Momac
Well-Known Member
Wifi is perhaps too new fangled for some in the sailing community.
Raymarine Quantum Wireless Radar
- Thread starter Fascadale
- Start date
lustyd
Well-Known Member
Some of us work in the tech industry. Experience and qualifications are why I don't trust WiFi with anything important.
jwfrary
Well-Known Member
Friend of mine experiance interference with his quantum, on the wifi, a wire has sorted out. Radar was pausing and the running a full echo around the screen very strange
PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
Perhaps, or perhaps some of us have experience of it.
I have wireless wind on my own boat, i wouldn't recommend it. It works most of the time, but every now and again it just doesn't work, might come to life if it's turned off/on, might not come back on for an hour. Not mission critical, but it certainly wouldn't fit it again.
I know other people with wireless wind, depth etc who have intermittent issues.
I know people who have intermittent issues with radar, usually acting up when the weather gets bad, which is when you need it most.
You have to run power to the radome, it's a simple job to run data while you are at it. Chop a metre off of the end of the cable, makes routing easy without the plug. Fit some sort of connector just inside the boat, in case the mast has to come down. The cable is often too short, so splice a section of tinned Ethernet cable in and use the 1 metre of Raymarine cable at the plotter end, saves having to buy the ridiculously priced Raynet cables and joiners.
Momac
Well-Known Member
I did say ''perhaps''
I agree Raymarine cables are ridiculously over priced.
I also agree you don't need radar in good weather
I agree Raymarine cables are ridiculously over priced.
I also agree you don't need radar in good weather
Jamie Dundee
Well-Known Member
If you don't use radar in good weather how do you learn how to use/interpret correctly? I use mine all the time on a dedicated screen, when the fog comes down I've got a pretty good idea what I'm looking at.
roaringgirl
Well-Known Member
We have the wireless version as the old one it replaced had a massive cable that was very difficult to route when the mizzen came down/went up and the wire was ultimately the point of failure in the system.
We only use it when we need it, which is generally at the worst possible moments! (fog, squalls, storms, electrical storms); but has been with us from Edinburgh to Panama via Orkney and Gothenburg and has never had a problem.
We only use it when we need it, which is generally at the worst possible moments! (fog, squalls, storms, electrical storms); but has been with us from Edinburgh to Panama via Orkney and Gothenburg and has never had a problem.
Neeves
Well-Known Member
Radar, or some radar will see beyond your visual horizon. A large commercial vessel heading toward you might be with you in 1 hour - taking avoiding action early - taking that tack you need to take, now, rather than later might lead to a more relaxed passage - even in good weather. Especially useful if planning to cross a traffic separation scheme Radar is accurate and will determine exactly where the shorelines are and other yachts in an anchorage - in good (and bad) weather and more so in the dark. The weather might be good now but knowing how those thunderstorms are tracking - can be surprisingly useful. Radar can show up low lying land - your chosen landfall - before you can see it and that same land might not register on the scale you are using for your chart
Radar is not only for bad weather.
If you've got it - it seems perverse not to use it, even if only intermittently (which is why 'instant on' is so useful).
Learning how to use your radar, its strengths and weaknesses, is valuable - finding out your own inadequacies can be just as valuable (that little fishing boat you missed - with nets out astern (been there, done that)
Jonathan
dunedin
Well-Known Member
Yes, but the AIS antenna is higher up, gives a better range and gives more information.
Yes it is worth running the radar occasionally in good visibility for practice, but our AIS (and chart plotter) is on at all times but the radar very rarely.
Very valuable in the rare occasions used, however.
lustyd
Well-Known Member
I do agree about using it in good weather but modern radar overlaid on an MFD doesn’t need learning like standalone used to. I went over my course notes and almost none of it is relevant on my new set, it’s all just obvious, especially with AIS overlaid too!
fredrussell
Well-Known Member
Just thinking aloud here but I’m wondering if the wireless unreliability reported by Paul and others is caused by the comparatively low(?) output power of a battery powered mast top device designed to eke its power out. Would a decent 12v powered signal from a radome be stronger and more reliable perhaps?
