JRC radar life

misterg

misterg

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Prompted by an earlier post on replacing a JRC radar:

Does anyone know how long the magnetron(?) is expected to last in a JRC1000? (You know, the 'hours' display that comes up when you switch it on).

Ta.

Andy
 
Their life is much the same as a CRT -- many thousands of hours. Most of these designs are intended for professional use...I don't mean big ships but professional fishermen, small ferries, etc. around the world. As far as the average yachtsman is concerned, magnetron life should not be an issue -- I have our radar on whenever viz is limited e.g. when the genoa is out even in fine weather.

It would be interesting to have feedback from folk here....has anyone had magnetron failure on their yacht radar? It won't be too long before solid state 'magnetrons' are available and they will last indefinitely.
 
I have asked this question of our Engineering community, as I work for a large Radar manufacturer. We manufacture both ship and ground radars in constant use.
Although there is no hard and fast rule, a magnetron in light use should last 3000-5000 hours. Its life is affected by poor tuning and setup, as it may be working far harder than it needs to be.
No one I spoke to could accurately put a figure on it, although there is a patent going through which has a magnetron life calculation method. We don't have access to that.

So, after 4 seasons, my radar still has only 45 hours use, so it will last to 2085. Allegedly.
 
So it doesn't sound like I should be worried at 168 hours, then /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif - I guess the radar has been fitted for ~10 years, so it hasn't had much use...

Best learn how to drive it, then, hadn't I?

Thanks all.

Andy
 
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