Tlindy,

I strongly disagree, you are overestimating the lowest end of the radar
offerings. You cannot just set a guard zone and have it detect a
collision. There is no ARPA feature, and the MARPA feature requires a
lot of opearator assistance, as well as an extra $900 heading sensor to
help it better track targets.

At the lowest end they are much more difficult to be used for collision
avoidance with boats or land, paying more money quickly lessens the
amount of time and expertise needed to operating them, but even then, a
higher-end recreational radar probably requires more understanding to
operate then any other device on a sailboat, and a significant
concentration to operate. For example, on the lowest end radar most
other sailboats don't appear on the screen unless you play with the
gain with then requires even more concentration and experience, and
features like overlaying a chart with bouys and depths can further ease
the work load on a radar operator who is also piloting.

I don't believe the average person should get anything less than an
integrated chartplotter with maps a good 4kw radar, a lot of reading,
at least 4 hours of on the water training, and resolve to use the radar
in good conditions twice a month to keep up skills. Otherwise, all you
might be buying is a radar assisted collision.

Dan

p.s. I use a Raymarine E-80 chartplotter and 2kw radome, and have it
mounted the minimum distance up the mast I could arrange so that I have
good close in coverage, and placed it on a self leveling mount so I
don't have blind spots when the boat heals. I think the beamwidth is
good, but wish I got the extra power so I can see other sailboats,
especially the ones that are pointed right at me and have a very low
return. Pushing up the gain a bit I can see them, but then I get false
returns also. I also added a heading sensor to improve the MARPA
performance, which also improved my autopilot performance.






tlindly wrote:
First, I'd say that the Cat's skipper probably said that he saw it as
junk because he was used to something better. I've seen the world
through a USN 3D radar and now I think that all other radars are junk,
this is'nt really true but it is the way that I see it. My boat
doesn't have a radar, it did but the previous owner tore it out, and if
I get one it will be El Cheapo Dexulo whose sole purpose is as a
collision avoidance alarm. Which brings me to;

Second, for what purpose do you want it, collision avoidance or a
navigational aid?
If it's just an alarm, go cheap, mount low, but get the tiltable mount
and as another fellow mentioned, specify to your salesman short range!
If it is for a nav aid, spend as much as you can, mount as high as you
can. Otherwise, you will be calling your own radar a piece of junk,
after you've seen someone else's fancier radar [did you know that with
a REALLY good radar, you can actually see {oops, sorry, gotta censor
that, it's classified...}]



Thirdly, you could do what I do. Heave to, throw up two red lights,
set the auto fog horn to once a minute and go to bed.

Lastly, to make a truly informed decision that you won't regret, you
must See the various brands and models of radars, in the various
configurations and talk to the operators about what they do and Don't
like about it. And that's gonna take quite some time! When you run
into someone who says 'this is the best darned radar I ever had!' and
you ask him why And you understand his reasoning, then buy that radar
and mount it in that configuration.
You've gotten several good bits of advise here, but notice that no one
has confirmed or denied whether the 1623 is better or worse than the
1715. Of course they couldn't because you didn't state the purpose.

Well, good luck. And remember that I can fix a radar but I can't sell
them.
O, and ask that Cat Skipper [and everyone else] what radar Did he like,
and Why.

tom
SS_Kanwara
=-==





luc wrote:
I read in Practical Sailor about radar, and their reccomendations were
the Furuno 1715 (? I think), and not rated as good was the 1623. I
have a race boat, and want a radar, but as small and light as possible.
While sailing aboard Derek Baylis, a Wylie Cat 65 this past weekend, I
asked the captain what he thought of the 1623, since that is what was
on board. He answered that it was the worst piece of junk for a radar
he's ever seen, and he has much experience. Here I was ready to buy
one, but now not so sure about the 1623.

A few questions. Is there another small radar that is good? Is the
quality of the radar directly related to the size of the radome? What
are the pros and cons of locating a radar on short mast aft, as many
cruisers have, or on the main mast of a sloop?

thanks for any help,

Luc