Nomans

[QUOT.E=Thunder Cat;14460499]Thanks Nomans. Leaning to the single 16" display now. I will check out the furuno forum. How big of a difference are you seeing with the 25kw NXT 6' vs the 12kw x series 4'? I may not have room for a 6' so probably will need to go with a 4' but debating x vs nxt and power. finding birds is first priority for the radar and navigation second.
I have a World Cat 290 express cabin.[/QUOTE]

It's been a few years since I had the 12kW Furuno so it's hard for me to really make a fine comparison. However, I will say that using the DRS25A-NXT, I don't have any sense of missing anything or being less able to see birds. Generally it does a great job on very small targets, better than the 12kW magnetron. I can easily see small lobster pot floats over a mile away if it is not rough as well as small boats with very little radar profile such as kayaks and the guys with the 18' c. enter consoles who. don't slow down in fog.

If you get the solid state NXT, I think given the importance to you of finding birds, I would definitely go with the 200W DRS25A-NXT and not the 100W DRS12A-NXT. With a magnetron, I think the DRS12AX would be okay and you would gain very little with the 25kW because of the relatively low antenna mounting height on the hardtop of your World Cat.

danmanswag

I put in the TZT16 a few months ago and have been very happy with it so far. It's paired with a B175M and also an SCX20. The radar and autopilot are next. Due to the season, I haven't been very deep to test its deep water performance...but so far snapper fishing and drifting in anywhere from 55' to 150', the B175M and the TZT16F have been great. The detail I see on the screen is absolutely fantastic and very happy with the decision.

Regarding the radar, I've also been debating which direction to go. I'm pretty sure I'll be going with a 12kw X with 4' array. My focus will mainly be birds in SFL, Keys and when making Bahamas runs. I believe for these applications, the magnetron would suit me better than the NXT radar. I have not ruled out a 25kw but price will also be part of the determining factor....no less than 12kw for bird finding purposes.

Thunder Cat

Nomans - Thank you for the input. And good point about the radar height. It will be maybe 10ft high. So narrowing down to the 12Kw X with 4' or 25Kw NXT with 4'.

Danmanswag - Glad to hear you are happy with the TZ16". I also fish the Keys and East coast of Florida. Sounds like we are in the same mindset with radar choice but ya price may be the deciding factor.

kimbrey54

So far I think it's ok but we're in the winter doldrums here in the NW with not much to do in the way of fishing so not much use yet other than a couple of sea trials with the new boat. Seems like an easy system to use. Electronics were installed in December. It's a fairly simple system now with the single screen, scx20, NavPilot 300 and the NXT dome. I think the scx20 is a home run by Furuno for the sport boat market. The NavPilot 300 comes with a remote which is why I went with that model. I'm using the B275LHW which is starting to be the ducer of choice for the albacore fishery up here. Eventually I think I'd like to put the dff3d on which is kind of like or a toned down version of the WASSP units I used commercially. Gotta figure how to install the ducer and still get the boat on the trailer though. Also I'm hoping with Furuno's next update we'll get the ability to read some of the better mapping cards out there. The cmap data that I'm using is actually very good but I want to be able to read some of the good relief shading stuff that some of the other manufactures have now which looks like multibeam data. CMOR doesn't have any coverage in the NW. Anyway I'm happy so far.

Nomans

Well you do save about $3,000 with the DRS12AX magnetron over the DRS25A-NXT solid state so that is something to factor in. I went from my old Furuno DRS12A (predecessor to AX model) 4' array to a 25kW Garmin xHD2 6' array on my new boat four years ago. The 12kW Furuno was vastly better at finding birds at ranges over 2-3 miles despite the higher power and bigger antenna on the Garmin. That's a big factor in why I swapped the Garmin hardware for the new Furuno system I installed last May.

Based on several years with the 12kW Furuno, I think you can't really go wrong as it was an excellent bird finding radar. As I mentioned earlier, there are some advantages overall with the DRS25A-NXT but I think you will be quite pleased with the 12kW DRS12AX too if you go that way. Be sure you get an SCX-20, its a killer product.

mattology

I went with TZT12F , DFF3D, BBWX4, SCX20, and FM4800. I will be adding the DRS4DNXT this year...