Simrad Broadband Radar in PNW

[Rustyf]

Seems to me that this radar would be especially suitable for a sailboat given its very low current draw and instant on feature. Appreciate anyone's thoughts on this.

[billsull]

Broadband radar is high up on my wish list also. From what I have read, the power consumption is half of the Raymarine or Garmin units while transmitting and less than a quarter of their consumption on standby. I also like the fact that their are displays from 5" up (Lowrance) that can interface with a broadband transducer.

Several years ago I was on a buddy's boat enjoying a sail across Long Island sound and we didn't realize that the radar had been on since our early morning departure until we went to start the engine to enter his marina and had no juice! (I know, we messed up by leaving the battery switch set to "all", but hey, it was a nice day - who wants to go down below?) Anyway, I have been waiting for something like this to come along before I could consider adding another load to my minimal electrical system.

[sailingdog]

The major advantages of broadband radar are:

1) No warm up time
2) Much easier placement of radome due to very low emissions
3) Safer due to very low emissions
4) Better discrimination of nearby targets

However, they apparently have a problem with discrimination at longer ranges and with interference from other radars. Also, a broadband unit won't trigger or read a RACON IIRC.

[wwilson]

Originally Posted by billsull

Several years ago I was on a buddy's boat enjoying a sail across Long Island sound and we didn't realize that the radar had been on since our early morning departure until we went to start the engine to enter his marina and had no juice!

Bill,

A conventional 2K radar draws ~28W while transmitting and 9W in standby. A full day of transmitting would have drawn down the batteries by ~56Ah. A 4K radar would have consumed ~68 Ah in 24 Hr. As pointed out in the above post - there are advantages to broadband, but power consumption seems a chimera. No food fight intended - just "doing the math".

[Rustyf]

I don't understand from your post just what math you did to make your point that broadband's smaller power consumption is of not consequence which I presume is what "chimera" means. Please explain.

[wwilson]

The point is that 56 Ah of battery draw down is pretty minimal on a cruising boat with any kind of house battery bank capacity, particularly when the reality of radar is that it is not a daily use application and when accompanied with engine use the draw is easily acceptable to most sailors.

The power difference is 11Watts between broadband and conventional. I concede that 17 is less than 28, but at the end of the day not enough to replace an existing radar and given the negatives already cited about broadband, maybe not enough incentive for many to select broadband.

[Rustyf]

Got it. Thanks.

[wwilson]

Hey Rusty,

Sorry if I seemed to rain on the parade. I didn't mean to appear the Luddite. I think broadband is an interesting new technology and is well worth a look - I just think that reduced power is a secondary consideration unless of course you use it more than most of us do and hate to hear an engine running.

Here is an interesting review of the technology: http://www.navigate-us.com/files/upl..._Radar-1-1.pdf

Now, if I could find a refrigerator that only ate 34 Ah / day!

[sailingdog]

How big a fridge did you need. I run a 22 qt. Engel MT 27 off of a solar panel 24x7 during the season.

Originally Posted by wwilson

Hey Rusty,

Sorry if I seemed to rain on the parade. I didn't mean to appear the Luddite. I think broadband is an interesting new technology and is well worth a look - I just think that reduced power is a secondary consideration unless of course you use it more than most of us do and hate to hear an engine running.

Here is an interesting review of the technology: http://www.navigate-us.com/files/upl..._Radar-1-1.pdf

Now, if I could find a refrigerator that only ate 34 Ah / day!

[billsull]

Hi Wayne,

Thanks for introducing some hard numbers into the discussion and I don't take it as starting a "food fight" at all. I'm sure other factors beyond the radar contributed to not being able to start the engine that day, but letting it transmit all day didn't help either.

That doesn't discount the fact that radar can be a significant portion of daily power consumption on a sailboat, perhaps only exceeded by refrigeration or an anchor windlass. Since I don't have refrigeration or a windlass, a radar will certainly be one of the larger loads in my minimal system, so power consumption is important to me. Others may value other features more and that is their right - Sailnet's a place to both share our interest in all things sailing and celebrate our differences!

P.S. I noticed your hail port is Herrington Harbor - I used to sail out of Worton Creek in the northern Chesapeake and I miss the longer season and the great anchorages there. I hope you're enjoying some early season sailing with the weather this week!