What stand-alone radar?

[Joh.Ghurt]

Time for me to dip into the wisdom of the crowd.

I have on my boat an old Raytheon 2800 radar, which I seriously consider replacing in the next 12 months.

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My electronics are rather simple based on a NMEA-0183 network with an Wifi gateway to allow my ipad to function as a chart-plotter. I'm quite happy with this setup and I don't really want to get a fully integrated NMEA-2000 suits. It doesn't give me enough fun-value for the € I'd have to spend. I guess, I need a stand-alone radar.

Because I don't have tons of solar either, I would prefer a radar with small power consumption. The old Raytheon is really sucking those Ah like no tomorrow.

I'll be cruising mostly along the barefoot route, no intention to go to Greenland, New England or other areas where you have to have a radar installed in the head to find your butt half the year. I guess I'll use it mostly to track squalls and as an alarm in addition to AIS when sailing solo.

As a matter of little importance, I have some sympathy for Furuno as a brand, but I'm in no way hung up on them. I'm not such a big fan of Garmin, but that wouldn't stop me buying from them, if they have the right product from me.

• Under these circumstances, what would you recommend?
• Are those newfangled digital solid state doppler radars a good option for me?
• What size makes sense for my use?
• Has the development in this area stabilised or are some developments on the horizon worth waiting for?
• Would it make sense to skip the project at all?

[svloki]

Stand alone? Furuno 1815, with the 4kW scanner. Rock solid as expected from Furuno.

[mvweebles]

The newer digital radar antenna use about half the energy of their conventional counterparts. The furuno 1815 uses about 35w, the B&G Halo 20" uses 18w. Your older radar set is much higher than even the 1815, so you'll see a power consumption benefit from either set

Many people find that interfacing AIS receiver from a VHF is handy as well as some sort of GPS/heading sensor so you can display course-up. 0183 may limit your options compared to N2k so make sure you have the install flexibility you want for future add on.

Good luck

Peter

[Joh.Ghurt]

Thank you, that makes a lot of sense.

[Bycrick]

Remember that usually the power requirements for a stand-alone radar include both the scanner AND the display. With the "system" radars like the B&G, the radar power requirement usually doesn’t include the display power. Newer, solid-state radars use less power, if for no other reason than you don’t have a magnetron filament. The solid-state radars are also easier on power because you can turn them off and on with no wait time so it doesn’t really need to be on all the time.

The above completely neglects the various new "features" that exist on the newer units like color display screens, using Doppler shift to tell you whether a target is approaching or retreating, etc.

Look at all the variables to see what’s really important to you.

[Dockhead]

Great question.


I have one of those "newfangled" solid state radars. for what 7 or 8 years by now. Contrary to popular belief (a) they don't save that much power; (b) they don't suck at distance. The lack of main bang can be a boon in a thick fog. So not a bad choice, but not the only choice. All the radars available now are great.



2. There is no point in a freestanding radar now. You get the chart plotter free in the bargain. So just buy any radar (I think they're all good now) with the associated MFD, which is also a plotter. And life will be good. 0183 is fine -- they all have an 0183 listener port. No need to convert the boat network.

[svloki]

Good issues

Pros for the dedicated radar sets include the tactile experience of knobs for gain, range and modes. When tired, alone, at night, in bad weather, simple controls are nice. For areas and seasons that depend on radar, many will still choose stand alone.

MFD integrated sets can offer a lot more functionality, and a free plotter as Dockhead says. I would recommend a relatively big MFD if this is the option chosen.

For the OP, it needs careful planning- as a whole system on board.