New Chartplotter?
- Thread starter Gregory S
- Start date
I could not find much that the the plus can do, that the xs is not capable of. But it seems there must be something, or it would not be 200 more. Hopefully someone else more familiar with garmins numbering/lettering scheme will chime in.
Looks like the j1933 is one feature of the plus units, not sure of there are others. “ A single J1939 port is specific to the Plus series and allows for connection to different kinds of engines, including Yamaha engines. and our exclusive OneHelm™ feature for connecting to third-party devices, such as EmpirBus™ digital switching”,
The xs does not have this connectivity, but does have the sonar capabilities built in.
Just to make things more confusing - they sell a 942 xs, a 942 plus, and a 942 xs plus !
If it were me, I’d go with the cheapest one ( 942 xs).
Looks like the j1933 is one feature of the plus units, not sure of there are others. “ A single J1939 port is specific to the Plus series and allows for connection to different kinds of engines, including Yamaha engines. and our exclusive OneHelm™ feature for connecting to third-party devices, such as EmpirBus™ digital switching”,
The xs does not have this connectivity, but does have the sonar capabilities built in.
Just to make things more confusing - they sell a 942 xs, a 942 plus, and a 942 xs plus !
If it were me, I’d go with the cheapest one ( 942 xs).
Thanks Alk, ordered the 942 XS for $874. No sales tax, no shipping. I agree with you, plus my old Crusaders aren't sharing any information with any electronics. One clue to the lower price may be that they have 70 of the XS units in stock and only 5 of the plus units in stock! Looks like they want to move all those XS units. Thanks for your help. Happy New Year.
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2001
- RO Number
- 3854
- Messages
- 1,350
Use a cheap high school plastic protractor to approximate the angle of your hull's rise--IF that is where you intend to mount it through the hull. They also make fairing blocks (if that is the correct nomenclature) to correct the angle. Most use a transom mount that is adjustable.
Ton of choices these days on transducers - still trying to figure out what I want for the 742.
Remind me, does the 942 have the side view sonar, or only one or both of the straight options ( clearview & chirp ) ?
If it’s side view you want, your only choices are to use either the 0 degree on a flat position on the hull, or buy two angled transducers, with one on each side, or I suppose only view off one side at a time, if you have only have one angled. Or are you just looking for depth? Shame if you are, these sonar units are pretty sharp, and with the xs you don’t need anything beyond the transducer to get near camera quality view under your hull - take a look at some of the youtube videos.
You going with in-hull, or thru- hull? I never thought these were named very well, as the in-hull transducer shoots its beam through the hull, and the through hull transducer is placed into the hull after drilling the hole
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WHat Steve said with regard to angle - needs to be pointing straight down, so it depends on hull deadrise at the mounting point.
Remind me, does the 942 have the side view sonar, or only one or both of the straight options ( clearview & chirp ) ?
If it’s side view you want, your only choices are to use either the 0 degree on a flat position on the hull, or buy two angled transducers, with one on each side, or I suppose only view off one side at a time, if you have only have one angled. Or are you just looking for depth? Shame if you are, these sonar units are pretty sharp, and with the xs you don’t need anything beyond the transducer to get near camera quality view under your hull - take a look at some of the youtube videos.
You going with in-hull, or thru- hull? I never thought these were named very well, as the in-hull transducer shoots its beam through the hull, and the through hull transducer is placed into the hull after drilling the hole
. WHat Steve said with regard to angle - needs to be pointing straight down, so it depends on hull deadrise at the mounting point.
If it’s just depth you are looking for, I’m curious if you plan to drill a hole, and use a thru-hull, or instead use a shoot through? I’m leaning towards a shoot thru for the 742 I plan to put on my bowrider - but can’t remember if my bottom is cored or not - and they don’t work with cored glass, if I recall.
That's my understanding about cored hulls too. My plan is to pull the old speed paddle wheel transducer and replace with a new depth/ temp transducer, through hull. I'll keep my old depth sounder in place and have some redundancy.
Also, my old transducer is 2 inches are are new ones so don't have to modify the hull opening. And, the new 9" screen/unit is the same overall size as my old 7 inch plotter.
Also, my old transducer is 2 inches are are new ones so don't have to modify the hull opening. And, the new 9" screen/unit is the same overall size as my old 7 inch plotter.
I think most smart phones today have an app that allows one to measure distances and level and angles from level very simply. If not you can download any of the free apps that do that.
On my iPhoneX , included is an app just called "Measure" . Open that and down at the lower right I click on "Level" to measure angles, which makes calculating deadrise angle a snap just by holding the phone side edge to the hull, keel to chine wherever you plan to put your T/H T/D.
I'll suggest the flush Airmar B175 HW CHIRP sonar/temp may be a good T/D to consider.
Mine ( 20* angle version) was installed in place of the previous B744V and fairing which it sounds like you may have now. But the hole diameter of the B175 HW is a bit greater at 3 3/4" in fiberglass.
It's not a scanning T/D but it does provide temp.
https://www.airmar.com/productdescr...MIjeiY2p6Z7gIVidzICh3j_wIsEAAYAyAAEgJujvD_BwE
But the lower power non-CHIRP B60 50 & 200kHz sonar depth /temp tilted element flush T/H T/D is a lot cheaper, and requires a 2 3/8" dia. hole.
https://airmar.com/productdescription.html?id=13
Thanks Sandy. I'm seeing that you shouldn't mount a chirp transducer in the engine room as could overheat the transducer and damage it? Also, not sure I understand what boat length has to do with choice of a through hull transducer? Many of the Airmar transducers say boat length to 25 feet?
Update. Installed the Garmin 942 XS along with a 20 degree tilt thru hull transducer. I removed the old paddle wheel speed transducer and used the same hole to mount the new transducer. Very pleased with the 942 XS. It has great features like auto guidance. I love the touch screen. The sonar functions well and gives me depth, water temp and a clear view of the bottom even on plane. The included charts are awesome,and easy to read.
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2000
- RO Number
- 36
- Messages
- 6,464
I look for compatibility with other devices so I can plan routes. Garmin enabled that so I could upload from the laptop to the Garmin. The problem is can you use Garmin charts on the laptop. When I used a handheld, I could plug it into the laptop and see all of the charts. I am not sure that is an easy option with a larger device.
