• Garmin 3210 Review •

Garmin 3210 Network Chartplotter

Introduced 11/2005… One look at the GPSMAP 3210, and you’ll know you’ve found a chartplotter big enough for the waterfront. Same great features as the 3010 but with added BlueChart® g2 technology. If your looking big display with a seamless plug-n-play system and built-in maps for U.S. coastal areas, including Alaska and Hawaii, this is your plotter.

Use it as a standalone plotter or network with other MFDs and modules to deliver SiriusXM weather, radar, sonar & AIS. The 3210 has 2 video inputs so you can watch the engine room or monitor activity on deck. Convenient soft key functions allow you to assign a feature such as map declutter to a specific key.

Screen Display –  The huge 10.4′ / 640 x 480 / VGA display shows very vivid color and detail, even in direct sunlight. It has a great picture with a wide viewable angle and the VGA screen resolution is very sharp. High-speed microprocessors and graphics controller make for extremely fast redraw response rates for charts and weather graphics.

Garmin 3010/3210 vs 2210c  –   The 3010/3210 can run & share sensor modules on a network. The 2210c is not networkable and the 3210 includes the addition of BlueChart® g2 maps, so unlike the 2010c they can run radar, digital depth, SiriusXM weather and AIS.

Networking – Communication is done using the 100-megabit ethernet-based Garmin Marine Network and is completely plug-and-play. The MFDs automatically detect peripherals once they’re connected to the network. You can connect a GPS antenna and one remote sensor directly to the MFD or, with the addition of the GMS™ 10 Network Port Expander connect multiple MFDs and sensors to the same network. Each networked MFD can be configured independently.

Usability – Garmin GPSMAP 3210 has 3 default display pages: Map, Compass & Highway. Each page can be customized with digital info to suit your own needs. Pressing the Page button moves from one main page to the next. Each main page can be modified to include the display of other information in a split screen. As new hardware modules are added, like sounder, video and radar, new pages are automatically available.

Connections – The 3210/3010 has 3 rear connections, power/NMEA, network and av. These include 2/NMEA 0183 input ports, 2/NMEA 0183 output ports,  2/Video input ports, 1/Video output ports.

Waypoints / Routing / Tracks – The 3210 stores 4000 alphanumeric waypoints, 50 routes, a 10,000 point track log and 15 saved tracks with 700 points per track.  Waypoints can be created using three basic ways  and includes a user-defined icon, comments, depth and water temperature available for each waypoint. If you are using Garmin Sonar, the depth/water temp fields fill in automatically.

1. ENTER/MARK key – Used primarily for marking your present position. The ENTER/MARK key also provides options that allow you to select a map position or map item from the map display.
2. Graphically – Allows you to define a new waypoint position from the map display using the ARROW KEYPAD
3. Text Entry- Allows you to enter a new waypoint coordinates manually, like from your chart.

Cartography – The 3210 features built-in Marine Detail Charts of the United States coastline, including Alaska and Hawaii – utilizing elements of Garmin’s new BlueChart® g2™ technology. These charts provide integrated maps for a much smoother presentation.

BlueChart g2 has all the detail of traditional BlueChart, but with 3D perspective, and richer detail and content – data like tides / currents overlaid on the chart. Other chart features include shaded depth contours, port plans, wrecks, restricted areas, and more.

New/Used – 3210 › Radar › Sounder › GPS

 » TIP LINK #1: Garmin Support Forum – Search frequently asked questions – 3010/3210.

Garmin 3210 / Compatible Modules

Radar Scanners ›

• Open Array
  • GMR 404 Open Array
  • GMR 406 Open Array
  • GMR 406 xHD Open Array Radar & Pedestal
  • GMR 606 xHD Open Array Radar & Pedestal
• Radomes
  • GMR 18 Radome
  • GMR 18 HD Radome
  • GMR 24 HD Radome

Depth Sounder Modules ›

• GSD 20 – 500 watts at 50/200kHz
• GSD 21 – Depths to 1,500 ft. / Dual-frequency 50/200 kHz / 500 watts
• GSD 22 – Up to 5000 ft and 2KW  depending on your transducer. Adjusts gain and transmit power automatically to optimize the returns for shallow water. Can connect to a dual-frequency transducer and works with everything from a standard 500 W transom-mount transducer to a heavy-duty 2 kW thru-hull or in-hull transducer to reach depths of up to 5,000 ft.

Weather Modules ›

• GDL 30 – Weather data receiver that receives SiriusXM WX Satellite Weather data, including animated NEXRAD weather radar and forecasts, current conditions, surface air pressure, visibility, precipitation, wind data, wave data, storm cell size, speed and direction and surface temperatures. The information show on right on the Map page of your chartplotter.
• GDL 30a – Same as GLD30… but also receives SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Allows you to connect your chartplotter to your on-board stereo to broadcast 120 channels of non-stop music, sports, news and talk.

AIS  Modules ›

• AIS 300 – “Receive-only,” Not a two-way transceiver. Lets you identify what ships are in the neighborhood while you remain off the AIS grid. Think of a receive-only unit more like radar than a radar unit with radar reflector.
• AIS 600 – True Class B transceiver that offer both “send/receive” functionality. You can also turn the transmit function off and operate in Silent Mode.

GPS Antennas ›

• GPS 17 N / GPS 17 HVS / GPS 17x HVS  – External receiver antenna.
•  GPS 19x HVS – Newer alternative to the gps 17 but requires some additional wiring. Gps 19x HVS Connection Details

Garmin 3210 Wrap Up…

The Garmin 3210… has shown to be fairly easy to use when you get used to it, and the manuals seem very user friendly when you get stuck. The pages are very customizable so getting the only the information you want where and how you want is a breeze.

The screen and size is very nice. With the available additional plug/play modules, putting a together a nice networked system looks to be very straightforward.

Quick Facts – Garmin 3210