I am considering adding radar to my boat, primarily for the purpose of tracking bad weather. I do little night or fog sailing, so identifying 'targets' is not as interesting as tracking thunderstorm severity & movement. If you have radar, do you use it more for weather or boat tracking? How good is it for storm tracking? What 'real' range does a 2kw have for storms or boats? thanks
Radar use
- Thread starter Persy
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Radar
I use mine for boat tracking. It helps me keep an eye out for the fast moving ships on not so clear days. I don't think mine can show bad weather over land because the land shows up on the radar but I haven't really tried it for that either. When I do my cruising, I hope it will show the bad weather coming but even so, it doesn't give you much warning.
I use mine for boat tracking. It helps me keep an eye out for the fast moving ships on not so clear days. I don't think mine can show bad weather over land because the land shows up on the radar but I haven't really tried it for that either. When I do my cruising, I hope it will show the bad weather coming but even so, it doesn't give you much warning.
Buy a television
Guy, You have probably seen radar on TV, and maybe even seen weather displayed on aircraft radar. The ability to track weather from a boat with radar is limited, not as much by power, as by 'height of eye'. 2k or 200k, range, and effectiveness of any radar are limited as radar is 'line of sight'. Tracking other boats, and then your distance is more a product of the size boat you are on (height of the radar). A sail boat can get it higher, but not too high before the picthing and rolling causes the display to miss the returns you need to track.
Guy, You have probably seen radar on TV, and maybe even seen weather displayed on aircraft radar. The ability to track weather from a boat with radar is limited, not as much by power, as by 'height of eye'. 2k or 200k, range, and effectiveness of any radar are limited as radar is 'line of sight'. Tracking other boats, and then your distance is more a product of the size boat you are on (height of the radar). A sail boat can get it higher, but not too high before the picthing and rolling causes the display to miss the returns you need to track.
radar
radar can only see water in the air, not tell how much lightning and/or thunder there is. use it for boat spotting and listen to your vhf weather band well, and don't worry too much about distance, nearby targets are somewhat more important than distant ones.
radar can only see water in the air, not tell how much lightning and/or thunder there is. use it for boat spotting and listen to your vhf weather band well, and don't worry too much about distance, nearby targets are somewhat more important than distant ones.
OK guys,
let's not forget that thunderheads are 40-80 THOUSAND feet high. Line of sight, is not a factor. Range and power are.
let's not forget that thunderheads are 40-80 THOUSAND feet high. Line of sight, is not a factor. Range and power are.
Coast Guard call
Hello, On Sunday we were sailing from Mt. Sinai NY to Milford Ct. We were about 1/2 way there when we noticed a dark cloud to the west. The cloud got larger and larger and darker and darker. My wife and I looked at each other and said "Thunderstorm." We are not genuises, because the weather forecast included a chance for afternoon T Storms. Anyway, about 5 minutes later the handheld VHF that I keep in the cockpit came alive: "All vessels, all vessels, this is the US Coast Guard. The National Weather Service has announced a severe weather warning for the waters between Port Jefferson NY and Bridgeport Ct. Thunderstorms with dangerous lightning, high gusty winds have been observed. Vessels should seek safe harbor immediately." (or something like that, I forgot the exact words but you get the idea). That was enough for us to hit the motor and head north at top speed. Fortunately, the storm missed us. Later, on the way back to the boat from dinner we did get soaked by another storm, but the boat was safely tied up by then. Barry
Hello, On Sunday we were sailing from Mt. Sinai NY to Milford Ct. We were about 1/2 way there when we noticed a dark cloud to the west. The cloud got larger and larger and darker and darker. My wife and I looked at each other and said "Thunderstorm." We are not genuises, because the weather forecast included a chance for afternoon T Storms. Anyway, about 5 minutes later the handheld VHF that I keep in the cockpit came alive: "All vessels, all vessels, this is the US Coast Guard. The National Weather Service has announced a severe weather warning for the waters between Port Jefferson NY and Bridgeport Ct. Thunderstorms with dangerous lightning, high gusty winds have been observed. Vessels should seek safe harbor immediately." (or something like that, I forgot the exact words but you get the idea). That was enough for us to hit the motor and head north at top speed. Fortunately, the storm missed us. Later, on the way back to the boat from dinner we did get soaked by another storm, but the boat was safely tied up by then. Barry
Radar
Basically all you will be able to see on radar is the actual rain. It can give you some idea of how hard it is raining, and direction of movement. Things like winds and lightning, it will be of no use. I use mine primarily for singlehanding when offshore. Set it to make a sweep every ten minutes on 16 mile range. Any blips the alarm goes off giving me ample warning. I have a 2KW unit, and it will pick up a bigger cargo vessel at it's 16 mile max range. Smaller ships it will not acquire at it's max range. Also is extremely useful when coming into a crowded, unfamiliar harbor at night, when there are so many lights around it it hard to see the channel markers.
