And there’s more redundancy than the fact that most any screen can show basic data like Depth. I’ve never seen an N2K network fail completely, and I’ve built some that stretched the rules. And I simply do not buy the notion that a standalone depth sounder is more reliable. Sure, setting up a NMEA 2000 network can seem complicated and expensive but most of the gear is built well for blue water boating (and note the value-oriented sensor/display kits available from Garmin, B&G, and others). FI70 showing extra info but with Depth still in big digits.Maretron DSM410 split-screen graph and numeric Depth.Furuno FI70 Depth graph set to center on 20-foot range.Garmin GMI20 Depth graph with adjustable time period.I would hesitate to buy a used NMEA 2000 depth transducer like, say, a rugged yet reasonable Airmar DT800 - or any used transducer, for that matter - but I’ve only seen one N2K display fail after many years of abusing them, often six or more of various brands at once. And how about that Furuno FI70 for crisp and bright readability! Its high-quality 4.1-inch color screen is fairly typical of current NMEA 2000 instruments and I just bought it on eBay for $300. It’s also worth noting that even the LMF’s inefficiently designed numeric Depth display is probably easier to read than what’s on the significantly smaller LST display.
Depth gauge for boat install#
And while the LST is only $162 on Amazon, that included transom-mount transducer is not apt to work well with the inboard engines found on most ocean-going boats, and I’d be skeptical about an optional Pod Style transducer in-hull install too. By contrast, the standalone LST-3800 system requires both display and transducer to be functional. Moreover, I still have that inexpensive LMF-400 and when I plugged it into Gizmo’s N2K network it powered up and had no trouble showing the Depth data available (and possibly shown by most any other display on the network). Of course, the LMF is an NMEA 2000 all-in-one instrument display capable of showing many types of information, but you can certainly use it as a dedicated depth display (in fact, most let you turn off all other pages if you actually can’t control your fingers). The standalone Lowrance LST-3800 Depth gauge that Morris favors reminded me of the vaguely similar Lowrance LMF-400 I tested 11 years ago. Furuno FI70 showing N2K Depth data in BIG digits.Lowrance LMF-400 showing NMEA 2000 Depth.
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