(Part 2) Best marine electronics according to redditors
We found 187 Reddit comments discussing the best marine electronics. We ranked the 86 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
Depth ONLY - round 2" gauge that goes in the dash with a transducer that mounts on the back of the boat at the water line $119 - and less likely to get stolen compared to a GPS/Fish Finding unit - Cut a hole or reuse an existing gauge slot that's not purposed or ditch a silly one you never look at and throw this in there.
Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/DIGITAL-DEPTH-FINDER-MARINE-GAUGE-HUMMINGBIRD-HDR-650-WATERPROOF-CUSTOMIZABLE/382917708467
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Humminbird-407860-1-Digital-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B00417HG3W/
Alternative - in the same price range would be a dash mount Fish Finder / Lowarance Hook Series of depth + sonar kind of item with a transducer that goes on the rear / bottom of the boat - Ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Freshwater-Fish-Finder-Saltwater-Electric-Boat-Fishing-Depth-Locator-Tracker/123733498253
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lowrance-HOOK2-4X-4-inch-Finder/dp/B077PDL6GR
We brought walkie talkies to Symbiosis last year. We hardly ever ran into people on the same channels. The bigger problem was that the range on them was AWFUL. Partly, Symbiosis was really spread out so you had to be really close to people to hear them. We hardly used them. I didn't buy them though so I don't know which ones they were.
Edit: I think it was these but I'm not sure. I didn't think we had kids ones. My friend bought them. Had I known, I would have probably invested in nicer ones.
Edit2: Walkie Talkies are a great idea since cell reception is very poor at LIB compared to other fests I've been too!
Pretty broad question. I use a Garmin for primary navigation (this one - I have my complaints but I don't think there's a better deal out there; $500 for a 7 inch plotter plus sounder is great), backed up with a phone and navionics as well as noaa charts printed at OfficeMax and plotted with coordinates from my inboard vhf (backed up by a basic handheld that displays coordinates).
There are people without plotters who just use a tablet and that's fine, but I think it's irresponsible to not have backups on multiple power sources, and I think plotting on paper is still good practice.
I've replaced a couple NA Miata radios so I feel like I can comment. Whatever you do, buy the Metra wiring harness for your car. You splice it (using wire nuts) to the wiring coming out of your new head unit, and it plugs into your factory wiring connector. No cutting of your car's wires. It's the proper way to do it and you will be very thankful if you ever replace that radio again.
That out of the way, one thing to remember in a convertible is readability in direct sunlight. Most modern head units have LED displays that completely wash out in bright light. I have my eye on this mechless unit that has an LCD display: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07717WCVN
And finally - fitment. If you have a factory radio right now, chances are the size is not the standard "single DIN" or even standard "double DIN" because...I don't know. But if you buy the above mentioned unit, there will be a gaping hole below it and the size is odd. Moss Miata to the rescue! They sell a little cubby designed to properly fill the hole. It's stupid priced for a plastic box but it is a very specifically sized plastic box. Here's how it looks in my car below my weirdly mounted old head unit.
You should be able to mount your new head unit into the "rack" that your current radio is mounted to. It's fairly straightforward after you get things apart. That unit is lightweight too, so should be simpler to mount.
FINALLY - to get your old unit out you have to remove the center console and then the "tombstone" - which means you have to pop out your two eyeball vents. It's a harrowing thing on old plastic and there have been a few reports of broken trim. I've always been OK but I don't think I'd do it during really cold weather when the plastic is most brittle. To pop my vents I used a bit of paracord with a loop at the end. A bent piece of wire was used to fish the loop out of the opposite side of the vent, then a quick yank and out they pop. There are screws above the vents to remove the trim. You can look this all up online (miata.net).
Hope this helps.
P.S. if you have a power antenna, you likely will lose independent control of it. It will go up when you power up the radio, and go down when you turn it off.
https://www.amazon.com/NOCQUA-Power-Battery-Pack-10-0/dp/B06Y1SS49M/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=nocqua&qid=1563149459&s=gateway&sr=8-1
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Waterproof and lasts 5-6 trips before it runs out of juice so if you forget to charge it.
