FR12 and TZ in a two station setup

[Jovi]

Hi!
I have just bought a Nauticat 43 with both inside and outside steering stations. The electronics are very dated. My plan was to combine a FR12 radar with a TZT plotter on the outside and have a Furuno PC with TZ Navigator and radar module inside.

Today I learned that Furuno blocked this possibility to prevent FR12 from cannibalizing on TZT sales. Is that correct? I find it hard to believe and if true very counterproductive, it leads me away from Furuno, not towards. It would be so easy to let the radar cable to a switch and from there two cables to the steering stations.

Have I misunderstood it all as usual? Is there a potential workaround?

Sincerely,
Jonas

 

[jp498]

I'm not aware of that.. I would expect a NXT radar to be sharable between a PC, TZT, and FR10/12 on a shared ethernet network.

 

[Jovi]

That was my expectation too. Hopefully, there is a workaround somehow.

 

[FishTech]

The FR10/12 is not officially compatible with TZT(1/2/3) or TimeZero.

Unlike their analog predecessors, the FR10/12 is not married to it's radar antenna. This means that you can use the same model antenna on your MFDs or TimeZero if you wish, just not with the FR10/12 in the mix. It is currently offered as a standalone option for those users that do not want or need MFDs.
Additionally, for multi-station stand alone fans, you can use up to three FR10/12 displays on a single DRS antenna. You can even network two DRS antennas allowing expansion, with some rules, up to six FR10/12 displays.

 

[jp498]

That's a bummer... I figured the instructions did not consider tztouch or timezero since they are trying to keep it simple and instructions pertinent to the display and radar. The instructions do mention a TZtouch MFD on the network but don't say not to do it. Due to the vertical screen, radar looks real nice and big on a fr10 compared to a tztouch3-12 ; almost twice as big because of the vertical screen. I could sell more of everything if they were more interoperable though.

NXT radar + FR10/12 is still a good newer tech upgrade from the 1835/1935 style standalone radar sets, and easier to install due to the small connectors.

 

[Jovi]

@jp498. TimeZero Nav or ECS-4000 are not mentioned in that list, could that be an opening?

I really believe this is a bad decision by Furuno, making life deliberately more complicated for their customers and restrict customization. I'm a long time Furuno-fan and hope they will reconsider.

 

[Johnny Electron]

There is no conspiracy or making things more complicated. The manual clearly says not to connect it to a NavNet system. I know TZ folks are working on if they can get compatibility for their software. We have a suggestion section for those who want to pass wishes/hopes to product development. The radars that this unit replaced (1935/1945/FR8065) never connected to the NavNet or TZ Pro either.