Who uses radar

[bastard]

Was just sitting at home board so i turned on my vhf,there was a warning on channel 13 to watch out for a unlit pontoon floating somewere south of peel island,i regularly travel at night and would hate to hit anything,so how many people use radar?.

[googarra]

Fish mostly at night and would not leave home without it. Picks up near everything and everysize. Mine overlays the gold charts so it is a reassurance that I know where I am, a backup to the GPS maps. I run between islands with only a few kms between them about only about 5 kms from the mainland and no land lights or anything else to navigate by. No running into sand islands up here, sheer rock boulder walls.

Best feature, apart from safety, is crossing the shipping lanes bewteen the GB Reef and mainland, always seems to be freighter traffic. I can see them at about 15kms away (further if I zoom out) and pick direction and whether I need to up or down revs to get safe distance.

I always keep a sharp lookout but the radar will always show a red dot on the map before I can ever see it.

Depends on what you do and what you want to spend on safety, dunno about down south, boats and lights everywhere.

[rocklobster]

Nearly ran over two old blokes in a tinny one night on the way back into the harbour . It was there and then i decided to buy one . It gives you the added confidence of knowing when there is a boat in the immediate area as well as a backup to your chartplotter and compass. Many travel at night with the sole belief that a chartplotter will not error . I have a new plotter and have also kept the old . All four instruments should read and give you the same information I was always concerned that when leaving the harbour in darkness and heading to a popular fishing destination that someone may be contemplating the return trip home on the same line . Many boats here are poorly lit and their owners dont seem to care .The radar is one of the best safety devices i have ever bought next to an inflatable liferaft

[Member101]

Just out of curiosity... what is a radar unit worth?

Cheers
Steve

[TimiBoy]

Yep, definitely use it.

Cost is about what you want. Mine was ovelaid on the Nav screen, which meant a heading sensor as well, all up about 5 big ones. There are many less than that, but how much I don't know.

It will certainly be in the next tub.

Cheers,

Tim

[kitty_cat]

just brought the new garmin hd stuff awsome stuff
i havent done a night trip yet but feel alot better having one

couple of pics to show how clear new hd stuff is.

[Ratman]

I too am considering radar. Probably a base model Furuno.

I intended setting it at 2nm for collision warning only.

Do you really need it for more than that?

Mick

[TimiBoy]

I too am considering radar. Probably a base model Furuno.

I intended setting it at 2nm for collision warning only.

Do you really need it for more than that?

Mick

It'll show you the waves on a night bar crossing, and give you dimensions of rain showers if you want to avoid them.

I guess there are others...

Cheers,

Tim

[bastard]

Thanks for the replies,i have been looking at the furuno 16nm one,its relatively cheap but i dont know how good it would be,is any body using one of these

[Angla]

When you have radar do you then stop looking where you are going with your eyes?

I have a radar deflector for the big ship stuff if I ever get out overnight. But to get there and back I rely on great lighting. Just because the regulations say you should have a red and green as well as a all round white light does not mean you have to be limited by these regulations.
Spotlights showing up the sides of the boat and a search light under the bowsprit are a comfort to turn on, knowing that even those without lights on may see you coming from a mile off.
I just hope the guys with radar are watching too.

Cheers
Chris

[OPTI]

I too am considering radar. Probably a base model Furuno.

I intended setting it at 2nm for collision warning only.

Do you really need it for more than that?

Mick
im gettin one of the hd models ,it has bird spotting feature ,which is the main reason i want it ,they are also good for stealing other mates secret fishing marks,if you know they are out you can keep an eye on them and get waypoints where they stop,8-) the bigger the kw the better for radars and open aray antennas are better than the dome.

[onerabbit]

they are also good for stealing other mates secret fishing marks, if you know they are out you can keep an eye on them and get waypoints where they stop

What an arsole..........................

Muzz

[onerabbit]

Just needed to qualify my last post..........

what a COMPLETE arsole you must be...

I have had marks stolen by someone with a radar, only to find that mark is no longer usable..
only a dog would stoop so low,

if you cant find a decent spot to fish on your own,
then it's time to sell the boat and take up golf.

Muzz

[OPTI]

geez little bit touchy ,take a chill pill bud,reread my post,
1,i dont have a radar yet ,
2,the main reason i want one is for bird spotting
3,i was just giving another use for them as i know people that use that feature
4,you COMPLETE TOOL:-X

[Bill_Corten]

As TimiBoy says, radar is awesome for picking the waves on the bar at night and working the dimensions of showers. Excellent too for picking the direction of travel of showers and storms too, so good for planning next moves on rainy days.
Can easily pick up ships at long distances, can set vector alarms for when on anchor Etc. Easily picked up a waterspout at 28Ks along Fraser when wasn't very familiar with unit.
Bigger advantages are in the rain when the rain clutter can be activated and it becomes your eyes in the rain, picking up objects like beacons and boats you cannot even see, but be precautionary and travel at reduced speed. At night when using the chart overlay radar is awesome at picking up other boats that are unlit. Don't think I have ever travelled home across Moreton Bay at night without picking up at least one unlit boat that I couldn't see without radar.
Hope that helps.
Cheers
Bill

