Firdell or echomax

[Spyro]

Following my recent discovery that my Firdell Blipper was split and I was carrying around a couple of gallons of water 3/4 way up the mast I decided to cut it open out of curiosity so if you've ever wondered what's inside wonder no more. .
Not a lot for the money

 

[bedouin]

No secret about it - they are just 2 or 3 small "octohedral" reflectors arranged in such a way as to cancel out the nulls in return that are a problem with the single octohedral.

Yes expensive for what they are - but I don't know of a simple better value solution

 

[[70521]]

Drill a few drain holes and re assemble it.

 

[Pavalijo]

I changed a good condition Blipper (kept inside the boat except when hoisted) for the Echomax as they have a better review. I forgot to put the Blipper on my clearout thread on the for sale forum. I will be listing it shortly at £25 +postage (total £31.50) if it's of interest,
Paul

 

[Spyro]

Drill a few drain holes and re assemble it.

It was split at the mounting bolt point. I didn't want it falling off

 

[Topcat47]

I've seen worse...on a brand new one opened after test. The internals actually look pretty good for an old one. With the Tri-Ball and Cyclops, the best and most effective reflectors available, out of production I don't know what I"d fit these days....

 

[ghostlymoron]

If you've got sufficient battery power, an active type is much more effective or AIS.

 

[UK-WOOZY]

bought cheap as returned to echomax reflector em230 off the echomax owner last year as it had light discolouration otherwise perfect. it has a drainage hole in the bottom, i beleive all newer models do now

 

[AntarcticPilot]

If you've got sufficient battery power, an active type is much more effective or AIS.

Agree. Spyro's photos show one reason why - the angles between the planes are no longer accurate, and even the small distortions visible will significantly reduce the effectiveness of the reflector. From having worked with retro-reflectors, I know that the accuracy of the internal angles is critical to their success; the deflections shown in the photos would certainly subtantially reduce the reflecting power.

 

[jamie N]

If you've got sufficient battery power, an active type is much more effective or AIS.

+1; "if it ain't active, it ain't good" My boat cost under £3K, and have fitted active Echomax for basic, essential safety, which makes it ever more ludicrous to me seeing boats that are +£100K with a £15.00 reflector. I don't reckon that they use any significant power either.

 

[webcraft]

.
The good thing about passive reflectors is they just work.

We have a Blipper on boat 1, but have fitted an Echomax to boat 2 because they give a bigger radar signal. Not rocket science.

From talking to ships I know we are visible with the Blipper in seas up to about 3m, then we get lost. Hoping the Echomax will be better.

I would definitely consider fitting an active reflector if I had the money, but always in addition to a passive reflector, never instead of.

- W

 

[Ladybirdgaffcutter]

I've been using an Echomax X-band RTE for a few years, it uses a tiny amount of electricity, and if it did go wrong, the control box would start bleeping and flashing anyway. The fact that all ships from Brittany to the Skaggerak have magically behaved themselves since I fitted it may just be coincidence... or maybe not.
Passive reflectors may be ok if they're big, the little ones just look silly, how can they be any use?

 

[LittleSister]

I'm unclear how adequate a single band active is. Can anyone advise? (The dual band active was much more expensive last time I checked.)