The easiest way to upgrade would be a plug and play swap into your sound bar.
If you are looking to add more speakers, these are a great option.
I've got a 10" sub bolted to my tailgate with an amp and aftermarket head unit. I'll be adding something like those rockports once the genright cage is done.
RAM Mount RAM-B-111U 6 1/4" X 2" Marine Ram Universal Electronic Mount https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00144COPK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ezaxDb7TTXBX9
I used this. And used screws to secure the Icom mount to that plate. The actual head unit attached to the mount vis magnets so removing it is as simple as pulling on it. They’re strong magnets though so they aren’t going anywhere unless I want it to.
OtterBox Defender Case for... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GQCMK8K?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
^ this is what is used to mount to the RAM bar that is mounted to the seat bolts.
The length of that RAM plate is identical to the magnet Icom plate. Combined, it looks like Icom included it with the setup.
Right that's the speaker rating and it's the max. They probably only push 15W or less RMS.
What I'm saying is the head unit amplifier is only pushing 15W to your new speakers. A new amplifier would really bring out the sound quality by giving them the extra wattage the need to sound excellent!
If you're on a budget something LIKE THIS BOSS would add extra wattage (not a lot).
If you want better quality something LIKE THIS KENWOOD.
Controller HDMI+VGA+DVI+Audio Input LCD... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X9NJ2NR?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (B... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BC7BMHY?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Kinter MA170 12V 2 Channel Mini... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007TUSXEY?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Samsung 128GB 100MB/s (U3)... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XWZWYVP?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
EG STARTS 2x Arcade DIY Kit Parts... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M7R7YW3?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Easyget 4 Pcs/Lot 5V LED... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5Y8E2Z?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
TecUnite LED Maple Garland LED... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A7J1ANA?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Pyle Marine Speakers - 4 Inch 2... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078JF26LF?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Car Interior Lights, CJRSLRB APP... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073DZQRZC?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
LDKCOK USB 3.0 Mount Cable –USB... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076DPQFZB?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
---power supply:
I just ordered one of these 1100/1400 watt (depends if you give it 120v or 240v) Supermicro PWS-1K41P-1R power supplies for $25, hoping I will be able to turn it on when it gets here! What I currently have, and am super happy with, is a 460 watt HP DPS-460EB. Second one down on this page is where I found out how to power it up. These server power supplies have one giant 12v output (there may be -12v or other voltages but at tiny amounts), perfect for car amps.
I had to solder a wire between the first and fourth pads - as shown in the photos and schematic above - so that it would turn on when plugged in. I might put a switch in there, so I left the wire long. Also soldered some 10 guage power wires to it. That's plenty for 500 watts over a few feet or less, according to a voltage drop calculator. It's nearly silent at low power, pulls six watts when idle, and gracefully handles overloads: I didn't try waiting to see if it would come back up on it's own, but when I overloaded mine with a battery tester it simply turned off. I let it cool and it came back up like normal afterward. Super happy with it; I've powered a kenwood amp wired up to make 350 watts, which worked great, and I'm currently running a smaller infinity with better controls as it's plenty for my room. The only hard part is soldering to the big bare copper pads, I think you need a high power soldering iron. Also some of them have loud fans, apparently. This video is where I got started, and including mention of a current-sharing pin which I sadly don't think most of them have, but would let you run multiple PSUs in parallel.
There are lots of people doing this sort of thing to run high power RC battery chargers, as well as amps, fwiw.
---Amp:
The Rockville RXM-T2 apparently does 1200 real RMS watts bridged at 4 ohms. Dynomometer tested here. I spent some time looking through cheap amps that have test resuts, and nothing else I could find is even close at 4ohm, for under $150. The crossover in it may be BS, or low-order, according to reviews, and it doesn't actually handle 2 ohm bridged like its supposed to, which doesn't inspire confidence.
