Should you spend more on electronics then on the boat?

[Cougar]

That's a lot of money for electronics. I took a 7" power-efficient Android Tablet which I got more or less for free, considering it was a promotional gift. It serves as a chart plotter using Navionics, and a depth sounder / fish finder using SonarPhone by Vexilar. The Vexilar transducer cost me about $150 and I spent another $200 on an 11,000 mAh power bank, a waterproof tablet case and a sturdy pedestal mount. Finally I got a handheld VHF with bluetooth for automatically answering phone calls if needed, which most of the times I do not
I sail in tidal waters where it is extremely important to have thorough information as the entire sea will disappear at low tide. The tablet proved to be very reliable. No, the display is not as good as a real chart plotter, but a 7" plotter would cost me at least 4 times as much.

[Ixneigh]

I tried the tablet idea but I found the display too difficult to see ESP. When it was inside the waterproof sleeve a bout for it. It worked ok down below. I had a samsung.
I also have charts on my iPhone that work pretty good and it's easier to see. Perhaps apple has a better display then samsung?
Ix

[dlandersson]

Needs are going to be individual dependent to a certain extent. I've currently got (PO) a Hummingbird C2 - does all I really need.

I'm looking at an Hummingbird upgrade - not that "I" need it - but an upgrade will provide a better (3D) image of the lake bottom (and fishees) for the kids.

If it was just me and other adults, I wouldn't even be thinking about it.

[Cougar]

I tried the tablet idea but I found the display too difficult to see ESP. When it was inside the waterproof sleeve a bout for it. It worked ok down below. I had a samsung.
I also have charts on my iPhone that work pretty good and it's easier to see. Perhaps apple has a better display then samsung?
Ix

IMHO the downside of modern iOS devices is that they have an unnecessary high display resolution, which makes them expensive and more power-demanding. I haven't heard that they are better readible in daylight, but that may very well be the case. I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7" b.t.w.

[Lomcevak]

What you need is found here:
http://arstechnica.com/staff/2015/02/to ... kes-sense/

Here is an excerpt from the product description:

"AudioQuest’s DBS creates a strong, stable electrostatic field which saturates and polarizes (organizes) the molecules of the insulation. This minimizes both energy storage in the insulation and the multiple nonlinear time-delays that occur."

This enables it to solve: "...a big problem for very time-sensitive multi-octave audio."

[Catigale]

That does sound like marketing gibberish......

...and too much resolution on IOS lets you call it "retina" and create a feeding frenzy each time you release product...

[RobertB]

This stuff cracks me up. I love it when the guys at the B... Buy box store try to sell the ultra expensive cables. Physicists and Electrical Engineers all of them My biggest project was engineering all the cabling connecting all the components of an Air Traffic Control System (the current Ocean 21). Signal fidelity was kind of important. And guess what, not one of the high priced cable suppliers was even in that market as a supplier. Guess on a government contract, their advertizing may actually need to based on fact.