So my electronic woes continue!
Now my previously trustworthy GME GP450X gps has failed. Beeps for ON but no screen function evident. I have not had the chance yet to test power input, as I did not have the wiring diagram on board - will do so soon.
This follows: Tillerpilot plug degrading to U/S and drive cog falling off while solo in Bass Strait, now repaired.
And Navman Depth display dying a lingering death, still awaiting open heart surgery on the bench.

If I assume that the GPS is not repairable and I don't particularly need to upgrade to a chartplotter, then:
There appears to be at least two units which are dead ringers for my GME unit - Furuno GP30 & KP32 - both new and shipping out of China.
?Any comments ? ?Would you buy either? ?What about others to mount on swing-arm in companionway?

Basically, I am trying to avoid a bow-to-stern navigation refit.

Hi MB,
I had the GP32 , which I think is the same as the 30, just with an RS232 output and NMEA or AIS or suchlike? It was the primary GPS on the bus and I found it excellent. Display was easy to read for everything except the AIS plot and the buttons were well laid out and responsive.
I wouldn't hesitate in buying one again.
When I plotted a waypoint on the PC , the GP32 had a nav display where it would display a course to steer icon on a bearing wheel with all the necessary information , For a little screen it was clear and good enough to use as a quasi-chart plotter. At night when I didn't want to turn on the PC screen and wake the off watch I used to use it as my quick reference chart plotter. Good little unit.
Cheers,
SB

The Furuno GP 30 has been the work horse for fishing boats for a very long time. No idea why it is so expensive though.

When we bought our fishing boat, some 20 years ago and a Furuno GP 30 came fitted standard from the manufacturer and a black/white Furuno sounder, that was just about impossible to read. I found the GP 30 was not user friendly and I had to study the manual over and over, until I worked out how to use it. It also runs off a small dome aerial. I still have it fitted on the boat as a back up and its still working.
As I wanted a colour sounder and I broke the transducer on the Furuno, driving the boat on the trailer, in rough conditions, it was a good excuse to replace it with a Garmin 750, that has an inbuilt aerial. I found it so easy to use and very good value at the time.
I bought my 29ft yacht 5 years ago and a Garmin 550 was already installed above the companion way. I have also found this very user friendly. I would suggest to look around for a used unit....I have been told Navman have a good interface, with the various charts available.
I would consider one of these if upgraded the boat and sailed unknown waters.
Cheers...

Thanks to all.
As all these look and display identically, I am forming the opinion that the Furuno is the original, my GME is a re-brand, and the KP32 is a knock-off.
I will do more testing and if I need to replace I will look at the cheaper plotters as suggested before ordering a Furuno.

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MuttonBird said..
Thanks to all.
As all these look and display identically, I am forming the opinion that the Furuno is the original, my GME is a re-brand, and the KP32 is a knock-off.
I will do more testing and if I need to replace I will look at the cheaper plotters as suggested before ordering a Furuno.

I would just buy a new Lowrance personally. The Furuno knock off bit is mostly true when you consider where Furuno stuff is made these days. Whether it's just the motherboards or the whole item there has been a lot of stuff on the web over the last few years about Chinese built stuff and I'm sure it's across all manufacturers. Why the GP30 is so expensive is beyond me. An old handheld Garmin 72 on a bracket in the hatch way would work the same as a GP30 and have a basic plotter feature.

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BeamReach said..
When we bought our fishing boat, some 20 years ago and a Furuno GP 30 came fitted standard from the manufacturer and a black/white Furuno sounder, that was just about impossible to read. I found the GP 30 was not user friendly and I had to study the manual over and over, until I worked out how to use it. It also runs off a small dome aerial. I still have it fitted on the boat as a back up and its still working.
As I wanted a colour sounder and I broke the transducer on the Furuno, driving the boat on the trailer, in rough conditions, it was a good excuse to replace it with a Garmin 750, that has an inbuilt aerial. I found it so easy to use and very good value at the time.
I bought my 29ft yacht 5 years ago and a Garmin 550 was already installed above the companion way. I have also found this very user friendly. I would suggest to look around for a used unit....I have been told Navman have a good interface, with the various charts available.
I would consider one of these if upgraded the boat and sailed unknown waters.
Cheers...

Hi MB.....
Correction... Re Navman plotter...
I was told some time ago to look for a used Raymarine plotter with a Avionics card. The guy sailed from Airlie Beach to NZ, then Tonga and back to home port Sydney. He said the features where amazing.
I guess it depends on how far you want to go and the expense?
Cheers..