st599
Well-known member
Not a silly question at all! I have no idea; there is no interconnection, so all I can think of is that it ignores signals OVER a certain strength. Even though the active transponder is usually located well out of the radar's beam, one a few metres away will still be radiating a lot more power than the power received from a radar on another vessel.
Interested in hearing from someone with more definite knowledge!
Incidentally, that sounds like a good reason for the transponder to be mounted at the masthead, where it will be in a null of the radar antenna's polar diagram. I can't imagine why you'd want to restrict the range at which it reacts by mounting it low down. As far as I'm concerned, the further I can be "seen" the better!
Does it ignore it? A traditional radar won't switch to receive mode in time for you to see it. A new FMCW radar painting it may get a response.