Furuno NavNet VX2 Review

 • Furuno NavNet VX2 Review •

Furuno Navnet VX2 | RDP149

Introduced in 2005, NavNet VX2 is the next generation of Furuno’s NavNet series which dates back to roughly 2002 and has a well deserved following worldwide for its high reliability, performance and expandability.  

Use it as a stand-alone, single station navigation system or a multistation integrated navigation network. NavNet VX2 gives you seamless data sharing and nice future expandability.

NavNet 1 vs Vx2 –   The VX2 10.4″ (RPD149) is designed as a plug and play replacement for the 10.4″ NavNet 1 (RPD139). The main differences in the VX2/RPD149 are greater chart coverage, support for AIS, better LCD, and faster processing.

Screen Display – The 256-color, 640 x 480 – 10.4″ sunlight viewable TFT LCD provides a great picture with a wide viewable angle and the VGA screen resolution shows great detail.

The High-Brightness LCD is very viewable under direct sunlight and has Anti-Reflective coating to cut down on the glare.

Networking – The NavNet VX2 is an Ethernet-based network which is how multiple displays are connected together to share information.

Choose from the 7″, or the more popular 10.4″ screen and interconnect up to 4 displays with various navigational sensor modules like Radar, GPS/WAAS External Antenna, Fish Finder/Sounder, AIS, Satellite Weather Receiver and Network Weather Facsimile into an all-round navigation network.

Add the BlackBox, and match it with virtually any display including their ultra bright 12″, 15″ and 17″ monitors.

Usability – Common user interfaces among the networked displays and easy use with the aid of the trackball* and rotary encoder knob. Easy navigation and operation can be performed from any display unit connected to the onboard network.

Connections – Connections are simple between each sensor module and display unit with analog RGB video output available for remote monitoring and NTSC/PAL input available for displaying video images from onboard TV/VCR/DVD players.

Waypoints / Routing / Tracks – Up to 8,000 points for ship’s track and marks, 999 waypoints, 35 quick points, 1 MOB, 200 planned routes (max. 35 waypoints/route), 1 quick route.

Cartography – The cartography choices included C-Map NT Max charts on front-loading microSD card port. Some of the early models were setup for using Navionics Gold XL3 microSD charts.

• C-MAP-Chart-Compatibility

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NavNet Vx2 | Compatible Modules

Radar Scanners ›

Powerful X-Band transmitters offer detailed target detection.

• Open Array – From 48m/4 kW (3.5′), 64m/6 kW (4′), 72m/12 kW (4/6′) and 72m/25 kW (4/6′) models. Narrow horizontal beam width enhancing target identification and better detection of smaller targets. Longer range scales of up to 72 nm. High power output for enhanced long range performance.
• Radomes –  From 24m/2.2 kW (18″) and 36m/4 kW (24″) models. Stylish, compact, lightweight with simplified installation and modest power consumption.

Depth Sounder Modules ›

• DFF1 – Dual-frequency 50/200 kHz Output Power: 600 W/1 kW rms / Basic Range: 8 range scales to 2,500 ft
• DFF3 – Dual-frequency selectable between 28 and 200 kHz Output Power: 1/2/3 kW rms / Basic Range: 8 range scales to 10,000 ft

Weather Module ›

• BBWX1 – Sirius Satellite Weather Receiver delivers comprehensive weather information and forecasting / Works with C-Map version.
• FAX-30 – A network weather facsimile receiver that displays weather maps, satellite images & NAVTEX.

AIS  Module ›

• FA-30 – Incorporates AIS information into the NavNet vx2 radar/chart plotter displays.

GPS Antenna ›

• GP-320B / GP- 330B GPS/WAAS – External receiver antenna. All the displays networked can show highly accurate position data.

Furuno NavNet VX2 Wrap Up…

The NavNet VX2… has shown to be fairly easy to use when you get used to it, however the manuals are a bit cryptic when you get stuck. The display is very customizable so you can show only the information you want where and how you want.

One thing of note however, there doesn’t appear to be a way to save the current track to the unit which is a big miss. The screen and size is very nice and radar overlay is quite handy.

With the available additional modules, putting a together a system just right for your use and area is pretty straight forward.