High Definition Radar.... WOW !!!!!!!!

[Maine Sail]

I just finished installing a new high definition radar on my boat and all I can say is WOW!!!!!!! They should have had this LONG ago!

After speaking with the manufacturer at length about the differences between HD and regular it became clear I wanted the HD dome. In very dumbed down laymans terms with every rotation it basically samples the target 8 times instead of just once.

Every target is well defined, very clear and you know when it's a real target on the first pass. I've never owned any radar that has even been in the same ball park with this new HD stuff!!!! I have not even had to play with any settings something I feel goes with the territory.....!!

I really don't know or understand why I'm not reading more about HD radar and feel it is the best kept secret in the marine industry? This is the best thing to happen to small dome radar in eons!!

If you are in the market for radar BUY an HD dome!!!!! Currently only a few manufacturers are making them in small dome sizes but my guess is more will be coming out with it..

P.S. For the many who know me here you know I'm NOT easily impressed and this new radar has me feeling like a kid in a candy store..... I'm impressed!!

[Valiente]

Make, size, price? Thanks.

[dvpamenter]

What did you replace and what was the motivation?
Don

[camaraderie]

Garmin right Halekai?

[Maine Sail]

I was trying to avoid a brand discussion, should have known better, but yes it is Garmin and it replaced a Raytheon 10X with 7" CRT screen which is still working and will go on Craig's List soon. I wanted one screen with overlay at the helm and that is what precipitated this upgrade.

After much research I found Garmin offered the most features and benefits regardless of the fact that it also cost less. Price was not even a factor in this decision as I need good radar if I want to sail considering the amount of fog we get up here. Compared to other 18" domes there simply is no comparison...

In the last 12 years I've owned 2 Furuno's, 3 Raytheon/Raymarine radars and now this Garmin. Again, all I can say is WOW!

I paid $1050.00 for the HD dome and found a Garmin 3205C plotter/display for under $700.00.

Currently only Northstar, Furuno & Garmin are offering HD domes in the small size... Sure I'd really love to have a 4' open aray but it's just not feasible on a 36 foot sail boat so an 18" 4kw dome is the next best thing..

I can't wait to start tweaking the settings to see what I can get this thing to reveal beyond it's auto setting...

[negrini]

What an envy Hale !! HD radar is not that big secret, DSP has been developed since 70s and radar application was just a matter of time. What is a surprise, is the size of dome offered. Since you have considered an open array, do you think my 43 would fit it ? how ? .... ahh envy !!

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by negrini

What an envy Hale !! HD radar is not that big secret, DSP has been developed since 70s and radar application was just a matter of time. What is a surprise, is the size of dome offered. Since you have considered an open array, do you think my 43 would fit it ? how ? .... ahh envy !!

No, I never really considered an open array for my sail boat just a dream. I have used them extensively on big motor and sailing yachts and the size of the antenna dictates the beam width. The narrower the beam the better the target definition.

For an 18" 4kw dome, with a rather wide 5 degree beam width, this thing does the best job I've yet to see in this size, though I'd bet the Furuno HD does a spectacular job too, I just don't like and did not like Furuno's user interface when compared to Garmin and I'd be using the display for more than just radar plus the Furuno 19" HD dome is still only a 2kw.

I used to work on & deliver large yachts 55 - 110 feet and spent countless hours using open array radars and there is no substitute for a large antenna! Even HD does not come close to or replace a big open array..

I'll never see 4kw's worth of distance on the water level but I do like the range for weather...

Fur-uno 2kw 5.2 degree UHD 19" Dome

Gar-min 4kw 5 degree HD 18" Dome


Sorry I had to put the hyphens in the brand names or Sailnet would hijack the link and re-direct to the store not the manufacturers specs...

[btrayfors]

Halekai,

Congratulations on your new HD radar. Sounds like an improvement over what you've seen or used in the past.

I'd just like to echo the importance of horizontal beamwidth in discriminating amongst radar targets. The Furuno 19" UHD radome has a 5.2 degree beamwidth (almost identical to your new Raymarine unit). They also make a larger 24" UHD radome with a 3.9 degree horiz. beamwidth.

While DSP and other fancy receiver techniques may make radar much more usable, I would point out that there are a couple of other factors to be considered. One is the horiz. beamwidth, mentioned above. The other is the type and definition of the display unit itself.

My Furuno 1832 4KW 36-mile radar has a 24" radome with a horiz. discrimination of 3.9 degrees. It also has a green-screen CRT (not LCD) with a 481x680 pixel resolution. It paints small objects very clearly on the screen when properly adjusted. For example, in two summers in Maine waters I found I could pick out lobster pots with the radar, and I can see many crab pots in the Chesapeake Bay with this radar. Ditto for rowboats, floating debris, and other small targets.

The radome is mounted on a pole on the stern, about 9' above the deck or some 12-13' above the water. This position favors close-in targets, compared to a radome mounted much higher up on the mast which would favor targets further distant. However, I wanted to optimize for close in targets (things I could run into), and still find the radar perfectly well suited to track storms many miles away...because they're high up.

A number of discussion sites have poo-poo'd the HD or UHD labels now being used as marketing tools, saying there's really nothing new here. I'm not saying that...I don't know enough about the technologies being employed, yet. My interest would be to see what DSP could do for an already very good radar like the 1832 :-)

Bill

[negrini]

Originally Posted by btrayfors

While DSP and other fancy receiver techniques may make radar much more usable, I would point out that there are a couple of other factors to be considered. One is the horiz. beamwidth, mentioned above. The other is the type and definition of the display unit itself.

Bill, with HD you can remove the display resolution advantage, as DSP can match your pixel count for clarity (of course, I'm not considering anything lower than XVGA), but agree with size of antenna .... no substitute for.

I selected Raymarine for electronic cartography, as NAVIONICS are the only one providing good resolution for my sailing ground. I'm about to install another E120 Ray radar by Sptember, and will pray for them to release an enclosed radome HD, like Furuno and Garmin on time. May be I could build an arch for an open array mount .... not sure if will get too oddly sized, for a 43' boat. Halekai used them only on much larger yachts.

[Danny33]

That nice Halekai Eh ?
Ive been looking at garmin .
Thanks for the vote of confidence !