Radar

[trantor12020]

My friend is thinking of installing a radar unit on his 33footer. Question is the Raymarine C70 set has a 2KW radrome. Does it mean it draws 2000W/12V=167Amp ??
How does one power their radar on a sailboat without onboard genset ?

[bubb2]

Raymarine publishes the power consumption of the 18" dome as 28 watts and 9 watts on stand by.

[sailingdog]

Trantor-

The transmission power is not a constant rating, since it transmits in pulses, 24 -30 per minute usually. As Bubb has pointed out the actual power usage is more like 30 amps when being used at maximum power. However, a large house battery bank is still a very good idea on a sailboat that has radar.

Originally Posted by trantor12020

My friend is thinking of installing a radar unit on his 33footer. Question is the Raymarine C70 set has a 2KW radrome. Does it mean it draws 2000W/12V=167Amp ??
How does one power their radar on a sailboat without onboard genset ?

[trantor12020]

Its great if the overall power consumption is just 30amp. I might even consider it for my boat. hmmm, so I wonder how does the 2KW factor in in this power calculations?

[camaraderie]

Trantor...the AVERAGE operating amp usage of the 2kw dome is 28 watts or about 2.3 amps. Add this to whatever the display uses (2 amps or so) and you have LESS than 5amps total power required to operate. This is about the same as a decent refrigerator so is not trivial over time if you don't have a big battery bank or a way to charge while under sail alone (solar/wind/generator)
On a 24 use basis that is still 120 amp hours or so...but in my experience, not many use active radar 24x7. We would only use it at night or in poor visibility. Very worthwhile to have but you need to figure out how to size and charge the batteries if you are planning to use it on passage rather than weekend trips.

[trantor12020]

Cam, ok the amps is manageable. I would imagine the radar would be use on night passage and during heavy downpour where visibility is poor. Just wondering if the weight of the radar antenna on mast would increase the heeling angle.

[camaraderie]

Trantor...16 lbs at spreader height won't cause any problems with heeling.