Garmin Fantom Radar 18x vs 24x

[Vincentc]

My old Garmin radar quit working and I've decided to replace it with a solid state Fantom and trying to decide if the extra 6 inches is worth the additional $800.l
I don't care about finding birds, just collision avoidance in reduced visibility.
Shared experience will be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[JLR]

I had the 18 and went to the 24. The horizontal beam width of the 24 makes target separation much better at close range. I found the 18 to be totally worthless for collusion avoidance and more like a toy than a real radar. Just my experience.

 

[rsmith]

KW is your friend the more the better. Many times in reduced visibility you’ll bee in rain which aborbes the radar signal call attenuation. More power the better. Remember when the scanner is mounted it needs to be level when the boat is underway not sitting at the dock. Otherwise you’ll be shooting at the sky

 

[Vincentc]

Thanks, what I needed to know. I'll go with the 24.

 

[Scarlett]

I’ve got the 24 and you are correct about birds. First time I used it in the ocean was a very foggy day and the bird returns were really messing me up until I realized what they were. Had one of those new navy stealth ships go by at around 2 miles and never got a return, however I could see it’s wake on the Garmin.