Garmin radar features, a hit and a miss?
![Garmin_radar_nav_aid_display_cPano.JPG](https://www.panbo.com/assets_c/2010/09/Garmin_radar_nav_aid_display_cPano-thumb-465x348-2818.jpg)
Here's a nifty feature I'd never seen before. I had already realized that if you click on a nav aid when making a route on a Garmin MFD, the waypoint gets named after the aid. I find that useful, even if I first came across the feature years ago and think other current MFDs and charting programs include it (anyone remember which ones?). But I was darn surprised yesterday morning to see that the Garmin 7212 can overlay the nav aid's complete icon and label on its standard radar screen, if desired. I like that a lot...
The radar used in these screen shots, incidentally, is the GMR 604 xHD I installed last May. It's quite a power house -- though I think Garmin has a ways to go optimizing it (like adding target expansion and maybe true motion) -- and I intend to write more about it soon. But today's feature notes apply to all Garmin MFDs and radars, I think.And here's the miss: It seems that both the radar and the hazard (depth) colors you can overlay on the Mariner 3D screen are both painted in red, and hence they tend to mush together a bit, as you can see below. Which is a shame, as I like both overlays and the goal of this form of charting, I think, is to paint everything important in distinct bold colors so you don't have to do as much interpretation. In fact...
![Garmin_3D_radar_water_hazard_conflict_cPano.JPG](https://www.panbo.com/assets_c/2010/09/Garmin_3D_radar_water_hazard_conflict_cPano-thumb-465x348-2821.jpg)
![Garmin_classic_Mariner_3D_hazard_depths_cPano.JPG](https://www.panbo.com/assets_c/2010/09/Garmin_classic_Mariner_3D_hazard_depths_cPano-thumb-465x348-2824.jpg)
You can also overlay nav aids on the standard radar display of the 720/740 series. In regards to the color conflict with warn depths and radar display colors .... the radar displays color is selectable.
Tom