New to me Navnet 1 Rdp-139 Questions

[Anonymous]

Capt. Scott here with my first post on the Furuno forum. I am a new Furuno user and am trying to wrap my head around the abilities of the units on the boat I just bought for offshore.
I purchased a new boat (new to me) and it has 2 Navnet 1 (RDP-139) units, A black box, trasducer, and radar. I was referred to a company in NC called marine electronic of the outerbanks for some TLC. They updated the units so that they had the same software and replaced the track balls. All in all they did a great job (850.00) later. My questions and concerns are these.

1. The unit housings are corroded on the backs and the paint on the front is beginning to flake off on the bezel. Should I worry about this?
2. I purchased a new Navionics chart for my area and WOW does it lack detail of shaded depths, shoals, and other obstructions. Is there a better chart for the unit?
3. Will the RDP-139 display weather overlay somehow? If not can you network together a rdp-139 and a rdp-149?
4. Is there a program to upgrade these units. I am looking at options which would give me better charts, sat. weather, and fuel management.
5. Can the radar be fine tuned left or right? Seems the targets are off a tad. When I was running out the inlet yesterday it showed me running right at the marker to my port and I was running in between them.
6. Cant seem to get the sounder to work except on auto? When I try to fine tune it, it wont read.

Any help would be great and thanks in advance. The big boat thing is new to us inshore and flats guides. My partner and I have been running big center consoles for some private families and fishing offshore all our lives but always on other peoples boats and wallets. This got expensive quick but we cant wait to fish it!

Capt. Scott Owens
www.captainscottowens.com
www.flyfishgeorgia.com

 

[Johnny Electron]

Welcome Capt. Scott!
The NavNet Series 1 (RDP-139) units were release for sale by Furuno in 2002. Although they are showing their age; they are very good units. They are easily upgraded to the next series (VX2) by changing out the display units. It is also possible to mix the NN1 with the Vx2 units with some limitations. If you dig into this forum, under this subject area, you will find some good discussions on this subject. With that said; let me address your questions.

1. The unit housings are corroded on the backs and the paint on the front is beginning to flake off on the bezel. Should I worry about this?

Unless there are cracks allowing water or moisture to enter the unit, it isn’t a great concern. The cost of buying a new case or bezel wouldn’t really be justified considering you can spend the money towards buying a new or used VX2 display and upgrade the system at the same time. You can clean and apply touchup paint to help. We do not sale paint but many paint stores will do color matching.

2. I purchased a new Navionics chart for my area and WOW does it lack detail of shaded depths, shoals, and other obstructions. Is there a better chart for the unit?

Navionics stopped updating the CLASSIC chip set in 2009 and only continues selling these NAVCHART chips for selected areas. Many owners of the NN1 units have worked with their dealers to reprogram the units to C-map and use the NT+ charts on the FP chip. C-map is still currently updating its map set with current data. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the chart is any better or has changed in your particular area. There are settings in the unit for turning “On and off” details and customizing depth contours that you might want to check. (Please consult your operator’s manual) You might also consult with your dealer, they might have a C-NT+ unit to show you a comparison or demo the newer Vx2 display unit.

3. Will the RDP-139 display weather overlay somehow? If not can you network together a rdp-139 and a rdp-149?

The NavNet Series 1 does not support Sirius weather overlay or have AIS support. You would have to upgrade the display to Vx2. Please read earlier postings about networking a series 1 with the Vx2.

4. Is there a program to upgrade these units. I am looking at options which would give me better charts, sat. weather, and fuel management.

Other than the upgrade to a Vx2 (which has no fuel management) the system could be upgraded to a NN3D (which has some engine and fuel info, if the data is properly provided) but you would require the radar to be changed for the newer digital radar. You can NOT network the NN1 or Vx2 units to the NN3D. You could wire them up via NMEA 0183. For example, you could run one of your NN1 displays as radar and wire basic NMEA data from your NN3D plotter. The NN3D will support the accessories used by the NN1 or Vx2 system (except for the radar).

--Edited note: Furuno doesn't currently offer any hardware upgrade or trade-in programs but many of our dealers accept older units in trade or will assist you by selling the older system under consignment. Please contact your local dealer for any possibilities.

5. Can the radar be fine tuned left or right? Seems the targets are off a tad. When I was running out the inlet yesterday it showed me running right at the marker to my port and I was running in between them.

Yes, what you are talking about is radar video alignment (Heading adjust). It is covered in the install manual and in detail in a previous posting on this site.

6. Cant seem to get the sounder to work except on auto? When I try to fine tune it, it wont read.

If the sounder works in auto, then it should work in manual. I would recommend reviewing the user’s manual on the settings when running in manual mode. If you can’t get it working, please call into our tech support while you are at the boat so we can check your settings. You can reach us via phone M-F from 8am to 5pm at the following numbers.
East Coast 410-479-4420
West Coast 360-834-9300
If you are located on the east coast you can reach someone from 8am to 8pm due to the time difference between the two offices. (Those outside our service area should contact their local distributor for support)

Again welcome to the Forum! I am sure you will enjoy your system.

 

[Anonymous]

I have tried to find info on networking a rdp-139 and rdp-149 together and cant. Help?? I am looking t buying a RDP-149 to hook up with my RDP-139 and need to know if they will "talk to each other"

 

[Johnny Electron]

When networking a NavNet series one with a Vx2, you must change the naming structure of the NavNet one units. For example, NavNet one units will typically have a "HOST NAME" of Radar or Plotter. This won't work for a mixed system. You must change the Names based on the IP address being used. If the Radar has an IP ending in 3 (172.031.003.003) then the Host name must be renamed to NAVNET3 (not Radar) for it to talk correctly with a Vx2. If the NavNet one unit named "PLOTTER" has an IP address ending in 2, then you would rename the host name to "NAVNET2". This is more in line with the Vx2 "Device" number naming structure. It is also important that you do not have more than one unit using the same IP address. If you have problems getting a mixed system to talk; give a call into tech support and we would be glad to talk you through the process.