Garmin International (
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Both the GMR 18 HD and GMR 24 HD have the ability to process up to eight times the information of their predecessors, which according to Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales, helps take the guesswork out of identifying the precise location of targets.
Bartel said in a
statement that in contrast to several competing products, these new units are completely backwards compatible with the current Garmin marine lineup.
Garmin International’s both radomes also offer a full 4kW of transmit power. A 5-degree horizontal and 25-degree vertical beamwidth of the GMR 18 HD allow for accurate target acquisition and separation. The GMR 18 HD GMR boasts a range of 36 nautical miles (nm).
Features a 3.6-degree horizontal and 25-degree vertical beamwidth, the GMR 24 HD has a maximum effective range of 48 nautical miles. Skippers can switch the GMR 24 HD's rotation speed from 24 RPM to 30 RPM for rapid target updates for navigating in tight quarters.
Similar to other Garmin radar, these new units process signals within the radome through a digital signal processor, and is dynamically presented on a Garmin Marine Network compatible chartplotter/multifunction display (MFDs). As digital processing allows for more precise recognition, enhancement, and filtering of radar echoes, it makes the finished display easier to read and interpret.
Also, the18 HD and GMR 24 HD feature sensitivity and tuning controls allowing boaters to spend less time tuning the unit and more time navigating. Moreover, the units also feature selectable interference rejection, which mitigates the effect of nearby radar transmissions.
By communicating with the Garmin Marine Network through a waterproof 100-megabit per second plug-and-play proprietary network, the radomes affords users the ability to expand their boat's system as required.
The company is also offering a Marine Network cable connector kit for customizing installation. These new scanners come with a full two year warranty and are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2008.
Garmin International, Inc. is a member of the Garmin Ltd. group of companies which designs, manufactures, markets, and sells navigation, communication and information devices and applications -- most of which are enabled by GPS technology.
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Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering call centers, CRM and information technology. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.