Radar Talk

[KKM]

Need help on this question. 4' or 6' open array. 4kw or 10 kw. I can get a 6' 4kw or 10kw or a 4' 4kw or 10kw. I am looking for something that is very good at picking out small targets at up to one or two miles. Also a very clear screen at the longer ranges.

Kevin

[Mark Mc]

Uh.....if you're serious about a higher-power radar like that, you better be sure it can be mounted high enough so the beam will stay well clear of passenger head-height, per the mftr specs.

You might want to look at the actual installation specs for a few of the options you mentioned....and discuss with a marine electronics store (a real marine electronics store, not some place like West Marine).

[Zodiac-Fisherman]

Go to the hulltruth.com- Your'll find more people with expierence along these lines.

I got a freind with a 4kw Open array and he wishes he would've gone bigger. Yes you can still pick up birds with the 4kw, but I think he wishes he would've gone with a 8-12kw You can also pick up precipitatious clouds with the 4kw. Which is sweet, if your cruising offshore via autopilot, you can see the clouds ahead and how much preciptition is in there. If theres heavy rain it also shows that, simply press a few buttons on the autopilot to weave around any upcoming conflicts.

[Pau Hana]

Take into account your display screen size, location of the antenna, and intended usage.

• The higher the antenna, the greater the range.
• Higher radiated power = better target discrimination at a given range.
• Larger screen size = better target discrimination at longer ranges.

If you plan to do radar navigation, the the higher rated arrays will be a better choice. A 4kw dome/array suffices for most users; for your stated usage, the larger array (6') at the higher power output seems to be the way to go.

[tomictime]

the other ..BIG..variables are H or and vert beam width and analog vs. digital signal processing. IMO, Furuno owns the radar market niche you are looking at.

Originally Posted by Pau Hana

Take into account your display screen size, location of the antenna, and intended usage.

• The higher the antenna, the greater the range.
• Higher radiated power = better target discrimination at a given range.
• Larger screen size = better target discrimination at longer ranges.

If you plan to do radar navigation, the the higher rated arrays will be a better choice. A 4kw dome/array suffices for most users; for your stated usage, the larger array (6') at the higher power output seems to be the way to go.

[Hoghunter]

You can have all the radar power in the world but unless you can get it up high it's basically a waste of money. The horizon is pretty close on most small to medium size sport fishing/cruising boats. And like Mark said above make darn sure it's high enough to clear all heads.

I was recently fishing in Garibaldi and watched several guys standing on the bow of one of the charter boats and they had the radar on all day. Guess where that beam was hitting? Right at the height of their heads.

I talked with several marine electronics experts in Seattle recently about the high power open array's. Their comment was that unless your running your boat offshore in the winter and need to track storm cells they are basically just a "ego extender" for those who have more money than they know what to do with.

[KKM]

Well it looks like for my use the 6' 10kw is the way to go. The array would be about 2.5 ft over our heads. Seeing a flock of birds at the longest range possible is worth a lot of fuel when its fishing time. The last time coming up the coast from mexico we dam near ran over a small sail boat that did not show up on the Furuno screen. Running at night in the fog was not a lot of fun , so a high end radar looks like it will be well worth the money.
Kevin