A radar device is one of the most important electronic accessories that should always be present onboard a ship, as it can inform the crew regarding any incoming obstacles, as well as the distance from the shoreline. For this reason, the people over at Garmin have launched back in the first half of 2006 the GMR 41 model, which, despite being an older device, is still able to compete against some of the latest such products to hit the shelves.



The GMR 41 is a 24-inch radome with 4 kilowatts of transmit power and a range of 36 nautical miles. It delivers a 3.6-degree horizontal beamwidth, which allows it to provide clear target definition in all weather conditions. The GMR 41 processes raw data within the radome for fast and efficient presentation of radar signatures and can even be used to avoid traffic on the water with MARPA target tracking, which allows users to track the bearing, course, speed and predicted closest approach of up to 10 targets.



Another very interesting fact worth mentioning about the GMR 41 is that it transmits data over the Garmin Marine Network, a 100-megabit plug-and-play proprietary network that offers users the ability to expand the boat’s system of various electronic accessories in order to match their current needs.



Once connected to the network, any network-compatible Garmin chartplotter can double as a radar screen. And as an aid to locational awareness, one can simply overlay the GMR 41 radar image on the chartplotter's map page. The on-screen display can also be split, thus allowing users to view the map and the standard radar page simultaneously.



The GMR 41 radar from Garmin retails for around1,500 US dollars, which is not even that high a price, especially if we take into account the fact that the sales package also includes quite a lot of interesting goodies, namely the mounting hardware kit, power/network cable, cable grommet, an owner's manual and, quite obviously, the necessary installation instructions.