Discrimination is an ugly word, unless it refers to individual targets on a radar screen—then it’s very useful. Northstar’s High Definition Radar (starting at $900) presents a defined picture of shorelines, navigation aids and other boats that lets the user tell individual objects apart from far away. The radar is compatible with Northstar’s networked combination navigation units, the 8000i and the 6100i, and can present data in radar-only or chart-overlay modes. The radar processes the output signal digitally to reduce the effects of rain, showing specific targets in poor conditions—even those in tight groups—ideal for the discriminating angler. Northstar; (800) 628-4487; www.northstarnav.com
New Electronics – August 2006
Do you talk to yourself? The Lowrance iFinder Expedition C ($310) makes you worth listening to. An optional kit lets you create an MP3 file recording verbal notes and attaches that sound bite to your waypoint. When that waypoint comes up again, slip on the headphones and listen to the message you recorded earlier. For example: “We caught three seatrout on live shrimp along the north edge of this cove two hours after high tide.” The Expedition C is a waterproof WAAS-enabled 16-channel GPS with a 2.83-inch color TFT screen and a 12-volt power adapter. And when it talks back, listen up. You may learn something to help you catch fish. Lowrance; (800) 324-1356; www.lowrance.com
New Electronics – August 2006
Some chart plotters try to do too much with a little screen. The display becomes overloaded, forcing the user to page through multiple screens and menus. The whole point—getting you where you want to go—is lost. The ColorMax 15 ($3,180) from SI-TEX redraws charts quickly, thanks to its powerful processor, and puts them in your face on a daylight-viewable, “professional size” 15-inch display. The screen is oriented horizontally, making all the windows of a split screen more useful and easier to read. Compatible with the latest C-Map MAX cartography, the ColorMax 15 expands with black-box add-ons for radar and fishfinder, as well as two video inputs. SI-TEX; (727) 576-5734; www.si-tex.com
