Furuno 1623 Radar Compatible Antenna Required

[Escapeii]

My boat has a Furuno 1623 radar, which blows its power cable’s 5A fuse in seconds when the antenna (type RSB-0093) is connected, but does not blow when the antenna is disconnected, implying there is a problem with the antenna.
The local marine electronics repairer thinks repairing it might be expensive if possible, so a new antenna seems like the sensible option. Does anyone out there know of a supplier of type RSB-0093 antenna or a compatible equivalent for a Furuno 1623?
Many thanks David Wood

 

[earlybird]

Have you opened the scanner housing? I had a 1623, an occasional fault was the belt drive to the rotating antenna jammed and stalled the drive motor. In my case a fault message would come up on the display, but maybe there's a chance that the overload could blow the supply fuse.

 

[William_H]

I don't think you could be sure the problem is in the antenna because when you disconnect it the fuse does not blow. The whole system may shut down with no antenna connected so reducing current though fuse. I might suggest if you can substitute the fuse with a 20 or 10 amp meter ie multimeter on current to see just how much current is blowing the fuse . It might be a slightly larger fuse rating might see the whole system ok. Or as said it could be a problem of motor drives in antenna. I could not imagine you could find a compatible antenna and only a genuine replacement would be suitable. ol'will

 

[Graham376]

Did you unplug the cable at the display or the antenna? Could possibly be a cable fault/short, particularly if jointed.

 

[Escapeii]

Have you opened the scanner housing? I had a 1623, an occasional fault was the belt drive to the rotating antenna jammed and stalled the drive motor. In my case a fault message would come up on the display, but maybe there's a chance that the overload could blow the supply fuse.

Thanks for your suggestion. I did open the housing, checked the belt and ensured the antenna rotated freely. No obvious signs of scorch marks anywhere either. I'll take another look to be absolutely sure.

 

[Escapeii]

Did you unplug the cable at the display or the antenna? Could possibly be a cable fault/short, particularly if jointed.

I unplugged the cable at the display, so yes it could be a cable issue. Thanks

 

[Escapeii]

I don't think you could be sure the problem is in the antenna because when you disconnect it the fuse does not blow. The whole system may shut down with no antenna connected so reducing current though fuse. I might suggest if you can substitute the fuse with a 20 or 10 amp meter ie multimeter on current to see just how much current is blowing the fuse . It might be a slightly larger fuse rating might see the whole system ok. Or as said it could be a problem of motor drives in antenna. I could not imagine you could find a compatible antenna and only a genuine replacement would be suitable. ol'will

Thanks for your suggestion. I will investigate further. I wondered if there might be a newer Furuno antenna that was compatible.