Raymarine L770DRC User Manual download pdf (Page 3)

14 Powerboat Reports • October 2003

they lack networking capabilities.

Both integrated and networked sys-

tems use the same set of buttons, cur-

sor pads, and dedicated entry keys.

So if you went to look at a Raymarine

seven-inch LCD screen, they’d all look

identical—no matter if it was an SL70,

RL70, or RC530. The same applies to

Furuno; all sevens look the same and

so do Furuno 10s. The only difference

you’d notice from one unit to the next

is the differing model number.

We checked out ten-inch LCD

screens one morning at Plantation

Boat Mart in Tavernier, FL, courtesy

of owner Elias Delatorre. He had a pair

of Hydra-Sports 3300 center consoles

for us to examine, one with Raymarine

equipment and the other with Furuno.

We jumped back and forth between

boats several times to verify display

brightness and control, analyze day-

light viewability, and look at various

split-screen functions. We also oper-

ated all the pushbuttons, cursor pads

and track balls.

In addition to our hands-on exams,

we compiled additional data by con-

tacting both Furuno and Raymarine.

Because the boats we looked at were

in a marina, we did not test the radar,

nor did we do any extensive testing

of Raymarine’s Raychart; it did not

have a map card installed during our

inspection. (The unit had just been

installed on the boat the day prior.)

Sounder testing consisted of turning

each unit on and seeing that it worked

by displaying the bottom. Our main

emphasis in this article was to look at

user interface and display quality of

the Furuno and Raymarine 10-inch

LCD screens.

What We Found

On the day of our inspection, skies

were overcast, but the thick clouds

quickly burned off to sunny skies, af-

fording us an opportunity to view both

screens under varying daylight con-

ditions. We also viewed them from

extreme angles, both with and with-

out polarized sunglasses. Overall day

viewability of both the Furuno and

Raymarine 10-inch screens was ex-

cellent. Both do darken somewhat

when viewed at angles or while wear-

ing polarized sunglasses. We rate them

equal.

Screen layout differs between the

machines. Furuno chose a landscape

layout while Raymarine went with

portrait. Picking one or the other is a

personal preference. When display-

ing a pair of windows the Furuno splits

the screen in half vertically while the

Raymarine splits the screen horizon-

tally. The Furuno is further capable

of splitting one of the windows again,

creating three viewable panes with

data being displayed from three sepa-

rate sources. The Raymarine is only

capable of displaying two sources si-

multaneously.

Each machine has separate con-

trols for changing screen brightness.

Furuno uses its standard eight levels

of brightness selected with the

Power/Brilliance button. Panel lights

(backlit buttons) are adjustable sepa-

rately with eight levels of brightness

control. Raymarine displays a verti-

cal slide on screen with a range of 0

to 100% to vary the brightness level

of both the screen and backlit buttons

at the same time.

Significant differences exist in the

user interface of each unit. In addi-

tion to the pushbuttons normally

found on complex electronics, the

Furuno has a track ball and 10-but-

ton alphanumeric telephone-style

keypad. We really like the keypad. It

makes manual data entry far easier

than scrolling through a long list of

letters, numbers and punctuation.

Both Furuno units we looked at were

not brand new and we noticed the

track ball movement was not very

smooth. We questioned Furuno on

this. Said communications manager

Jeff Kauzlaric: “More than likely the

Manufacturer

Furuno

Raymarine

Furuno

Raymarine

Furuno

Raymarine

Furuno

Raymarine

Furuno

Raymarine

Model

1943C

RL80CRC

1833C

RL80CRC

1732

RL70RC

GP1900C

631C

GP1700C

L770DRC

Screen Size

10.4

Screen Color

Color

Mono

Color

Max. Number of

Same-time Displays

Radar

Yes

Value Guide: Integrated Electronics Systems

Note: All units come with a transducer. All have WAAS-capable GPS. All have chartplotter and sounder capabilities.

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