Garmin Weather Module - Useful?

[dekedekay]

I am trying to get some idea of whether the Garmin GLD 30/30A Weather Receiver is worthwile to have - I would be using it with a GPSMAP 3010 and cruising in the Puget Sound/San Juan Islands - Does anyone out there have any direct experience with this system? Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Garmin Weather Module - Useful?

I read about this new service a few months ago. There are a couple different manf working on units. At the time I read about it I was thinking its target application would be vessels venturing way offshore. It wasn’t clear to me how far offshore they will receive. Don’t know the xm sat’s footprint.<br /><br />I remember something about plans for real-time weather map updating. Should be fun to overlay on your chartplotter...you can monitor the progress of an incoming hurricane to see if you have any hope of outrunning it.

 

[rabrooksjr]

Re: Garmin Weather Module - Useful?

A neighbor purcchased a new 22' center consul in the Bahamas last month and had the Garmin weather link installed. He and a friend brough the boat across the gulf stream, across florida to the gulf of mexico then up to Alligator Point in the nothern gulf. They had nothing but praise for the service, they especally liked the ability to "look ahead" to see the current and forcast wind, waves, and storms.I belive its the next best thing.

 

[ThomWV]

Re: Garmin Weather Module - Useful?

I don't know because I haven't seen one but to be absolutly honest about it I think that it would prove to be a wortless expense for the vast majority of boaters. Its never going to catch summer storms, which can form, storm, and disapate, in 20 minutes and the rest of the weather world moves at a slow enough rate that for almost anyone a glance at the Weather Channel the night before will give you all the information you need. This is just my opnion of course, the things might turn out to be the best thing since canned beer - but I doubt it.<br /><br />Thom

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Garmin Weather Module - Useful?

Got something to update to this thread…<br /><br />The new issue of Powerboat Reports (Jan 2005) compares the Garmin GDL 30/30A with Furuno’s black box/Fax 30. Bottom line, forget the Furuno. (Wow!) Furuno has a history of substandard networking results, and it continued to be so during PBR’s evaluation of these products. Nonetheless, with a little help from Furuno and bring a required laptop onboard for software updating, they were able to get the Furuno unit working. The Garmin was functional within 2-mins of installation. On the downside, the Garmin relies on an XM satellite radio signal for the weather info. That means a $50 setup fee, and the monthly fees vary, starting at $30/month. Furuno relies on free land based radio signals from NOAA so it has no associated fees. Garmin has excellent signal reception but has a limited range offshore. PBR says 200 miles, but I am told by other sources the range only extends about 50 miles off shore (west coast), at most. The Furuno unit has good radio reception that extends well beyond 200 miles offshore. A spokesperson for Furuno suggested a comparison of these two units was a little like apples and oranges; a better comparison would be between the Furuno and other offshore satellite weather services. Humm, could it be Furuno should also have mentioned ‘sour grapes’ ???<br /><br />Yes, the Garnim will overlay virual realtime weather maps with a chartplotter so you can see if you do have any hope of outrunning an incoming hurricane. The Garmin critter is quick, clean, easy, lots of weather data (even displays lightening strikes!), limited range (50-200 miles?), not cheap, and then monthly fees that are not cheap.<br /><br />From the January 2004 issue of Powerboat Reports:<br /><br />Conclusions <br /><br />Comparing the speed of data reception between the Garmin and Furuno is like comparing a telephone modem to a DSL or cable modem. Once you see the speed on the Garmin you’ll never want to change back to a slower system. The Garmin also displays information not available on the Furuno system including virtually real-time radar, lightning strikes, and storm cell movement. All of this data is displayed in color in a chart overlay. This type of up-to-date, user-friendly, weather information can be critical to the safety of the coastal boater when an approaching front is bearing down on you.