is there a genuine small boat radar system ?

pvb said:
Nice thought, but West Marine have restricted access to their website, and people in Europe can no longer view it. It's a shame, as I always found the site useful, and indeed I've bought stuff from West over the years.
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I' didn't know that, was any reason given?

W.
 
I have a 7 inch chart plotter & find that far too small to be of much use to my eyes & i get fed up zooming in & out for the AIS & trying to read the overlaid AIS data
So on a small boat with radar overlaid on that as well I could imagine trying to read it on deck a total nightmare
I sail single handed so the plotter has to be right by the tiller ( just behind it in fact) otherwise I cannot operate it or see it
I have never used radar but I would guess it to be more of a problem at that end of the works than the bit up the mast
Perhaps those that have used it can comment
 
PilotWolf said:
I' didn't know that, was any reason given?
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Yes, Europe has introduced data protection laws (GDPR - Global Data Protection Regulation) which requires website operators to meet various criteria. I imagine West Marine thought it wasn't worthwhile doing whatever they needed to do to comply, bearing in mind presumably very little of their business comes from European countries.

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dunkelly said:
do radar scanners pick up everything or are they only for picking up shipping
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What they pick up depends very much, particularly on older sets, on the users skill in operating it. I am not especially skilled with radar, but have used a variety of sets. The modern ones with fancy electronics and overlay on a largish chart plotter are certainly the easiest to use.

As others have said, in perfect conditions they can pick up mooring buoys etc. but also they can miss a yacht or fishing boat if adjusted incorrectly in rain and/or waves.
 
Neeves said:
A mentioned I would have thought power consumption was a, or the, critical factor on a small yacht, rather than size of the dome.

Current common domes would not be obtrusive on the mast of a 27' yacht, nor on a pylon on the transom. But most small yachts have finite, and small, power resources (unless its a MoBo) and I'd have focussed exclusively at the power needs - as there is obviously little point in radar - if you cannot power it.

Jonathan
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I always think an outboard in a well is the best option for boats up to say 24', except this does not produce much electricity, even ' saildrive ' outboards with uprated charging coils; but the weight, hassle and cost of inboards is silly for 24' or less.

Which is why I intended from the outset to use my radar in bursts for a look around.

Any boat over that will probably have an inboard with alternator, and obviously can have solar, wind etc as well - so is just as well off for power as a 35'.
 
A radome is quite a big thing to have aloft on a small boat, with radomes at around 8kg or more. I would consider having it lower at the stern.
 
johnalison said:
A radome is quite a big thing to have aloft on a small boat, with radomes at around 8kg or more. I would consider having it lower at the stern.
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We did notice a slight change in stability when adding radar and reflector to a Centaur mast, even though the dome wasn't too far up. Didn't stop us coming back up after a broach I'm glad to say!
 
Rum Run said:
The smallest radome I know of is for the JRC1000, which is 300mm diameter if I remember correctly but had been out of production for years.
I understand that the smaller the antenna the wider the beam, which decreases resolution, but possibly modern solid-state electronics get round that.
Radar marketing seems to make a thing of maximum range, when I would have thought spotting a small object close by was more useful since GPS makes blind navigation simpler
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You're right in saying that the smaller the antenna, the wider the beam. Unfortunately, there's no way round that - the dimensions of the antenna define the minimum beamwidth; it's a function of the wavelength of the radar. Short wavelengths can use smaller antennae, but of course, manufacturers are constrained by the bands allocated for use by radars.
 
For a small yacht imho I believe that weight up loft is far more important than physical size. The B&G 3G & 4G or Raymarine Quantum series are far lighter than their predecessors, also with the added advantage of using far less power. Has the OP considered of mounting the radar at the stern either on a pole, or on the backstay, where they can fit a larger dome?
 
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Gadget257 said:
For a small yacht imho I believe that weight up loft is far more important than physical size. The B&G 3G & 4G or Raymarine Quantum series are far lighter than their predecessors, also with the added advantage of using far less power. Has the OP considered of mounting the radar at the stern either on a pole, or on the backstay, where they can fit a larger dome?
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+1 Several others have also suggested pole mounts. With the radomes you mention, pole-mounting is also better since metal masts create a blind spot if the units are mounted there. To add numbers to your power consumption argument, 3G units draw 18 watts when active, and almost nothing on stand-by. Additionally, stand-by is a more convenient mode to use, since transmission wakes up instantly: no waiting for a magnetron to crawl into life.
 
if there was anything smaller i would have mast mounted but i understand the physics a bit better now, so a pole mount is the way to go . i will keep my eyes out for a jrc 1000 as this will i think be ideal . power not a problem as i would use it as previously described and most of the time as we all know around the south coast the type of fog we get (cant remember if its advection or convection )means the donk is usually on when it happens . i was very used to operating them so the small monochrome screen dos'nt bother me . thanks all for the comments
 
If mounted on say a 2 metre pole the random would be about3 metres above sea level so what is the distance to the horizon?
i was thinking of putting the AIS transmit antenna on a pole on the stern as well. Splitters for the vhf system are a crazy price and a bog standard VHF antena is inexpensive.
the cable runs from a pole on the stern to the plotter for both would be much simpler I think
 
dunkelly said:
power not a problem as i would use it as previously described and most of the time as we all know around the south coast the type of fog we get (cant remember if its advection or convection )means the donk is usually on when it happens .
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That all makes sense except that when I sailed in the UK I found myself using radar mostly to keep an eye on fishing boats at night, so often under sail. (The unit was a JRC1500, so very similar to the one you have in mind. Basic, but OK. The display was mounted on a swivel adjacent to the companionway, and could be viewed from the cockpit or below, as desired.)

FWIW, UK coastal fog is typically advection, most notably on the E coast and especially in spring/early summer. The S coast, and more so the W, probably experiences more frontal fog.
 
rszemeti said:
Aye, ye can nay change the laws of physics (as Scottie would have said) ... there have been some (minor) improvements in signal processing, and in pulse formation, but essentially, larger apperture radars work better.

The problem with radars on small boats is not just finding somewhere for the radome, but powering the thing. Modern electronics have improved that somewhat, but they are still fairly thirsty devices.
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Don’t quote me son
 
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