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lustyd
Well-Known Member
the issue with WiFi is the band it uses usually. Transmitting with higher power almost never helps unless you need distance, which you don’t in this instance. It’s extremely susceptible to interference in the microwave range which includes some radar. It doesn’t penetrate water at all (therefore also not people, rain, wet decks), and without MIMO it isn’t happy with reflections from things like decks. It does work, of course it does. It doesn’t work as reliably as cable though and has a great many failure modes in a marine environment. I agree the thick cables are a bit of a pain to run, but an hour of fitting pain in exchange for some certainty seems a good trade off. We’ve all seen how reliable WiFi is this year on Xoom and Teams calls while working from home!
Neeves
Well-Known Member
'but our AIS (and chart plotter) is on at all times but the radar very rarely.'
We could switch our chart plotter off much of the time. The coast is roughly straight, heading south keep it on the horizon on the right and simply count the light houses - but we don't do this - we use all the resources in which we have invested.
Now it maybe rain seldom occurs in the UK, and thunderstorms less so but so far neither transmits an AIS signal and neither do small fishing boats nor low lying reefs in the Pacific, especially those that you don't see, even with good eyesight, until they are close at hand.
We don't have AIS as our commercial traffic is not as frequent as you might have in the UK. Major concerns are the small fishing boat and weather.
We find radar invaluable to evaluate the size of thunderstorms and allow us to, at least try to, sail between cells. It is also invaluable coming into an anchorage in the dark, in mist with people thinking they don't need anchor lights, or when an anchor drags and in the panic navigation lights are forgotten (and we have no requirement to have AIS and the dragging yacht will probably have it switched off). I can use my iPad when stirring porridge at the galley when the Skipper is catching up on sleep and keep watch (ensuring it does not burn) and keep check on the radar
Horses for courses - if you have radar:
learn and use it.
Our Simrad radar is connected by a hard cable. The cable was not difficult to instal - though it does have the flexibility of a game fishing rod.
We have WiFi to allow us the use an iPad with the chart plotter (and radar) but it 'just nice'. We have never had an issue, not once - but the WiFi is not critical
None of us should need any of these 'modern' devices - we could all use DR, paper charts, lead lines, trailing logs - but we, none of us, do this - we rely on, mostly - late 20th century and early 21 st century - technology.
Jonathan
PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
The data cables for the Quantum are nothing like the older radomes and nothing like older stand alone radar. They are 5.8mm diameter, flexible cable.
Momac
Well-Known Member
I don't have radar yet but I do have AIS , which is very handy for spotting ships that may be not yet visible and understanding their movements.
The quantum radar would be a relatively easy fit for me as I already have a suitable mfd and could fit a separate mfd . It's just a matter of money.
I am river based and only do sea trips in the summer and even then only in daylight and avoiding adverse weather. My point was you don't need radar in good weather but I agree you do need to know how to interpret the radar display so some use in fair weather is necessary training. AIS needs no training.
Travelling Westerly
Well-Known Member
Answering your question from my experience - never had a WiFi connection issue other than when I use my on board myfi to update the system software. It does require the password re entering but once it's done it's been faultless.
Perhaps I've been lucky but my Quantum is on a Scanstrut pole aft and The Axiom is on a pod attached to the centre cockpit steering position so WiFi line of sight is 4m at most.
Billjratt
Well-Known Member
FWIW - I've got a Quantum radome on the bench at the moment. The only thing that DOES work is the WiFi! This one fails self-test finally, after having been intermittant for a while. bought 2017. There is no technical assistance available outwith Raymarine and the only solution other than a new one is to pay £7 or 8 hundred for a refurbed replacement with a curtailed warranty. Lots of LEDs inside but what do they indicate I wonder...
