Radar Target Enhancer Echomax Active XS

Roberto said:
.,,,, 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".
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I like that idea...although I have radar and Ais so hopefully I will be aware of the location.

I am going to fit the radar and the RTE on a gantry at the stern, but am toying with putting the ais transponder antenna at the top of the mast...

The French yoke looks very simple and
I suspect could be made for a few quid...

CARD... was an American version. I think they are basically 4 receivers tuned to the x or s band...
 
dgadee said:
What is in them that makes them so expensive? And what are the RPi boys doing to produce one for a fiver?
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I asked that question before and got some defensive answers...I think they are just a niche article that could easily be reproduced but because they transmit they would need certification and that is perceived as being expensive.

I would guess at 100 units you'd break even at their price.

I even emailed NASA and suggested they make one but they did not reply...
 
pandos said:
I asked that question before and got some defensive answers...I think they are just a niche article that could easily be reproduced but because they transmit they would need certification and that is perceived as being expensive.

I would guess at 100 units you'd break even at their price.

I even emailed NASA and suggested they make one but they did not reply...
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Yes the technology itself must be relatively simple ( not that I can describe it myself..), would a kit version, or plans, get around the certification malarkey? After all, radio hams are allowed to make their own, far more powerful, transmitters.
 
Gary Fox said:
Yes the technology itself must be relatively simple ( not that I can describe it myself..), would a kit version, or plans, get around the certification malarkey? After all, radio hams are allowed to make their own, far more powerful, transmitters.
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It wouldn't be legal to operate a home-built version. I don't know if it would be legal to sell plans or kits, but I can see why companies wouldn't be interested in developing and supporting a very niche product whose use is against the law and whose price (and hence profit) has to be held down because that's the only benefit it offers.

As far as I know a ham operator could make and operate something like this, but only if it operated in one of the ham bands - where ships' radars aren't, that's the entire point of having the bands - and so it would have no practical use. In fact that's a pretty textbook case of what amateur radio and its frequency allocation is supposed to be for.

Something like a homemade Echomax but not quite working right would essentially be a radar jammer. Preventing people accidentally building radar jammers and taking them to sea is why this stuff is regulated.

Pete
 
My dual band Echomax was fitted spring 2011 at the mast head. No problems that I am aware of so far and quite a few offshore miles.

Just a note of caution for those mounting it on the stern. There will be a blind arc forward where the return pulse is deflected off your mast (assuming a sailing vessel) and will not give a return on the ship's scanner. How big an arc depends on the diameter of the mast and how far away the Echomax is. Ship radars have circuitry to reject intermittent returns and will only display consistent targets, so it is important that the echomax has a clear line of sight all round the horizon (I think the instructions made this point). Passive radar reflectors suffer from the same problem, especially when mounted against the mast which gives a massive blind sector.
 
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