I'm interested in any & all experiences, observations etc regarding radar usage & mod placement on our Macs. I have always had since PO boat purchase. But have not always kept installed. My current radar was not installed this season. I did miss it a little for training purposes. Am currently using a Raymarine e7D with sounder & 2k 18" digital radar - not the HD model. This is the traditional magnetron model. Am in the proce$$ of $witching to The Lowrance camp. I purchased a gen 3 Hds 9" display & hoping to have their 18" 4g broadband $ystem installed over winter.
Was always bothered with the thought of all this juice up near my bald melon. Broadband boasts much lower exposure issues & close proximity detailing, blah, blah blah.
C Buchs wrote:Mine's pole mounted and I really like the way it was done. Nice and solid. I couldn't find a picture of it, but I could take one if you want.
As far a using it, I really haven't. This was my first season and I haven't ventured very far yet.
Jeff
Hey Jeff,
If you wouldn't mind taking a pic, at your convenience. Especially of pole connections. It was actually one of your pics that had got me thinking. I bought a pole & I also have the way my PO set it up. I'm considering Not using my pole. Because it'll be easier to take down for travelling. Also how high is your radar off cockpit floor. Or, can you stand also on seat & not get a brain blast?
I don't think there are many Macs on this forum with radar, so we'll be informing most.
Thanks
Not trying to derail the topic but also consider a radio with AIS. I love it and it has some advantages over radar. It gives you the boats name, size usually, and if you are on a collision course or not with said boat. Having the name helps in calling them if you think you or they might have to take evasive action.
Another big plus is you can see boats that radar can't such as being on a waterway (the great loop) where a boat is around a turn and hidden by shore clutter or say on the other side of an island.
I've read numerous people that now have radar and AIS both say that if they had to give one up it would be the radar. The AIS helped me twice on the Bahama trip avoid what could of been a bad situation. It also made the trip more enjoyable seeing other boat's names and being able to call them by name and shoot the bull. I meet a couple people on the Bahama trip that I saw later on the AIS and then called and caught up with them as far as what they had been doing and also for info that helped me out,
That's also a good one Sumner - & probably cheaper
I'm already waist deep in this process. But will consider AIS for future travels. With my current boating, I'm more concerned with tripping over traps, flotsam or mooring balls
Did Mike on Chinook go AIS?
I also like how you point out, not only how it saved you, but helped you get info from surrounding boats. & know who's where. That's a real good 2fer.
Gazmn wrote:That's also a good one Sumner - & probably cheaper
I'm already waist deep in this process. But will consider AIS for future travels. With my current boating, I'm more concerned with tripping over traps, flotsam or mooring balls
Did Mike on Chinook go AIS?
I also like how you point out, not only how it saved you, but helped you get info from surrounding boats. & know who's where. That's a real good 2fer.
What did it cost to add AIS?
Mike added it to the boat and I believe he is really been happy with it. Hopefully he will comment.
Above you can see AIS targets displayed on the chart plotter (green--radio sends the GPS positions to the chart plotter) when I was crossing the Gulf Stream to Bimini. You can also see my position and where I had diverted to port and ran parallel with a ship that I had contacted since the chart plotter indicated we were close to a collision course. I called them and then they saw me and asked if I would turn to port until we passed. The targets will change to red if you are on a collision course and I wasn't at the time of the screen shot any longer.
You can mouse to any of the targets and then click on them and see specific detail about them. This was using OpenCPN on the computer/chart plotter but the radio will send them to say a Garmin or other chart plotter also. You do need to be hardwired between devices but that isn't hard. You can also see the targets on the radio itself but having it connected to a chart plotter is a better deal.
The GPS Store has a Standard Horizon now for $325.00 if you add it to your cart and there is also a $40 rebate currently...
I have the BWY radar arch with a Garmin 18hd mounted on it. It is a very sturdy arch and the dome is mounted above my head level when standing. The arch does not interfere with the Bimini or anything else. It has plenty of space to hang and mount other gizmos. It also raises the height of the mast when lowered making the cockpit space usable without having to duck so much when it is on the trailer.