Yeah, here's a Uniden one for 50 bucks.
https://www.amazon.com/Uniden-MHS75-Handheld-Submersible-Marine/dp/B01C73WWU8/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1500851010&sr=1-3&keywords=marine%2Bvhf%2Bradio&th=1
Rockford Fosgate has a few compact digital media receivers that will fit in the slot. From basic ones to fancy ones with a screen. I've played with a few of these and they work well. I've had good luck personally and professionally with RF. Here's one https://www.amazon.com/Rockford-Fosgate-PMX-3-Compact-Receiver/dp/B06Y19L9TM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1549053137&sr=8-3&keywords=rockford+fosgate+marine+radio
Hi, according to this Amazon listing, the dimensions for the JBL-PRV 175 are 7 x 6 x 6 inches (obviously it's a circular cutout but those are the dimensions provided).
These two are some that I found that look like they might fit with little to no change in the hole size:
Rockville RGHR2 - 7.09 x 10.24 x 5.94 in
Clarion GR10BT - 6.8 x 1.9 x 5.5 in
$40 Front component speakers
$42 subwoofer
$130 amplifier
$30 subwoofer box
$35 amp kit
Disconnect the rear speakers, bridge channels 3&4 to the subwoofer. Over budget, but nothing is junk.
If you had to push your budget down further, I would step down to this 4 channel instead. I have had good luck with their amps, personally, but I would be a lot less surprised to find the Rockville shitting the bed a year later vs the pioneer.
Yeah, I'm just a regular schmoe.
This is the weathermeter I bought;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WT29HO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And this is the mount. I've seen numerous methods of mounting the Weatherflow setup on one of these, but heating the ears with a heat gun and simply bending them in a bit to grab it tighter worked great.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017AF2ZK0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Lowrance 000-12641-001 Hook-4X Sonar W/Mid/Hi/DownScan XDCR
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016QVXTS6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
ExpertPower 12V 7 Amp EXP1270 Rechargeable Lead Acid Battery
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003S1RQ2S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Many thanks for the detailed recommendations! I will look into the Motorola T800's.
The Standard Horizon HX210 is what we're currently recommending, as it's water resistant, floats, and is designed/certified for marine use.
Would love to find a marine radio that ran on 18650's or AA's, but it looks like it's something that will have to be 3-D printed.
I actually took it apart and drilled into the bottom plate. I used Ram Mounts (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00144COPK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_sfLCybYH54MG7) that I got from work. We threw them out, still in the packaging... They work great, but probably not feasible if you actually have to buy them.
Gonna go a different route from the other guys. This isn't the exact one I have, but I'd look at Humminbird's Kayak line of fish finders instead of their ICE line or larger boat stuff.
The HELIX 5 looks like a good option at a good price: https://www.amazon.com/Humminbird-410210-1-Helix-Chirp-Finder/dp/B01M2VLBQF - or the NON-GPS Version + the Navionics App (15$ish, IIRC?) on your phone: https://www.amazon.com/Humminbird-410210-1-Helix-Chirp-Finder/dp/B01MCWIC5H?th=1
Just about any sonar you get nowadays will have a digital 'flasher' dial as one of the screen options and I've found it works just as well as a FL8/VX-1. On top of that, you can actually use it in open water because it has a normal 'sonar' just like you'd see on an open water boat.
Truth be told, I've ended up using the open water sonar more often than the flasher dial anyway. It gives you a little bit of 'history' so you can see what types of movements you were doing when you finally triggered that fish to raise up off the bottom and inspect your bait. Typically the open water sonar has a vertical column along the right side of the screen that acts exactly like a flasher would, so I just use that so I get both the flasher aspect as well as the history aspect.
You'll need to get some sort of a 'conversion kit' to make the flasher work properly for ice fishing, but that kit usually includes a carrying bag, mounting platform, etc, just like you'd get with an FL8 or similar, and shouldn't cost more than ~100$.
these because spiders