[Fish_Two]

I find it a must for travelling at night, coming in from out wide on the gold coast with all the lights of buildings on the horizon it is very hard to even see the anchor lights of other boats, radar picks them up before i do,

[onerabbit]

Opti,

1,dont have one yet.......I havent needed one in 10 years of deep water fishing, not that i wouldnt like one, just not for stealing other peoples marks.
2. YEAH spotting birds..........
3. Decent people DO use them for legitimate reasons
4. Take a look at your own post......if you need a radar to steal marks from others that work hard to find good marks,
then my friend YOU are the tool.........

Muzz

[onerabbit]

Does anyone here use their radar for spotting birds?

legitimate question.......perhaps i dont understand.....

Muzz

[rocklobster]

The smaller of the Furuno units are around $2300 . I leave mine on the an inner circle of .5 of a nautical mile and an outer of 3. and once in open water i increase the outer to 5 . I am using this unit to avoid a collision only . I have noticed that in flat water they work very well but with a meter or more sea running occasionally you will get a false signal which will give you the sense of "did i miss something". With use i am becoming more confident with this unit . I have had no experience with other brands but like anything ,you get what you pay for .

[Midnight]

Muzz,
Yep, some folks do use their radar to find flocks of working birds for pelagic fishing. It is a reasonably common thing.

I know a few Game boat skippers that reckon it can make all the difference, especially during tournament time when the points count and the Calcutta money is high!

Cheers,
Myles

[marto78]

Are they sensitive enough to pick up crab pot floats? I know the pros algae covered pots are hard enough to see and avoid even in day light.

[samsy]

My mate and I are picking up the new boat on Friday. It will have a new Raymarine 4kw radar installed. Yes there are positives and negatives to a radar as mentioned above. The same attitudes existed amongst a few when GPS units were first introduced. Some old timers compalined back than because they thought GPS made fishing too easy. Well, that was exactly the point of GPS units - safer and easier. Now every boat has a GPS, common sense really. The same can be said about Radar in years to come. Go with the flow or miss out.

Anyway cant wait to use it. Two sleeps to go. Will let you know my thoughts after we have used it a few times.

[Mr__Bean]

When you have radar do you then stop looking where you are going with your eyes?

Cheers
Chris

A very very valid point.

I have radar and yes it is very good if you do a lot of night work.

But, when focussing on the radar and plotter screen when out at night I always place a spotter in the other front seat.

You cannot effectively go from being focussed on an 8 inch screen to being focussed on a very dark view out of the windscreen. You can try and you can kid yourself but I don't believe it to be safe.

Not saying don't glance up for a look, just don't expect your eyes to adjust to see everything properly.

Where the radar is very effective is finding unlit channel markers in narrow entrances, the radar will find them well before you will sight them and the radar will tell you where they are, not where the GPS thinks they are.

Very important when coming into narrow offshore reef lagoon entrances if there is a bit of sea around you.

- Darren

[Jarrah Jack]

I fish with a guy who is a chopper pilot and is a total instrument nut. He scares me sometimes as I think he spends too long mucking around with all the gadgetry and not enough time concentrating on the boat and whats ahead.

[onerabbit]

Samsy,

is that you Mark???

Has Tom got a new rig coming??

Much has changed since we last talked,
perhaps we could catch up?

Muzz

[yowie3]

A RADAR is another aid to navigation like a or GPS plotter. However the only difference with a RADAR is that it displays exactly what is there, not what should be there. It will never replace the responsibility of a skipper to maintain a proper look out with there own eyes.

However a RADAR is an excellent piece of equipment for assisting with night time navigation. If you are coming into the Brisbane River entrance at night time, which is heavily effected by back scatter lighting, then a RADAR will assist you tremendously with identifying the navigational beacons and vessels ahead and behind you if you have it zoomed in to about .05nm and slow down to an appropriate speed to avoid a collision. A RADAR also assists you to take a bearing and fix yourself on a chart by using the variable range rings.

If you do a reasonable amount of night time navigation a RADAR should be one of the first things you purchase in my opinion.

Cheers

[ScottB]

Hi All,
To all those that use Radar, how useful is it in picking up things that are very close to the water (ie trap buoys). We do a reasonable amount of night fishing, and my biggest fear is picking up a trap buoy at night. When we are going through the areas that are known to have traps, I always slow to displacement speeds, could I expect a decent radar to show anything up on such targets at low speeds?

Thanks for any info

Scott

[Mr__Bean]

No real chance unless it has metal to reflect.

