RAdar- Where to put it?

[Brettoh]

I have a Halo20+ radar to go on the roof.

Im an overthinker and I am in conflict with how I see others install their radars, the information offered by the manufacturer and balancing both to find the solution that best suits me.

Ive done the math on getting a signal over the front of the boat and not having the roof line or bow rail come into play. Im leaning towards a 250mm high mount which means I can set the radar back a maximum of 800mm from the front of the roof
The roof is about 2.2m wide and as you can see in the picture the Heading sensor is also mounted on the roof.

Im almost certain that the radar, even mounted 250mm high, will spread some of its rays into the heading sensor.
is this an issue?



Will I miss out on reading signals to the side and rear given there is way more than 800mm of roof to the rear and about 300mm of roof in the way to each side.?

Clearly performance will be reduced but do I need 100% performance to the rear and the side?

If I follow the info from Simrad Ill need to mount the radar about 700high which is out of the question.

Any thoughts please?20240807_163326.jpg20240807_163309.jpg

[chris69]

Have you thought about contacting the makers of the heading sencor and asking them weither a radar will affect it, then you will know if you have to go higher.

[Corry]

I'll see if I can attach a couple of pictures, this is where mine is mounted.

I haven't had a radar before so can't tell you if it's working as good as what it should, but images are clear on the screen, range is as far as I'd want to see.

Can I ask why you purchased it? I've had the thought that if mine didn't come with it (it was a boat show boat) then it's something that I wouldn't have gone and bought afterwards. I mainly use it to see where other boats are... really for stealing others spots
It does pick up flocks of birds, weather, that sort of thing, but that doesn't really help me for my style of fishing. I can say that at night it is awesome for identifying the banks when coming back up the creeks, and reefs when they're out of the water at low tide, but not enough to navigate by.

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[Brettoh]

I'll see if I can attach a couple of pictures, this is where mine is mounted.

I haven't had a radar before so can't tell you if it's working as good as what it should, but images are clear on the screen, range is as far as I'd want to see.

Can I ask why you purchased it? I've had the thought that if mine didn't come with it (it was a boat show boat) then it's something that I wouldn't have gone and bought afterwards. I mainly use it to see where other boats are... really for stealing others spots
It does pick up flocks of birds, weather, that sort of thing, but that doesn't really help me for my style of fishing. I can say that at night it is awesome for identifying the banks when coming back up the creeks, and reefs when they're out of the water at low tide, but not enough to navigate by.

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Hi Corry.,

I appreciate the reply.

A you know, the reef is a long way out from Mackay. We often head out in the dark and grab sime shut eye at scawfell and then head out to the reef to be there as the sun comes up. And then there are those awesome days with almost perfect seas that we would hang around until dark before heading home 3 or 4 hours away. I think the radar will make travelling way safer compared to the hope we rely on at present..lol

No. Im not interested in other people's fishing spots. I prefer to find my own as there are plenty out there.

Appreciate the pics. While your roof is a little smaller than ours it give me a piece to my puzzle. Cheers

[Corry]

That's one of the things I love about having Cairns as an option for us, the reef is just there.
Another one for safety that I've been looking at is FLIR, we've had two encounters with whales on early morning runs heading out between the Smith Group and Brampton, close enough to really put the jeebies up ya, and the radar didn't help us as they surfaced right in front. It was enough of a scare that I'm really hesitant at moving too far in the dark anymore. Also, the radar doesn't pick up shallow reefs, or small swells over the reefs either, which is another reason I'm interested in a FLIR unit before venturing out at night too much.
I'm not sure what impact having a FLIR camera would have on the radar if it is positioned in front of it, I'm only just starting to look into them now. I've got a M&G in October with Team Cruise Craft at Hinchinbrook, the Garmin guys are there for these events, so I'll poke for a few more answers then.

