Radar Target Enhancer Echomax Active XS

[pandos]

A few days ago I took delivery of a brand new Echomax Active XS Radar Target Enhancer, I think this is the single most expensive piece of electronics on the boat,

I was very surprised to see that the cable, which links it to the control panel, is simply 24m of what appears to be domestic 3 core cable. it is colour coded Blue, Brown, and Green/Yellow. the conductors are plain copper, with no tinning, and there is no shield.

My experience of new plain un-tinned wires on boats is that they have a short life, especially if they are relatively light.

Are my concerns rational? can cables be treated to prevent degradation in a manner that is not easily detectable.?

 

[prv]

Sounds like a length of standard mains flex to me, which isn’t hugely surprising sadly.

Pete

 

[Charlie Boy]

Sounds like a phone call to Mr Echomax is in order tomorrow morning

 

[pvb]

There's no shield, but does it need a shield? As for not being tinned, lots of boats are wired with untinned stuff; it's only a problem if you let the ends get wet.

 

[Tintin]

Same with mine. Never a problem but I make sure I tin and seal the connections when moving it to a new boat.

 

[pandos]

Same with mine. Never a problem but I make sure I tin and seal the connections when moving it to a new boat.

Thats good news...how long has yours lasted?

 

[matt1]

I agree, but wasn't wholly surprised when I observed the same with mine. But, assuming the top is sealed and you bring it through a gland, or swan neck and do the connection below decks it's probably not the end of the world. I get it's a long wire but it can't add that much to the cost to have used tinned

 

[Gary Fox]

Mine (X only) has the same, working fine for the last 5 years.

 

[Topcat47]

All my wires are plain copper. When I strip them back, I tin the ends where they go into the connector, then wipe some silicon sealant around the wire where it emerges from the sheathing. Finally put a bit of shrink wrap over it and connect it up. The wires leading to my masthead unit have been in place for over 20 years and it's still working so I must be doing something right. The biggest problem I have is the plugs at the deck which really take a beating from rain and seawater, but I left about 6" slack in these and I've not shortened the slack by more than an inch or so since the last major refit.

 

[prv]

I get it's a long wire but it can't add that much to the cost to have used tinned

They‘ve been making them a while, and I suspect it’s not exactly a global multinational corporation. Probably mains flex was what they could easily get their hands on when the product first came out, and nobody‘s thought to update it.

If the case opens (I don’t know, I’ve not seen one close up) I’d be tempted to swap it for some tinned 3-core, though. It’s in a harsh environment, and hard to get at to replace. If it can’t easily be changed, I‘d live with it.

Pete

 

[ip485]

Mine has been fine, I have to say no problems ever and always works.

 

[pandos]

Those are all reassuring.

Thanks..

 

[STATUE]

"SEA-ME" , from the US , came out way ahead of Echomax.
The UK yachting press at the time put their shoulder to the wheel and wholly supported the burgeoning Echomax - Sea-Me disappeared almost entirely from the yachting columns for a time.
As an early adopter of Sea-Me I am bound to be biased. However, some time back PBO did a whole researched feature on passive reflector effectiveness using Sea-Me as their benchmark .
Went and bought Sea-Me which provoked a QEII style horn very close to me on passage from Calais to Ramsgate in dense fog, they must have thought they were closing a 200,000 tonne tanker !

 

[Gary Fox]

"SEA-ME" , from the US , came out way ahead of Echomax.
The UK yachting press at the time put their shoulder to the wheel and wholly supported the burgeoning Echomax - Sea-Me disappeared almost entirely from the yachting columns for a time.
As an early adopter of Sea-Me I am bound to be biased. However, some time back PBO did a whole researched feature on passive reflector effectiveness using Sea-Me as their benchmark .
Went and bought Sea-Me which provoked a QEII style horn very close to me on passage from Calais to Ramsgate in dense fog, they must have thought they were closing a 200,000 tonne tanker !

The RTE's don't make you look like a big ship, they just paint an unambiguous blip on the screen.
As people have posted before, it's a shame there's no competition in this market.

 

[Schuss39]

I fitted an XS version back in 2010 and was working fine before lockdown 2 started.

 

[Tintin]

Thats good news...how long has yours lasted?

10 years, 3 yachts, plus I've used it on some deliveries.

 

[Daydream believer]

I put mine on a mast on the push pit so no need to have any joints within its length. The wire goes though a deck gland.There is enough slack in the ends to cut back & re join if needs be. However, if sealed properly I rarely find it necessary to bother with tinned wires. My Echomax has been on my boat for about 9 years. The mast is an extending sailboard boom, so if in fog I want a bit extra range i can extend the mast 3ft. But as I regularly get called up by ships, in response to my AIS, on a shorter mast, at up to 10 miles, I assume that my Echomax probably gives enough range. Being on the stern i can easily service it.

 

[Roberto]

Mine too 5 years on and still has the blue and red decals like new
One thing I have been wondering: it would be nice to have a sort of rough "bearing" towards the other ship position (the MerVeille -simple radar detector, not enhancer- has four leds for the four quadrants), do you think it would be possible when needed to occasionally slide over the antenna a sort of metal cap with a vertical slot, the idea is the cap should shield the radar beam except at the slot, rotating the cap might give an idea of the bearing depending on the slot position.
Bad idea? Might need a post-it with "Remember to take the cap off afterwards".

 

[Gary Fox]

Mine too 5 years on and still has the blue and red decals like new
One thing I have been wondering: it would be nice to have a sort of rough "bearing" towards the other ship position (the MerVeille -simple radar detector, not enhancer- has four leds for the four quadrants), do you think it would be possible when needed to occasionally slide over the antenna a sort of metal cap with a vertical slot, the idea is the cap should shield the radar beam except at the slot, rotating the cap might give an idea of the bearing depending on the slot position.
Bad idea? Might need a post-it with "Remember to take the cap off afterwards".

I use mine so they can see me, not so I can see them, and the alarm stays on the silent setting.

 

[dgadee]

What is in them that makes them so expensive? And what are the RPi boys doing to produce one for a fiver?