- Darren

[Chine]

I have read a few posts which have mentioned GPS ENC/Radar overlay. This is effectively the radar returns overlayed on the GPS electronic chart (ENC).

The GPS ENC is normally displayed "North Up" with the radar "North Up" alignment achieved using a fluxgate heading sensor. These heading sensors can be unreliable and are subject to errors caused by local magnetic effects.

If the heading sensor (after being corrected for variation and deviation) is in error by as little as 5 degrees, off true north, a misalignment of the two data layers will be presented. So rather than seeing a beacon radar return directly on top of the beacon's ENC charted position you will note a misalignment.

This can lead to some dangerous assumptions at night.

Some manufacturers have realised this operational problem and have introduced satellite compasses with vastly improved performance.

If you do not believe me then put a piece of steel next to your fluxgate and watch the display change. They also require frequent calibration/swinging.

[dodgyone]

No real chance unless it has metal to reflect.

- Darren

Yep, all those mettallic gulls give themselves away.;D

[TimiBoy]

I have read a few posts which have mentioned GPS ENC/Radar overlay. This is effectively the radar returns overlayed on the GPS electronic chart (ENC).

The GPS ENC is normally displayed "North Up" with the radar "North Up" alignment achieved using a fluxgate heading sensor. These heading sensors can be unreliable and are subject to errors caused by local magnetic effects.

If the heading sensor (after being corrected for variation and deviation) is in error by as little as 5 degrees, off true north, a misalignment of the two data layers will be presented. So rather than seeing a beacon radar return directly on top of the beacon's ENC charted position you will note a misalignment.

This can lead to some dangerous assumptions at night.

Some manufacturers have realised this operational problem and have introduced satellite compasses with vastly improved performance.

If you do not believe me then put a piece of steel next to your fluxgate and watch the display change. They also require frequent calibration/swinging.

I found that after the initial calibration my Furuno setup remained aligned. I checked it every time I went out, too - easy enough, just ensure the return matches the mark on the map.

Another key, ripping, brilliant and fantastic advantage of the radar overlay is that it gives you an immediate reading of North, instead of having to wait for the GPS to update, ie. no waiting for the damned thing to update your direction. Very useful on a dark night.

Cheers,

Tim

[Mr__Bean]

Yep, all those mettallic gulls give themselves away.;D


Detecting gulls against clear air is possible.

But you won't detect a crab pot buoy against the waterline background.

- Darren

[gofishin]

I first used RADAR ~22yrs ago, in the pre GPS days, and it was installed purely for nighttime navigation. Then, it was a massive benefit. They have since come a long long way, but even with the benefit of good GPS plotters with electronic charts, I believe it (RADAR) is an invaluable aid for nighttime navigation, and that’s why I have one on my boat – especially to pick up these clowns that travel unlit at night.

A GPS plotter with an electronic chart shows you what’s around you ‘at the time the charts were produced’. A RADAR shows you what’s there ‘right now’ - in real time. There is a big difference!

All the benefits as others have said; rain, waves, birds and other non-metallic objects, but obviously anything metallic ‘generally’ reflects so much better, especially if panel geometry offers good reflectance (think about the Stealth planes etc and why they came about). A std lateral marker, with the flat panel front-on to you, will generally reflect much better than a 6m glass boat even at a distance.

Overlay is fantastic, but I generally don’t use it at night when I use RADAR mainly for collision avoidance, and hence negate any possible ‘issues’ from temporary heading sensor inaccuracies (mobile phones or other EM sources etc too). I split the screen, have the RADAR screen on a small range and ‘Head-Up’ display, and the Plotter on a much larger range and ‘North-Up’ (which is how I normally have it displayed). Might sound confusing to some but it works fantastically for me. I leave the <Control> on RADAR so I can temporarily zoom in/out quickly if required (when I have picked up a target etc). This way the RADAR screen only shows targets, and that is what I am concentrating on. To do this you need 10” widescreen minimum. (Oh, and as Darren has mentioned, a good ‘spotter’ is a must, plus the ‘Night HUE’ display is much easier on the eyes for quick re-focusing up ahead etc)

As far as ‘clear screens’ go, although I have never used an HDS unit, I am a bit wary of too much fancy filtering electronics, because it can be easy to miss a weak echo when the receiver is ‘tuned’ or switched to be less sensitive. For instance, if I activate the FTC circuit (forget what the acronym actually means), which is different from the Sea Clutter and the Rain/Precipitation filtering, I can make my screen crystal clear, but I lose weak echoes and some definition. They might be that good, and am happy to be proved wrong– maybe I am too old fashioned;D
Cheers
Brendon

[samsy]

G'day Muzz

Yeah its me and noTom is not buying another boat (for the moment). Another mate has purchased a hydrofield. Shes a great boat and I cant believe how well she rides in all conditions. We were meant to pick it up yesterday.Unfortunatley she still isnt ready. Maybe next week now.