Basically all you will be able to see on radar is the actual rain. It can give you some idea of how hard it is raining, and direction of movement. Things like winds and lightning, it will be of no use. I use mine primarily for singlehanding when offshore. Set it to make a sweep every ten minutes on 16 mile range. Any blips the alarm goes off giving me ample warning. I have a 2KW unit, and it will pick up a bigger cargo vessel at it's 16 mile max range. Smaller ships it will not acquire at it's max range. Also is extremely useful when coming into a crowded, unfamiliar harbor at night, when there are so many lights around it it hard to see the channel markers.
Use your phone
Try this before investing in radar https://secure.my-cast.com/mobile.jsp The images are only minutes old and the looping lets you track direction
Try this before investing in radar https://secure.my-cast.com/mobile.jsp The images are only minutes old and the looping lets you track direction
Kevin
Afternoon: I just pulled the My-Cast web up and it certainly looked interesting. Looks simple too but they failed to "mention" what the subsciption costs were, simply that the carrier would be billed. What's the cost on the service?
Afternoon: I just pulled the My-Cast web up and it certainly looked interesting. Looks simple too but they failed to "mention" what the subsciption costs were, simply that the carrier would be billed. What's the cost on the service?
COST???
J.B. I noticed the same thing! My Father always told me that if a merchant was afraid to show his price, then it must be so exorbitant that he's ashamed of it. Paul s/v The Lord Nelson How long will it take before I’m told: “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”?
J.B. I noticed the same thing! My Father always told me that if a merchant was afraid to show his price, then it must be so exorbitant that he's ashamed of it. Paul s/v The Lord Nelson How long will it take before I’m told: “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”?
My-cast cost
They hit my Cingular bill for $3.95. Worth it if it helps us avoid one storm or go out when we'd other wise be concerned about the report.
They hit my Cingular bill for $3.95. Worth it if it helps us avoid one storm or go out when we'd other wise be concerned about the report.
I use 2 KW for boat tracking and weather
I use my 2kw Raymarine for both boat tracking and for close in weather. I go to 24 or 48 mile range on the radar and it will pick up large cells. I use the Marpha feature to acquire a cell and I can see the speed and direction the cell is moving and it has been helpful on several occasions for making my plans. Use it with your other sources and it significantly improves your forecasting ability near term. It will give you a better than guess idea of when the rain will arrive - wind arrives some time before, so it is a good warning of when to reef or take down the sails. I sail on KY lake and the edge of the lake still is seen on radar, but with the overlay on the chartplotter, it is easy to determine a large cell over land. I have a tracking KVH antenna and Dish Network so I also use the weather channel for the broad view. It runs about 10 minutes behind the actual radar image. Through my cell phone and laptop I get Channel 4 news weather in Nashville. It has national radar and local and you can zoom to your own area with it. It is the nearest real time weather radar I can find on the net and is seems closer to real time than the National Weather service. I have included the link below to Channel 4. Go to Desktop weather authority and download.
I use my 2kw Raymarine for both boat tracking and for close in weather. I go to 24 or 48 mile range on the radar and it will pick up large cells. I use the Marpha feature to acquire a cell and I can see the speed and direction the cell is moving and it has been helpful on several occasions for making my plans. Use it with your other sources and it significantly improves your forecasting ability near term. It will give you a better than guess idea of when the rain will arrive - wind arrives some time before, so it is a good warning of when to reef or take down the sails. I sail on KY lake and the edge of the lake still is seen on radar, but with the overlay on the chartplotter, it is easy to determine a large cell over land. I have a tracking KVH antenna and Dish Network so I also use the weather channel for the broad view. It runs about 10 minutes behind the actual radar image. Through my cell phone and laptop I get Channel 4 news weather in Nashville. It has national radar and local and you can zoom to your own area with it. It is the nearest real time weather radar I can find on the net and is seems closer to real time than the National Weather service. I have included the link below to Channel 4. Go to Desktop weather authority and download.
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