Someone commented - How to rig a 'rain catcher' radar reflector :

[Refueler]

Deleted - go your own way girls.

 

[lw395]

I don't think that's right.....

 

[bedouin]

Not sure how you hoist it correctly with those attachment points!

 

[bedouin]

I don't think that's right.....

I am sure Nigel knows the correct orientation but I think that photo is very confusing and could easily be misinterpreted.

 

[rogerthebodger]

Nigel shows double catch rain.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

The correct way to rig them is to gather up the device and drop it into the skip.

 

[Refueler]

Deleted - girls will be girls

 

[rogerthebodger]

The correct way to rig them is to gather up the device and drop it into the skip.

Thats what I did any my safety surveyor did not like it but did not argue.

 

[bedouin]

The black cord is actually a loop ... simply attach halyard ends one to each loop and hoist away ...

Doesn't that give you a "double catch rain" rather than the preferred "catch rain" - or have i missed something?

 

[Refueler]

Deleted - daren't be different to Forum Experts !!

 

[Refueler]

Deleted .... Forum Experts !!

 

[Poignard]

Fair enough ... but of all radar reflectors for the yacht - the Rain Catcher usually comes out tops in tests ...

.

I'm not sure you're right about that.

If I remember correctly, more than 20 years ago one of the yachting magazines reproduced some research carried out by an official body that showed the best passive reflector was the Echomax and the worst was the type you have.

On the strength of that report, I dumped my "raincatcher" and fitted an Echomax.

 

[Refueler]

Deleted ... gotta keep the kids happy

 

[Refueler]

Deleted .... why bother ?

 

[Poignard]

Passive or Active ?

Makes a big difference.

One of the worst despite its popularity as I recall was the Blipper !

..

I did say "passive".

I'm not 100 % sure how accurate my memory is about the source of the test I referred to but I am absolutely sure the Echomax was rated the best and that's why I bought one.

 

[lw395]

In one of my jobs, we found the 'vertical plates' orientation to be extremely effective.
But that was with a radar where the reflector was many wavelengths across.
And it starts to matter whether the plates are 'exactly' perpendicular to each other, and whether they're covered in corrosion or not.

The catch-rain has the most even reflection all around the azimuth. Edge on has possibly a higher mean response but more peaks and nulls.
Which is actually best may depend on how it's spinning in the wind and what sort of radar with what sort of signal processing is looking for you.
AIUI, vertical plates has a higher likelihood of being blown up by a certain system I worked on. It's not trivial to say what's best in real life against variable sea clutter, when you don't even know what radar is looking for you, heights of target and radar etc etc. But in general octo's and variatons thereof have done sterling work on thousands of buoys and other navaids for the past half century or more.

 

[pvb]

This is the correct way and why its nicknamed 'rain catcher' .....

Unfortunately, that's not the "catch rain" position, as others have said.

The correct "catch rain" position for a rectangular octahedral reflector can be seen by simply placing it on a table. Three edges should touch the table's surface. About the only way to hoist this in the correct orientation is to use the 3-point harnesses illustrated by Rogershaw in post 5.

 

[Poignard]

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/547c705540f0b6024400008d/Radar_reflectors_report.pdf

 

[pvb]

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/547c705540f0b6024400008d/Radar_reflectors_report.pdf

Yes, that's the report commissioned after the loss of "Ouzo" (which incidentally proudly displayed a 6" octahedral reflector).

 

[Poignard]

And a bit more:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/547c7054e5274a429000008f/OuzoAnnexes.pdf