Raymarine E120 fix or replace

C

Canada Joe

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My Raymarine E-120 has become glitchy. On the fishfinder/sounder the screen will just freeze and stop scrolling. I frequently get a "no data source" message. I will also get a "No 3D data available for this location" message. In addition, often the gps will not start working for 30-60 minutes after powering up the Raymarine, or it will just stop working enroute.
The GPS startup page says it's in 2006 and it won't update.
The electronics tech I spoke to says the gps will never update now because it's out of spec for the current satellite array. He also says if I upgrade to an Axiom Pro mfd the radar won't work as it's digital mfd now and the radar I've got is an analog one.
Do I need to bite the bullet and spend $10k plus for a new system or is there a fix available?
 
Canada Joe said:
My Raymarine E-120 has become glitchy. On the fishfinder/sounder the screen will just freeze and stop scrolling. I frequently get a "no data source" message. I will also get a "No 3D data available for this location" message. In addition, often the gps will not start working for 30-60 minutes after powering up the Raymarine, or it will just stop working enroute.
The GPS startup page says it's in 2006 and it won't update.
The electronics tech I spoke to says the gps will never update now because it's out of spec for the current satellite array. He also says if I upgrade to an Axiom Pro mfd the radar won't work as it's digital mfd now and the radar I've got is an analog one.
Do I need to bite the bullet and spend $10k plus for a new system or is there a fix available?
Click to expand...
Oh, and btw, I almost never use the radar, but there's a certain peace of mind having it. Detailed nav and bottom charts are a must and I love salmon and ling cod fishing in the PNW, so the very best fish finder is important.
 
None of the manufacturers go out of their way to support really old units.

It's easy for me to spend your money - it's time for an upgrade if you are a serious fisherman. I'm all Garmin. Consider the following:

GPSMAP 1243xsv (includes sounder may use current transducer).
GMR 18/24 Fantom Radar
Add the chart subscription for Garmin Navionics Vision+ NVUS008R US West. This will include shaded relief charts for the region which are amazing.
 
Yes, there are many brands and devices and everyone believes that his brand is the best.
I use Garmin for almost all the last 30 years and have no complaints, they just work and are rather simple to use and have the best customer service.
What devices you buy depend on your budget, and it's as often, you get what you pay for.
If you can afford it then i suggest a Garmin GPSMAP unit instead the less evolved 12/14/15xx series models, particularly if you want to connect two MFD's
If the transducer you have now is same year as your E120 then i would replace it, transducers get weared after many years and you don't want to fork out many thousands and have a not very well working transducer. To suggest a transducer we need more detailed information about your fishing, surface, depth midwater or bottom living fish (cod lives on the bottom i belive, but not sure about Salmon) and what depth you fish.

A radar is a very useful tool for either night or low viz boating, but only if the boater knows how to use it.
if you are sure that you never boat at night and no fog or downpour situations can happen then you can skip it, as you almost never use it.

  • two smaller mfd's are more comfortable to use than one big, you may mix the models as charts don't need high res screens
  • a W (Wide) transducer has a high frequency wide cone for finding pelagic fish but they are not doing very well for bottom fishing as cone diameter is too big
  • transducers are either single band (Low, Medium, high) or dual frequency band (low and high, mid and high)
    You need a high end unit to be able to display contemporary both frequency bands on the same mft
  • Side-Scan is a extremely effective tool to find structure down to about 300ft, the GT51M transducer is still the best
  • transom mount transducers can work very well if installed correctly
  • For having two transducers you need to choose a GPSMAP unit as they have two transducer ports, for a device with only one transducer port you would need a GSD blackbox to connect two transducers or another MFD and connect them with a MarineNet Ethernet cable.
Chris
 
There is the used market option for you as well. Seems the E units come up regularly. Otherwise, as good as Raymarine is about being backwards compatible, you are asking for a lot for 20 year old stuff to work with new.

Cheap answer, find a used E unit and swap.

Medium answer - get a new MFD and forego radar

Expensive answer - redo the entire suite of electronics.

For the expensive answer - if you like Raymarine, stick with it. But if you only have it, cuz that is what boat has, take a look around and see which brands screen logic works best for you. (iphone vs. android) I'll be fair. All brands have similar products/performance at a given price point, it comes down to which OS works for you, and if you can get something on sale.
 
Thank you for the suggestions. My current Raymarine E120 has dual mode transducers as I use 50 and 200 htz views concurrently on the screen beside the chart view for bathymetrics. It is great when it works!
In the Pacific Northwest, BC coast where I fish, my depth range is 30-300 ft. I use downriggers and never go below 300 ft because that's the effective limit of my cables. Plus I rarely see any fish below that. Salmon are usually in that depth range, as are ling cod and halibut. I also use the unit for locating suitable areas for dropping prawn traps so a bottom structure view would be amazing to have. The depth for prawns ranges from 200-400 ft usually.
I'm a huge fan of Garmin equipment as I have used it for many years in my plane, and I'm familiar with the architecture they use, but I'm open to other options.
 
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