Hello All - I am replacing ancient sailing instruments with the latest and greatest. Raymarine and B&G are both offering wireless displays and transducers.  The displays are solar/lithium powered.  The masthead (wind speed and direction) is also solar/lithium powered. Does anyone have experience with these? Is the wireless connection stable? Are the solar/battery powered displays reliable? I am specifically considering the Raymarine T108 system which seems suitable for my Contest 35. Thanks for any insights! - Bill W

Bill,
We were early adopters and fitted Tacktik (now Raymarine) instruments throughout our boat in 2006. Initially they worked well and interfaced with plotters but they have become more unreliable in recent years and particularly susceptible to interference as other electronics have moved on board.

The mast head wind transducers were prone to filling with water and many replacements were issued under warranty. Even when working,the distance between the top of the mast and cockpit meant that the wind sensor was unreliable. We have just replaced it with a wired version.

The new Seatalk NG Microtet hub has given our legacy instruments a new lease of life and it’s a shame its predecessor was not so reliable.

Battery life is an issue in (the higher latitudes) for the exposed transducers reliant on solar. We added 12v cables to all of the cockpit and nav station displays..

The newer generation seems to be more reliable but going wireless in 2006 was, for us, a mistake.
Simon

+x

 

bweigel2@gmail.com - 5 Feb 2024

Hello All - I am replacing ancient sailing instruments with the latest and greatest. Raymarine and B&G are both offering wireless displays and transducers.  The displays are solar/lithium powered.  The masthead (wind speed and direction) is also solar/lithium powered. Does anyone have experience with these? Is the wireless connection stable? Are the solar/battery powered displays reliable? I am specifically considering the Raymarine T108 system which seems suitable for my Contest 35. Thanks for any insights! - Bill W

Bill,
We have replaced our B&G instruments over the last three years and are using the blue tooth, mast head and auto pilot.
We are very pleased with how it’s been working and would recommend it.
Regards
Anne & Michael

+x

 

Michael & Anne Hartshorn - 13 Feb 2024

Bill,
We have replaced our B&G instruments over the last three years and are using the blue tooth, mast head and auto pilot.
We are very pleased with how it’s been working and would recommend it.
Regards
Anne & Michael

Hi Anne and Michael,
Is that Raymarine that you are using to replace the B&G? Dick

Hi,
Sorry should have said B&G. I know it had the reputation of Broken and Gone, but we have always preferred it to Raymarine. Our first boat had Raymarine and it was a good system , but found the after service to be a bit slow.
Since then our current boat has had B&G and we have had very good service from different agents in different parts of the world.
A&M