Radar advice/suggestions

H

headlight

Cadet
Joined
Jan 20, 2010
Messages
20
First post so hope I am in the correct section ?
I am thinking of fitting radar to my boat (Raider 18 Wheelhouse) & have the following questions.
Do I go for a magnetron based system or broadband ?
Do I go for a stand alone system or one that overlays onto a plotter ?
At present I have 2 plotters on the boat, a Lowrance 3500c & an Eagle 624c neither of which will support radar so if I go for an overlay system obviously I will have to buy a new plotter as well.
Your thoughts & reasoning would be much appreciated.

headlight
 
dingbat

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
15,482
Re: Radar advice/suggestions

The answer to all your questions depends on how you want to use it, what do you expect out of the unit and how deep is your pocket book.

Simple fog navigation would get a completely different answer than looking for birds while fishing.

Just looked at your boat. Where are you going to mount this? Looks like you would need to mount it on a pole over a meter high to get the dome a safe level above the operator's head.
 
H

headlight

Cadet
Joined
Jan 20, 2010
Messages
20
Re: Radar advice/suggestions

dingbat said:
The answer to all your questions depends on how you want to use it, what do you expect out of the unit and how deep is your pocket book.

Simple fog navigation would get a completely different answer than looking for birds while fishing.

Just looked at your boat. Where are you going to mount this? Looks like you would need to mount it on a pole over a meter high to get the dome a safe level above the operator's head.
Click to expand...

I am looking for simple fog & night navigation & the ability to see if either a vessel comes within a certain distance from me or vice versa. The wheelhouse roof is 6ft 6" high BTW & I intended mounting the raydome on a scan strut on that.

headlight
 
Boatist

Boatist

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Apr 22, 2002
Messages
4,552
Re: Radar advice/suggestions

Lowrance has a new Broadband Radar and it is low power enough that it will not harm anyone. It has much greater detail than the old style radar and does not need any tuning. At short range has much better target seperation than old Radar.
I think it would be perfect for you but it is brand new and lowrance sometimes markets new products before all the bug have been worked out so if you go with lowrance I would wait until you see lots of reviews.
The Power out is suppose to be about the same as a cell phone.
 
H

headlight

Cadet
Joined
Jan 20, 2010
Messages
20
Re: Radar advice/suggestions

Boatist said:
Lowrance has a new Broadband Radar and it is low power enough that it will not harm anyone. It has much greater detail than the old style radar and does not need any tuning. At short range has much better target seperation than old Radar.
I think it would be perfect for you but it is brand new and lowrance sometimes markets new products before all the bug have been worked out so if you go with lowrance I would wait until you see lots of reviews.
The Power out is suppose to be about the same as a cell phone.
Click to expand...

The Lowrance is the system I would go for if I bought broadband radar. The radar would cost ?1,600 (GBP) here in the UK plus I would need a new plotter as neither of mine will support radar. A Lowrance HDS 8 plotter unit would coat a further ?1,000 (GBP) so that is ?2,600. Alternatively I have looked at the Furuno 1623 stand alone radar availble in the UK for ?1,100 (GBP). Big big price difference between the systems & I just don"t know if I need to spend all that money on the Lowrance or would the Furuno be adequate for my needs ?
Another question with either system is would I need a fluxgate compass or heading sensor ?

headlight
 
dingbat

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
15,482
Re: Radar advice/suggestions

Furuno is still king of the hill in radar. As Boatist said, broadband excels at close distance but falls short of the other units at longer ranges and Lowrance HDS Broadband combo does not support MARPA. You would not be able to track the course and speed of an object like you an with the other equipment

Yes, you would need a heading sensor for overlays if you want it do right. Some units work better than others at maintaining the alignment of the overlays without the use of a heading sensor.


Here is an interesting article on the small radar unit that may be of some help.
http://www.navshack.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/cruising_world_jan._2010[1].pdf
 
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