OpenCPN Radar Overlay PlugIn

[svcattales]

My Garmin18HD radar quit on me after 4 months and others may benefit from lessons I learned. The first clue that the problem was within the dome was the lack of noise (fairly loud) when I turned on the switch. Also, the Gradar PI log showed "scanner status unknown." The dome was still under warranty so I called Garmin and they were very helpful. They had me do a voltage check at the dome and also wanted to know the error code on my chart plotter. A friend had a compatible chart plotter and it indicated an "error code 1." I passed on this info to Garmin and they gave me an RMA for repair. Garmin received the radar on a Monday and shipped it back to me on the following Friday so the turnaround including shipping was only 2 weeks. They replaced the modulator board and updated the software. Reinstalled the dome today and it is working normally again.

[yachts4me]

Diagnostic help please.

GMR 18HD scanner
OS is windows XP
Open CPN ver 4.2
Gradar ver 1.5

Scanner powers up and the head rotates a few degrees before settling. It appears to be recognised by the plugin but always the log ends with Scanner State: unknown (6).

If I switch the scanner on and start Open CPN fairly quickly I see Warmup(1) Warmup(2) but then Scanner State: unknown (6).

Attached is a screen grab of the Gradar log and the .pcapng file from Wireshark. I had to change the file extension to get it to upload, so will need renaming after download. I made a couple of changes to Range and Noise to see if the data was sent to the scanner but my network experience is limited and I don't really understand how to follow the Wireshark in any detail.

Thanks, Mark

[ChuckSK]

Hi Mark

The Wireshark file shows a scanner status of 6 [scanner error] with a error code of 6 [Magnetron high voltage error ----- The high voltage power supply for the magnetron is out of specification.]

Checkout this link for more detail. Garmin GMR 18 Marine Radar Magnetron error | Electronics Forums

chuck

[svcattales]

Mark, I had a similar experience with my Garmin radar. I had the "status unknown" message and another symptom was I couldn't hear the scanner spinning when I turned on the switch. I ended up sending the radar back to Garmin for a repair. One complication I had when returning the radar was the questions I had to answer. The technician needed the radar "error code" I received on my Garmin chartplotter. Since I was using the radar with OCPN only I had to borrow a friend's chartplotter to get the error code. In my case Garmin replaced the modulator board and it was covered under warranty. Since the repair it has been working fine. Good Luck with yours.

[CarCode]

Could someone please enlighten me?
Still I have no radar but I thought the digital Broadband radar antennas does not have a Magnetron anymore. Now I read here about Magnetron high voltage errors and the such. Are the Broadband radars still analogues?

Gerhard

[yachts4me]

Hi Greg and thanks for your input. The scanner definitely powers up and the scanner rotates a bit and then settles. I do have the same issue with getting an error code for Garmin support, only I don't have access to a suitable Garmin chartplotter. Without a definitive code I guess Garmin can't say what a repair may cost although I have seen some high figures when browsing around the topic.

Regards
Mark

[NahanniV]

Originally Posted by CarCode

Could someone please enlighten me?
Still I have no radar but I thought the digital Broadband radar antennas does not have a Magnetron anymore. Now I read here about Magnetron high voltage errors and the such. Are the Broadband radars still analogues?

Gerhard

The Garmin (discussed here) RADARs are pulse, and use a magnetron.

The Navico: Br24, 3G, 4G are solid state, using low power CW.

Cheers,
JM.

[rgleason]

Gerhard Broadband has a taller magnetron to send and recieve multiple frequencies. That is why the dome is taller. It uses far less power,starts up instantly and is safer because the beams are not as powerful.

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by yachts4me

Hi Greg and thanks for your input. The scanner definitely powers up and the scanner rotates a bit and then settles. I do have the same issue with getting an error code for Garmin support, only I don't have access to a suitable Garmin chartplotter. Without a definitive code I guess Garmin can't say what a repair may cost although I have seen some high figures when browsing around the topic.

Regards
Mark

Mark, I don't know how Garmin would feel about their radar being used with OCPN. On the one hand they will sell more radars because they have a new niche of customers. On the other hand, they may not like warranties on radars used with non-Garmin chartplotters. I don't know if you want to be the "guinea pig" to test them out or if your symptoms seem close to my problem, you could try "error code 1" which was the code I got from the Garmin chartplotter.

[yachts4me]

Does the plugin work with the GMR18 network radar. Those just before HD ?

[bdbcat]

yachts4me...

Yes, I have GMR18 scanner, works fine.

Dave

[dinhanhtuan]

Hi Dave
I has a project about marine similator. So i will program in pc as virtual radar to sent radar sceen to OCPN but i dont known format type that Garmin scanner transmitt the picture in frame protocol. You could discript obout it?
ths!

[Jubilee39]

I have a problem with the Garmin but am at internet cafe so cannot directly give details. It was working fine for about a year but when I powered it up to leave Malaysia no display showing on chart. It worked fine a few days before but I had a crash on Windows 10. I get the indication of warm up but when I push the radar button nothing happens, I monitored the log file and see a tx on when I push the radar button. There is several sentences showing indicating state, scanner speed etc and they look similar to what I seen on first install. Is there a possibility that there is something in windows blocking the radar display? I am in Krabi Thailand and do not have access to a MFD to actually check the scanner

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by Jubilee39

I have a problem with the Garmin but am at internet cafe so cannot directly give details. It was working fine for about a year but when I powered it up to leave Malaysia no display showing on chart. It worked fine a few days before but I had a crash on Windows 10. I get the indication of warm up but when I push the radar button nothing happens, I monitored the log file and see a tx on when I push the radar button. There is several sentences showing indicating state, scanner speed etc and they look similar to what I seen on first install. Is there a possibility that there is something in windows blocking the radar display? I am in Krabi Thailand and do not have access to a MFD to actually check the scanner

Joe, I'm still on Win 8.1, but here are a couple things that may apply also to Win 10: Check "network connections" in control panel to see whether you have an Ethernet connection. If you are not getting an Ethernet connection, your windows firewall could be blocking you. Go through this path to change settings: windows firewall; advanced settings; public profile; firewall properties; public profile; customize; uncheck Ethernet . Also, I if you are using a security program, try turning off firewall and "network scanning" functions. I'm using McAfee and I have experienced strange symptoms with McAfee turned on. Hope this helps.

[Aikiguy]

Not to sound pendantic, but I have several clients running this system. I have been on a couple of service calls for it.

Did you right click on the screen and show the radar control panel. After some time not using it, several of my clients have forgotten this step.

Thanks,
Guy
:-)