I completely concur with Sum regarding the benefits of AIS. His encouragement prompted me to add it to the boat before taking off on the Loop. It was very helpful on the rivers, both in terms of "seeing" tow boats around the bends, but also in keeping track of boats as we approached locks. It helped us anticipate whether we would be delayed, and it was nice being able to track the progress of tow boats as they neared the lock. Not all large pleasure craft transmit AIS, but I was able to see several that do, as they roared up on us from behind. If you open my blog post from when we entered Mobile Bay (October 14) you'll see an interesting picture of AIS target boats in the industrial port area. They were simply everywhere.
Just to be clear, the openCPN AIS does not work without an internet connection, right? I think the best way is to have an AIS enabled radio connected to your chartplotter. You can also register (I think it's part of the mmsi radio registration?) so that YOUR position will be displayed too so other people will see you on their AIS devices also. THIS, is a BIG DEAL compared to what we transpac guys used to go through back in the 70s when we would hang foil and pie plates and radar balls and various bits of junk on our masts at night so we did not get run over by some cargo ship. It's great if you can see them but sooner or later you need to get some sleep so it's also nice if they can see YOU!. Transmitting an AIS signal is a great idea when out at sea in the dark.
BOAT wrote:Just to be clear, the openCPN AIS does not work without an internet connection, right? I think the best way is to have an AIS enabled radio connected to your chartplotter. You can also register (I think it's part of the mmsi radio registration?) so that YOUR position will be displayed too so other people will see you on their AIS devices also. THIS, is a BIG DEAL compared to what we transpac guys used to go through back in the 70s when we would hang foil and pie plates and radar balls and various bits of junk on our masts at night so we did not get run over by some cargo ship. It's great if you can see them but sooner or later you need to get some sleep so it's also nice if they can see YOU!. Transmitting an AIS signal is a great idea when out at sea in the dark.
OpenCPN doesn't use an internet connection. It is a chartplotter program that runs on a computer. It will control an autopilot and communicate with a number of devices like most other chart plotters. Now saying that it does have a feature that if you do have an internet connection you can split the screen and see the chart on one side and google earth on the other side of the same area as on the chart and it will follow you as you move on the chart. It uses all the free NOAA charts that most other chartplotters base their charts on. In the Bahamas I bought NV digital charts to use with OpenCPN....
Your AIS radio (the one I showed and the others I know of) does not transmit your position as an AIS target. You only see targets. You can buy an AIS transponder if you want, not cheap, and transmit your position anytime you have it turned on. Your radio with AIS does still have the DSC function so you can use that to sent your position to someone like a friend or push the emergency button and transmit your position and also request help like any radio that has DSC (most all do now) but it doesn't continuously transmit your position like an AIS transponder does.
I wouldn't mind having a transponder on the Mac since it is so small and doesn't give off much of a signature to large tanker's and cargo ship's radar. I wasn't see a couple times by them until I called them,
Gotta get that too now, Sumner. Great price. Geez, this'll be my 3rd radio but the improvements are worth it
I went with that radio (gx2200) last year and like it. Easy 2 nmea 0183 wires direct to garmin harness and AIS shows up on the plotter. Nothing else to buy to connect the two if you don't already have a network.
$witching to The Lowrance camp
Lowrance sells the link 8 (simrad RS35) for a little less and it has NMEA 2000 and 0183.
Sumner wrote:
OpenCPN doesn't use an internet connection. You can buy an AIS transponder if you want, not cheap, and transmit your position anytime you have it turned on.
Sumner
Thanks for clearing that up. I have the free version of openCPN and it has no charts in it without internet. I was not aware you could buy charts for it. I wanted a radio that would transmit my AIS signal but now I am bummed because you said they don't do that. I guess I will always need to hang a junkyard off the mast to get to San Nicolas Island just like the old days. I figured in these modern times there must had been a better way to make yourself a target for the big ships. Out here they will just run you right over and not even care.
