[C38] radar

[Charles]

Ken,
I looked into all three options when I decided to mount mine on the 
mast.  Here is a partial list of the pluses and minuses I compiled for 
each option to make my decision.

Pole  or Arch Mount
1. +Relatively easy to install and maintain.
2. +Somewhat out of the way.
3. -Shades the solar collectors
4. -Radiation from the radome is not something to fool with.  An 8 foot 
pole with a 10 degree radiation field from the sender means I was in the 
beam when I go forward.  This is even more of an issue with the 
self-leveling radars.  Maybe all the warnings in the literature that 
comes with these radars scared me, but hey I have survived cancer once 
and just don't want to push my luck!

Backstay Mount
1. +Completely out of the way.
2. +Can get good height with 10 meter cable, which lets you see small 
things such as buoys much better.
3. -Very expensive!
4. -You have to run the wiring to the radome along your backstay, which 
exposes it to sun, chafe, banging, etc.
5. -I have oversize wire rigging already, but I just hate the idea of 
crimping something to my backstay! 

Mast Mount
1. +Mounting the radome higher up lets you see better.
2. +Lots of inexpensive hardware options to mount to mast.  I recall 
that my mount cost somewhere around $150
3. +Good options to protect radome from sail and line chafe.
4. -The 20 meter cable cost me an additional $200 even with Furuno 
deducting for the exchange of the 10 meter cable.
5. -Running yet another cable up the mast is a pain and there is no way 
it would fit in the wiring tube.
6. -I cannot stand the slapping sound coming from wiring and loose lines 
on my boat or indeed others in a harbor.  Securing the radar cable to 
the inside of the mast required was a bit tedious.

Bottom line for me came back to why I was buying the thing in the first 
place (I wanted to "see" when weather and darkness were not 
cooperating).  You can get much higher on the mast and that translates 
into a better view.  For the kind of sailing I do, it seemed it was 
worth the extra effort and cost to go with the mast mount.

Charles Finn
Mighty Quinn #114
Great Lakes

Kenneth M. Sutto wrote:
>      Thanks for all the replys. The information will be well used.  I 
> have one further question. Does anyone favor mounting their radar on 
> the mast rather than on the aft end with a single pole or on an arch?  
> I see alot of units mounted on the aft end that way and I was courious 
> if there was an advantage doing it so, perhaps less wiring. 
>      Ken    "Sundancer"
>
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