[Dignity]

That's one of the things I love about having Cairns as an option for us, the reef is just there.
Another one for safety that I've been looking at is FLIR, we've had two encounters with whales on early morning runs heading out between the Smith Group and Brampton, close enough to really put the jeebies up ya, and the radar didn't help us as they surfaced right in front. It was enough of a scare that I'm really hesitant at moving too far in the dark anymore. Also, the radar doesn't pick up shallow reefs, or small swells over the reefs either, which is another reason I'm interested in a FLIR unit before venturing out at night too much.
I'm not sure what impact having a FLIR camera would have on the radar if it is positioned in front of it, I'm only just starting to look into them now. I've got a M&G in October with Team Cruise Craft at Hinchinbrook, the Garmin guys are there for these events, so I'll poke for a few more answers then.

I wouldn't put directly in front, my mate had his FLIR well to one side. Yes the FLIR will pick up whales, we'd had similar issues where they surface in front of us, also asleep on the surface in the morning and difficult to identify from a nice rolling swell. Sorry I still can't post pics.

[ranmar850]

Does your heading sensor need to be up there? Typically, with Caribbeans and Raymarine heading sensors for their autopilots, they mount them as low as possible. Closest to centreline is best, but they apparently work better when exposed to less roll, which is why they mount them low. Mine is just inside the cabin door, about 600mm above deck level, and in the 2300/2400's, the dealer mounts them under the step down into the cabin.

On the subject of whales, we had a serious incident up here recently when someone hit a whale at speed just on dusk, at speed. The younger bloke, driver, was not seriously injured, but his old man was a mess, thought he wouldn't survive for a while. Teeth all over the floor , apparently, and bad head injuries. Our town is certainly on the humpback highway when they are in transit, but not considered much of a risk in July, because they are all further north. Or so they thought. At the time, we were up at Ningaloo, 600k north, right in the path of the migration, and I would just not travel up there in the dark above idle, full stop. It's bad enough in broad daylight, numbers are incredible, they are surfacing right under your bow at trolling speeds, thought I was going to get hit with a tail more than once. Keep all the lookout you want, and we do, you can't see them when they have travelled sub-surface for a k or two, then come up for a breath. Or are sitting just under the surface, I spotted one just after pulling the gear in, about to accelerate for the reef entrance because we were in the shallows and out of the risk area. Full breaches 50 metres away, from a whale you didn't even spot, are pretty awe-inspiring, and effin terrifying . 10 metres of water and over are now the danger zone. Of course, having a billfish trolling pattern that necessitates you zigzagging across their path doesn't help. Look back at a day's trolling track, and that regular pattern is fill of doglegs, circles and course reversals nowadays, all about whale avoidance. FLIR would be much better than radar, but I still wouldn't travel at speed in the dark here, between June and September.

[disorderly]

Pic from near Maggie island this morning....Bloody thick at the moment...we saw a pod just 2 km's from the ramp this week as well as other random encounters....

Certainly not travelling in the dark at the moment..


whale 12345.jpg

[Dignity]

Pic from near Maggie island this morning....Bloody thick at the moment...we saw a pod just 2 km's from the ramp this week as well as other random encounters....

Certainly not travelling in the dark at the moment..


whale 12345.jpg

Is the bloke on the back about to jump in?

[Brettoh]

Does your heading sensor need to be up there? Typically, with Caribbeans and Raymarine heading sensors for their autopilots, they mount them as low as possible. Closest to centreline is best, but they apparently work better when exposed to less roll, which is why they mount them low. Mine is just inside the cabin door, about 600mm above deck level, and in the 2300/2400's, the dealer mounts them under the step down into the cabin.

The HS60 is a satellite heading sensor and gps all in 1. it doesnt need to be calibrated when installed and is not susceptible to magnetic interference.
The precision 9 is a magnetic heading sensor and a separate GPS is needed. it need to be calibrated and installation locations can be a challenge on an alloy boat.


Ive mounted the radar on a 200mm stand and the beam clears the heading sensor.

Thanks for the reply