Can Lorance 3G radar be used with Raymarine MFDs?

chuckwayne · May 11, 2014

the Navico broadband radars are not compatible with the Raymarine - it's not the NMEA 2000 bus that's the issue, it's the ethernet bus and signal processing and radar control.
What's your issue with the Navico system? We've used a SIMRAD MFD with the broadband radar and it's fantastic, far superior to the Raymarine (opinion) and we wouldn't go back. Navico also pays a lot of attention to backwards compatibility - not obsoleting the stuff you just bought last year

Mark Maulden · May 11, 2014

I have a RM HD radar hooked to an E7 display. I've never heard of the near field blind zone. Please elaborate.. I've only "had" to use once in dense fog and had no problems up close.....using in clear conditions revealed nothing of question. My only complaint with RM is the SeaTalk data bus architecture. You have to supply ships power to it as a separate connection. So you either have a separate breaker for it or use power from another device and remember what device that is if you want data bus capability. I have the display, autopilot, radar (which is not NG)' and AIS. Right now if I want the display and AIS talking, I have to flip the AP breaker as that's where the data bus power comes from. I need to change that sometime. It was OK until I added AIS. I don't know if the other guys have the same architecture....

Paul Mermelstein · May 11, 2014

I have the Raymarine HD radar, e95 MFD, and other new devices including AIS. I have not noticed any "near field" blind zone and, in fact, never heard of it. So no problem for me in that regard.

As far as the SeaTalk backbone (for the new digital devices) and the older ST bus for a few remaining ST devices, I have had no problems there either. I think the issues Mark cited are pertinent for his particular setup on his boat; it is not a Raymarine issue as far as I know. I have no problems with my setup.

Maine Sail · May 12, 2014

SBsailor said:
I'm planning to upgrade my electronics and replace my GPS and old Raytheon radar for a new wireless capable multifunction display and new radar technology. I'm strongly leaning towards Raymarine but I'm concerned about the near field "blind zone" of their HD radar units.

Lorance/Simrad/B&G have 3G & 4G broadband units that have exceptional near field performance but their systems aren't as appealing to me otherwise. So, I have two questions...

Can the Lorance/Simrad/B&G 3G & 4G broad band radar units work properly with the new Raymarine multifunction displays via NMEA 2000 without loosing functionality?

With the radar dome mounted up on the mast, how significant is the near field "blind zone" with the new Raymarine digital radar units. I'm very concerned about avoiding markers in the water during night sailing.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

You can not use a Navico (Simrad, Lowrance, B&G etc.) dome with any other brand. Radar is still proprietary and not N2K...

If you have not acquired a target before it goes blind you've simply not done your job....

This is a complete non issue that has been spun for marketing reasons. Even in Maine, where we get some of the thickest fog on the planet, by the time I can't see something on radar I can see it with my eyes..

A standard 18" radome mounted on a mast, 25' above the water, will actually have the beam HIT the water at roughly 72 feet from the dome. If your mast is set back 12' from the bow of the boat this means that a mast mounted dome can see targets at 0' above the water the water 60' off the bow of your boat. Now add a seven foot boat height, for a typical Sea Ray, and you can see it 42 feet off your bow. The close in argument is not even an argument. If you need to see stuff on radar 42 feet from your bow then you are in some serious trouble.

In contrast a 36 foot boat with a stern pole at 12 feet high could actually get a return from the bow pulpit. Again if you have something 6" off your bow that you NEED to see then you just have not done your job tracking targets prior to it winding up there....

I have had radar mounted on the mast, a Questus back stay mount and a pole. I currently have it on a pole, and HATE IT for performance reasons. Even when I had it on the mast, on three other boats I've owned, I could pick up my boat neighbors in the mooring field with no problems, and our mooring field is pretty tight..

Even in Maine, where fog was practically invented, I have yet to find more than 4 or so days out of the last 20+ years where the visibility was less than 75 feet. Less than 75' vis is very, very rare even in Maine.

As someone who has spent literally thousands of hours operating radar in the fog, as both a commercial fisherman and a pleasure boater, there is NO question that a mast mount, 22-25 feet up, would be my preferred placement and the "close in" argument/spin would carry ZERO water with me....

Eventually I will remove my stern pole and place my dome on the mast but the boat came this way and the radar pole has been painted around with Awlgrip. I clench my teeth every time I am in 6+ foot swells, and fog, and keep loosing targets and having to re-acquire them due to the low dome height when in a trough. I rarely if ever had this problem with domes mounted on the mast.

Gunni · May 12, 2014

SBsailor said:
I'm very concerned about avoiding markers in the water during night sailing.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

The Navico continuous wave radar is a radically different radar than the old pulse system radars. There is no comparison between close-in situational awareness. Not only can you easily see close markers, you can often see trap floats. They use a fraction of the power of the pulse system radar (so you will actually have it on while sailing) , and can toggle from standby to on instantly, making them even more energy efficient and easy to use. I have the Simrad variant integrated into my MFD chartplotter. Paired with AIS, I see commercial traffic at 15 miles, by name, and start painting them with radar reflections at about 10.

Rick D · May 12, 2014

3G or 4G?

Gunni said:
The Navico continuous wave radar is a radically different radar than the old pulse system radars. There is no comparison between close-in situational awareness. Not only can you easily see close markers, you can often see trap floats. They use a fraction of the power of the pulse system radar (so you will actually have it on while sailing) , and can toggle from standby to on instantly, making them even more energy efficient and easy to use. I have the Simrad variant integrated into my MFD chartplotter. Paired with AIS, I see commercial traffic at 15 miles, by name, and start painting them with radar reflections at about 10.

Gunni, do you have 3G or 4G? At as I recall a grand difference, I'm curious. I rarely have my radar at anything over four miles and sometimes to eight if open ocean, so the difference in total range is immaterial to me although close in resolution and sensitivity is.

Gunni · May 12, 2014

I have the first generation 3G radar. There have been a number of software upgrades to the operational firmware, so it continues to improve. I bought it for the same reasons, I don't need long-range radar now that you can get streaming satellite weather.