Raymarine- radar bearing alignment out............ help!!

[Mike k]

Hi all

any help appreciated how to solve this one --been on the water today to witness the Battle of the Atlantic celebration in Liverpool bay and noticed that the radar picture is about 20 degrees out of alignment meaning the coast is ahead when reality its just sea etc

Any ideas how to fix this and why it would happen when its been fine before. Its a Raymarine C70

Thanks very much in advance

Mike

 

[duncan99210]

Can't remember exactly where it is in the menu tree, but if you use the menu button you can change the alignment angle so that the heading will match reality. Hmmmm sorry, just re-read your post. I've not got the same system as you. However, on my system, from the radar screen, use the menu button and you get the radar set up menu. On this menu there is an option for the bearing alignment - set it up so that reality matches the radar picture. Suspect your system may have a similar menu tree, so give it a try.

 

[jbweston]

I have a C120 Widescreen. For this there is a set of instructions in the installation manual about how to test the alignment (it looks like you've done that already!) and then how to adjust bearing alignment electronically. For the C120W, that's to bring up the radar page on the display, then select the bearing alignment menu, then the bearing alignment softkey, then use the rotary control to place a target that you know to be dead ahead in the correct dead ahead position on the display, then press OK.

Manuals for most Raymarine gear are available for free download from the support section of their website so if you haven't got a paper manual for your C70 you should be able to get a pdf.

I've done the bearing alignment adjustment myself several times, both for initial setup when new and when the radar has been dismounted and remounted after winter lay-up ashore. Usually that's just a few degrees out of alignment - so if yours is 20 degrees out, it's possible that there's something more seriously amiss. I hope not.

 

[alan17]

I concur with Jbweston. The difficulty that I used to have was keeping the target dead ahead whilst adjusting. My solution involved using the AIS triangles and adjusting so that the AIS position overlapped the radar target. No good of course if you do not have AIS on the same screen!

 

[Tomahawk]

Big question...

Does the bearing allingment seem to change with heading...
That is ..it is correct when pointing north but goes awray when pointing east/west?

If so you may have a problem with the compas rather than the radar... After all the beqring allingment is fixed to the boat and does not change as yu swing through the points of the compas.. the hart allingment relies on the compas heading to turn the chart head, couurse, north up Etc

If you try to swing it... USE THE AUTOPILOT ROUTEENS. not the calibrate transducers- swing compas...
Been there round and round and round and round in circles!!!!

 

[Mike k]

Big question...

Does the bearing allingment seem to change with heading...
That is ..it is correct when pointing north but goes awray when pointing east/west?


I will have to check


If so you may have a problem with the compas rather than the radar... After all the beqring allingment is fixed to the boat and does not change as yu swing through the points of the compas.. the hart allingment relies on the compas heading to turn the chart head, couurse, north up Etc

If you try to swing it... USE THE AUTOPILOT ROUTEENS. not the calibrate transducers- swing compas...
Been there round and round and round and round in circles!!!!

Thanks very much for this do you mean there is an inbuilt compass in the plotter or radome and when you say Autopilot routines do you mean using the soft keys on the unit rather than any physical movement of equipment? TIA

 

[Tomahawk]

Thanks very much for this do you mean there is an inbuilt compass in the plotter or radome and when you say Autopilot routines do you mean using the soft keys on the unit rather than any physical movement of equipment? TIA

Ok I am assuming you have a raymarine autopilot and course computer...? Though
inwould assume that ano other course computer will be basically similar..

The compas inputs direct to the course computer as does the rudd position and rate giro..
When you can go to user setup you see a function to calibrate transduders.. compas depth speed wind... Etc..However, as the compass is going into the course computer it is bypassing the calibrate transducers function..

There are chapters on calibrating autopilot... basic and advanced... You use these functions to swing the compas...

I only found this out after gong round and round for hours then talking to tech support in Portsmouth Once you get into the swing compas menu on setup Autopilot ... it should be quite easy...

If there are any problems with the calibration... you should look at the instalation first.. just to confirm no one has stashed a great lump of iron next to the compas unit...

 

[Mike k]

Ok I am assuming you have a raymarine autopilot and course computer...? Though
inwould assume that ano other course computer will be basically similar..

The compas inputs direct to the course computer as does the rudd position and rate giro..
When you can go to user setup you see a function to calibrate transduders.. compas depth speed wind... Etc..However, as the compass is going into the course computer it is bypassing the calibrate transducers function..

There are chapters on calibrating autopilot... basic and advanced... You use these functions to swing the compas...

I only found this out after gong round and round for hours then talking to tech support in Portsmouth Once you get into the swing compas menu on setup Autopilot ... it should be quite easy...

If there are any problems with the calibration... you should look at the instalation first.. just to confirm no one has stashed a great lump of iron next to the compas unit...

Thanks very much Tomahawk- I will have to check things out more thoroughly because its not a thing I am too familiar with!! I do know my ships compass is standalone and not wired to anything so gawd knows how it gets its readings then how to adjust it!!.

 

[knuterikt]

Hi all

any help appreciated how to solve this one --been on the water today to witness the Battle of the Atlantic celebration in Liverpool bay and noticed that the radar picture is about 20 degrees out of alignment meaning the coast is ahead when reality its just sea etc

Any ideas how to fix this and why it would happen when its been fine before. Its a Raymarine C70

Thanks very much in advance

Mike

The information you provided is a little bit inaccurate.
In what mode are you operating the Radar when you notice that it's 20 degrees out of alignment?
1) As a standalone Radar with heading up?
2) In chart overlay mode?

In case 1 it is the Radar antenna that has changed orientation or that the correction for the radar orientation has been changed/lost.

In case 2 it's something wrong with the heading information the Plotter use to orient the radar picture on top of the chart.
Most plotters use heading data from a solid state compass (electronic). If you also have an autopilot - the plotter and the AP can share the same heading sensor.
The most common source for misaligned heading data from a magnetic compass is magnetic object located close to the heading sensor.