Radar Reflector

[Charlie]

You are spending “WHY” to much time thinking about this, just to fulfill a TC requirement, and so am I! LOL

We both know that boat lights up enough! Okay, I cheated! I went to your website and got your boat! This really didn’t take over a few minutes!

You have a Raymarine Radar unit… The, “Your radar puts out about a 20-degree beam above and below its plane” is a “GENERAL” rule of thumb! With your a Raymarine!! See below – yours is closer to 25-degree “total”!

How about this, just mount that "very nice looking" 'Mobri' anywhere your heart desires and leave it alone… as long it is “not” in the shaded area below! And, in your (or my) particular case mount it, in "ANY" position or way you want.


On a flat foggy morning, "you" are already going to be seen well over six (6) miles, which is just about as far as I even zoom out in the soup! I personally don't care if a freighter or anyone else sees "me" 4, 5, or 6 miles away... I only care if they see me within two (2) miles! And, I guarantees you, "I" will be moving out of the way! LOL

PS... if you want that picture, you might want to download as I probably won't be keeping it!

 

[SerengetiGuide]

haha...you are awesome, but have too much time on your hands! That's pretty sweeet though! And ya...I just don't want it to look ugly and be in the way of the radar unit. Thanks for that though Charlie.

www.serengetifishingcharters.com

 

[Charlie]

quote:Originally posted by Sushihunter

Don't believe me? Put your reflector in your microwave oven and turn it on for a few minutes and see how long that works for you [)]

Jim, ? I was just playing around with Dave, but you might want to make sure “YOUR HEAD” is not in that microwave?? I really don’t want you to start glowing, losing the rest of your hair, or getting any of those nasty microwave burns!

After drawing that angle on Dave’s boat, I just happened to think of yours. I am not saying or guaranteeing anything here, except you might want to look into your Radar “BEAM” and how far you guys are away from it? I think that wining number is five (5) feet??? I didn’t even check Raymarine’s angle in their diagram to see if it did in fact relate to 12.5 above and below? Nor do I even know what your radar beam is. “A radar beam can normally be assumed to spread 20 degrees above and below the radiating element.” Nor, do I know how far you are from? But, you might want to look and maybe dig a little deeper? There are all sorts of “warnings” in my manuals?

quote:
• At least 1 m (3 ft) from any equipment transmitting or cables carrying radio signals e.g. VHF radios, cables and antennas. In the case of SSB radios, the distance should be increased to 2 m (7 ft).

• More than 2 m (7 ft) from the path of a radar beam.


Safety Notices
This radar equipment must be installed and operated in accordance with the instructions contained in this manual. Failure to do so can result in personal injury and/or navigational inaccuracies. In particular:

1. High Voltage. The scanner unit contains high voltages. Adjustments require specialized service procedures and tools only available to qualified service technicians – there are no user serviceable parts or adjustments. The operator should never remove the scanner unit internal covers or attempt to service the equipment.

2. Electromagnetic Energy. The radar scanner transmits electromagnetic energy. It is important that the radar is turned off whenever personnel are required to come close to the scanner to perform work on the scanner assembly or associated equipment.

It is recommended that the radar scanner is mounted out of range of personnel (above head height).

Do not look directly at the antenna at close range as your eyes are the most sensitive part of the body to electromagnetic energy.

When properly installed and operated, the use of this radar will conform to the requirements of ANSI/IEEE C95.1-1992 Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3 Hz to 300 GHz and NRPB, Board Statement on Restrictions on Human Exposure to Static and Time Varying Electromagnetic Fields and Radiation, Doc NRPB, No. 5 (1993).

Height: The scanner unit should normally be mounted as high as practical above the waterline, for three reasons:
• For safety reasons the scanner should be out of range of personnel, preferably above head height. This avoids mechanical danger and electromagnetic contact, particularly with the eyes.
• Radar operates at the line-of-sight, so a high mounting position gives better long range performance.
• Surrounding large objects, in the same horizontal plane, can interfere with the radar signal and cause blind areas or shadow sectors and false targets on the radar screen (see below).

WARNING:
The radar scanner transmits electromagnetic energy. Ensure that the scanner has been installed according to the recommendations given in Chapter 1, and that all personnel are clear of the scanner,
before switching to transmit mode.

 

[Peahead]

Below is a photo from last year of a fellow that may want to stop falling asleep this close to his radar !! lol

 

[Peahead]

Actually looking at Charlies beam angles, assuming they are close to accurate, the guy in the picture above may be just below and out of the radar beam!!!

 

[SerengetiGuide]

Here is where the radar reflector WAS...I thought of moving stand to in line with Ms Heather III there and to side of bow, then can just take on and off at will...

www.serengetifishingcharters.com

 

[Charlie]

You knew I would do this, didn’t you! LOL

The “yellow” arrow is where it was mounted? That "did" create a blind spot, but it was to stern!

The “red” arrow is where/what I would do! And, I wouldn't really care if it was mounted vertical “or” horizontal!! But, this is only IMHO!

 

[SerengetiGuide]

Wouldn't that create a blind spot on the side though as well as possibly burn out the radar done quicker??

www.serengetifishingcharters.com

 

[reelfast]

if i was runnin' serengti, i'd get a piece of closet rod, mount the reflector on that and put it in one of your rocket launchers. a bit lower, but still visable 360 degrees and out of your radar sweep.

 

[Charlie]

quote:Originally posted by SerengetiGuide

Wouldn't that create a blind spot on the side though as well as possibly burn out the radar done quicker??

www.serengetifishingcharters.com

Blind spot, if it is in the "beam", that is given... Yep, you bet! Don't like that... then put on the "port", or somewhere to the stern? or directly uner the dome! What ever you do or whereever you mount, it will probably be less of a bind spot than where previously mounted?

I would "really" "really" "really" like for "someone" "anyone" to tell me or post that a radar reflector "burnt out" their radar unit? That isn't the way micowaves work! Can a microwave burn out a GPS or VHS (via the antennas)... you bet! Can it "cook" your eyes or "fry" your brain, yep! But, if that was the way it worked... your microwave oven wouldn't stand a chance, would it?

 

[Halilogger]

Microwaves have shielding, check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V94shlqPlSI