Simrad have today announced their latest broadband radar offering. Called the 3G it is a true broadband radar which is sure to be a hit with many cruisers who are looking for an affordable easy to read radar that can integrate with other electronics. The screen shot above shows the 3G on the left with the older BR24 on the right, which in itself was very good. You can click the picture to make it bigger but even here you can see that the 3G has better detail than the older unit and best of all it is also cheaper and is planned to sell for $1700 when it starts shipping in June. I have had the chance to play with some broadband radars this past year and although it is hard to tell here they truly are remarkable, all the more so when you think that only a few years ago radars used huge amounts of power, had a limited range, took at least 10 minutes to warm up before they would transmit, only displayed in monochrome and cost a fortune. Now with these new sets they are becoming available at a price point that makes them attractive to almost everyone and I am seriously thinking of installing one on my new 22 foot center console that I am building. Drawing only 19 watts when transmitting and 2 watts when on standby with an instant power up this new unit is sure to be a big hit with a ton of boaters.
Louis Chemi, COO of Navico Americas had this to say. “We upgraded our award-winning Broadband Radar technology – which already offers best-in-class safety, convenience and short-range capability – and expanded its performance features for even more powerful on-the-water awareness. When released, Broadband 3G will be the most revolutionary radar system available, and we’re offering it at an affordable price point to make it accessible for all boaters.”

Above is an image of the radar overlay on a Simrad chart plotter, the red bits are the echos and as you can see they conform perfectly to the outline of the coastline and the other picture is of the radome itself which is very compact and could easily be mounted on a sailboat mast or on a tee top and hardly be noticed.
Recent Comments