plotter and radar

I've spent a long time contemplating what to do in terms of a plotter and radar... and tonight i've made my decision. I've chewed it over on here before, but have now reached an answer.

I don't want a huge plotter at the helm, although I do want the plotter at the helm!. I do however, also want one that can support a second station at the chart table.

So, a smallish plotter, for pilotage, and with a radar overlay, and networking for a second station.

This left several options, with the lead two being the Lowrance HDS7m Gen 2 and the Raymarine e7

The radar is a bit better on the Lowrance, but the Raymarine a bit cheaper... both of which support a second station on an iPad... an iPad upon which I am typing this blog entry!

However, the decision has been made by three factors... the first two technical.... the Raymarine has the correct networking ports, so wouldn't require an additional mux, and secondly, the Raymarine iPad app supports touchscreen and controls the device remotely, whereas the Lowrance one is a read only repeater...  and the third factor, Raymarine appear to have a special offer on, and the entire package issuddenly  a few hundred quid cheaper than I thought.... bargain... will order via the phone tomorrow.

I have also discovered that the Raymarine will control my iPhone as a music source via bluetooth... so can control any music being played from the helm!