My Garmin HDR 18 / 3205 combo has has so far worked beautifully with just one glitch. Near the end of my last cruise, I turned on the radar in clear weather to see what a certain target looked like and there was no radar. It looked just like the power switch to the radome was off. I tried the usual cable wiggling, restarting, menu checking, etc. Nothing would get me radar. I didn't really need it so I turned it off and waited until the next morning to troubleshoot.
The next morning, it worked and I have had no trouble since. However, just after I turned it on a noticed that an outboard boat was going by nearby on the very quiet morning. The instant I turned off the GPS, the outboard boat stopped. I realized that it was the radome which now makes a fairly loud grinding, whirring sound. I can't hear it under power or sail but I don't remember any sound when I had it set up in the shop at installation with the radome hung from the ceiling just overhead.
It's worked find for the few days since but I'm wondering what the typical noise level if for other users and if this apparent increase in mechanical sound could indicate imminent failure.
Incidentally, the 3205 does send a signal to the radome to shut down when you turn it off. The radome does start up briefly when the 3205 is powered up but the mechanical noise stops when it goes into standby mode. Powering up the radome with the 3205 does not produce any noise or other indication that power is flowing to it.
The next morning, it worked and I have had no trouble since. However, just after I turned it on a noticed that an outboard boat was going by nearby on the very quiet morning. The instant I turned off the GPS, the outboard boat stopped. I realized that it was the radome which now makes a fairly loud grinding, whirring sound. I can't hear it under power or sail but I don't remember any sound when I had it set up in the shop at installation with the radome hung from the ceiling just overhead.
It's worked find for the few days since but I'm wondering what the typical noise level if for other users and if this apparent increase in mechanical sound could indicate imminent failure.
Incidentally, the 3205 does send a signal to the radome to shut down when you turn it off. The radome does start up briefly when the 3205 is powered up but the mechanical noise stops when it goes into standby mode. Powering up the radome with the 3205 does not produce any noise or other indication that power is flowing to it.
