Radar

[gingercoastie]

Radar - big boys toy or essential safety equipment?

[Louise]

Surely it depends. If all you're gonna do is pootle up and down Southampton Water on nice summer days, it's a big boy's toy. If you're into serious off shore cruising it's an essential safety item!

[pettal]

And only useful if you know how to read it!

[Mark Halliday]

Something else to distract you from looking where you are going?
Mind you, your part of the world is a little prone to fog. Could be useful on those balmy summer days when everything suddenly goes white.

Louise is about right.

[Andy Gee]

Originally Posted by gingercoastie

Radar - big boys toy or essential safety equipment?

Agree with Louise, but I came back up to Inverkip last night, well at 0130hrs this morning, (about 12Nm) in a F7-9 gusting and used only it and a Plotter as I couldnt see with the spray etc.
If I was to chose between a Plotter or a Radar I would have the Radar every time.
Andy

[pettal]

Originally Posted by Mark Halliday

Something else to distract you from looking where you are going?
Mind you, your part of the world is a little prone to fog. Could be useful on those balmy summer days when everything suddenly goes white.

Louise is about right.

You wanna try Guernsey......the only place I know in the world that can be blowing a force 5 and still foggy! Deep Joy!

[Scary Des]

I would say that radar is higher on my list than a plotter. Radar will show you the unexpected things where as a plotter is really only a short cut tool for trip planning which can be done by chart and compass alone.

The only thing that worries me is that they can give you a false sense of security which might make you keep less of a lookout. Des

[Louise]

Originally Posted by Scary Des

The only thing that worries me is that they can give you a false sense of security which might make you keep less of a lookout. Des

Talking of which, if you're involved in an incident and your radar wasn't switched on you can be in trouble for not keeping an adequate watch (or words to that effect).

[Jon Brooks]

I would have to agree with Louise too.

Not an essential in most cases but crusing and commercial a must.
Saw the New Garmin radar yesterday, looks very good.

Regards

[gingercoastie]

I had been thinking along the lines of the Raymarine C series display that combines radar / gps / fishfinder all in one. With an Icom radio of course.

[Louise]

Originally Posted by gingercoastie

I had been thinking along the lines of the Raymarine C series display that combines radar / gps / fishfinder all in one. With an Icom radio of course.

What's the screen size? Do you toggle between the displays or can you display all at once? Have you a link?

Edit: is it this one? http://www.yachtbits.fsnet.co.uk/rad...s-displays.htm

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by Louise

Surely it depends. If all you're gonna do is pootle up and down Southampton Water on nice summer days, it's a big boy's toy. If you're into serious off shore cruising it's an essential safety item!

I'm not sure you're dead right there, Louise. Most of the traffic you need to see is likely to be close to shore and harbour areas.

I've often spotted boats on the radar that I've missed seeing by normal lookout. The radar can give you the spacial relationship between targets which your eye is unable to decipher. This is especially so in a small boat because the horizon is so low.

The targets you need to see are not always traffic, land figures highly, especially groups of islands where they overlap to your view but the radar places them nicely. I have even identified my position by this method when other expected markers were missing.

It's a cool tool.

---------------

I see me blobs are reducing....I must have been a bad boy... again.

[Jon Brooks]

Originally Posted by gingercoastie

I had been thinking along the lines of the Raymarine C series display that combines radar / gps / fishfinder all in one. With an Icom radio of course.

They are based on the 2010 and the 2006 now called the 3010 and 3006!
Yes you can overlay images and data.
Looked good in simulation mode.

Both these units have DSC data too and as our M601 is one of the only radio's with a NMEA output it would more than likely be one of ours if you wanted to take advantage of the feature!

Regards

[Louise]

Originally Posted by jwalker

I'm not sure you're dead right there, Louise. Most of the traffic you need to see is likely to be close to shore and harbour areas.

OK I was being a bit flippant but you know what I mean!!! Basically, there are some boats that just pootle around at 6 knots once a year and the skipper is so busy showing off to his mates that he won't be keeping any more of an eye on the radar than he is on anything else apart from his gin & tonic or bikini clad beauties lying on the sun deck! For these people it is just a toy and, as someone said earlier, they wouldn't know how to read it anyway! Contrast that with people who go out on their boats all year round, zooming here, there and everywhere... That's the point I was making (obviously not very well though!!).

P.S. There do seem to be 'green blob thieves' around - I went down to 2 but now I'm back to 3 and Richard B has gone from 3 to 2 then to 1 then back to 2 then back to 1 now back to 2. The thief/ess seems very determined! Surprised you're a target though, JW!

[Jon Brooks]

Originally Posted by Louise

What's the screen size? Do you toggle between the displays or can you display all at once? Have you a link?

Hi Louise

You can just one thing on the display or you can have a split srceen with plotter/ radar/ depth all on together.
You can overlay the radar onto the plotter and if you are in the States you can also overlay weather info that downloaded from the US Sats.
Shame thats not over here yet!
It can be as a stand alone radar or as a complete multi screen system.
They also have video inputs for camera's etc.
An output to a pc to.

Regards

[Louise]

Sounds great (until the day it goes wrong of course! ).

Even better in colour!

[Jon Brooks]

Originally Posted by Louise

Sounds great (until the day it goes wrong of course! ).

Even better in colour!

Sorry did I not say its lcd so there for colour.

With ref to spots and blobs, you have just had one from me! as it were!

Here endeth my speach and as I said to my first lover.....
"I am sorry its short but thanks for laughing anyway!"


Regards

[Louise]

Originally Posted by Jon Brooks

Here endeth my speach and as I said to my first lover.....
"I am sorry its short but thanks for laughing anyway!"

Hey - don't put yourself down, big boy! Anyway, it's what you do with it that counts! (I am, of course, talking about boats - you dirty minded lot! )

P.S. Ta.

[Jon Brooks]

Originally Posted by Louise

Hey - don't put yourself down, big boy! Anyway, it's what you do with it that counts! (I am, of course, talking about boats - you dirty minded lot! )

P.S. Ta.

As they say, its not how deep you fish but how you wiggle the bait!"

Regards

[Louise]

You're the master of wiggling your bait, Superradioman!