Raymarine Live: Radar Tips for Every Boater + Cyclone 

Thanks for watching and commenting, Simon! The radar is a great tool for squall tracking. The rain filtering in the Quantum radars is very effective to the point that we have a specific "weather" mode that is selectable from the menu that can be used to emphasize weather activity on the scope.

Thanks for watching and commenting, Yves! Radar is a fantastic tool to have onboard, but getting comfortable with it is key. I am glad to hear you are using both day and night!

Does the Q2 have ARPA as well??

Thanks for watching, David! When you update your boat next spring, whatever update is current at that time can be applied directly. You'll receive all of the prior updates and features.

Hello Ron. Thank you for watching. I hope you are enjoying the new Cyclone radar! The preset operating modes that are available on Axiom vary depending on which radar scanner is attached. For Cyclone models they have just those 3 modes available. Their solid-state CHIRP pulse compression technology handles most of the tuning and adjustments automatically so they don't need the other specific operating modes. The message you are seeing on your secondary display, Looking for Data Master, is normal to a certain extent. An any Axiom network with more than 1 Axiom screen, one of your screens is designated the data master for the network. It is in control of system-wide settings, data storage, and connections to the network. The other Axiom screens receive their information and configuration from the master unit. Should one of the secondary units turn on and not see the master present, it will wait with that message on-screen. That is what yours is doing now. You may want to figure out why that unit is coming on seemingly on its own. Double check that power and ground connections are all in good order. A faulty ground could cause the display to turn on if there is interference or a power surge. Axiom units also remember their power-off state. If you switch an Axiom off by its power button, then kill the boat's main power, the Axiom will remain off when power is restored, until you touch the power control. Conversely, if your Axioms are switch on, and you flip your main battery switched or breakers off, killing power to them, they will switch on automatically the next time power is restored. Could it be a case where that station is getting its power switched back on for some reason after the main power (or a breaker to that station) was switched off? Is that Axiom connected to a shared power circuit with something else that is always on?

Hi Clark. Thanks for watching the broadcast. Cyclone is a great product, packed with features, but I also know that not every boater is in a position to dump perfectly working gear that they already own, or step up to the bigger price tag. I try to present the options fairly. The RD424HD you're looking at is a great product. As you know, we have made it for many years and likely will for some time. I would not be afraid of it from that perspective. The only primary feature is does not have is Doppler mode, but its still a great radar for traffic management. The Target True Trails I showcased last night work great on that scanner. Its a great indicator for moving vs. non-moving traffic. It also has a highly capable MARPA that can track 25 targets simultaneously. Its bird mode is very solid too, keeping in mind that being a radome it does have a smaller antenna than the open-array so its sensitivity is a bit reduced. My suggestion would be to take the savings from the Cyclone and apply it towards some additional sensors that will really make your system work at its peak. Make sure you have a heading sensor on your system. That can be from the autopilot, or if you don't have a pilot, go with our EV1 or AR200 sensor. I am also a big fan of having a Class B AIS transceiver onboard every boat, large or small. Even if you aren't interested in seeing other vessels on your chart or radar, its always a good thing when they can see you on their radar and chart, especially when visibility is restricted.

@@RaymarineInc Thanks Jim, your input and advice is very appreciated and insightful. I'll likely continue down the path of the RD424HD, and I think I will be happy with that radar. I'm pretty much Raymarine heavy for my electronics package. I have the AR200 with 220 cam in rear and Flir 232 in front. Axiom Pro 12's at both helm stations too. My autopilot is included with Helm Master Ex, so I think I get heading info from that as well as AR200. Love AIS too to help with AR features, but I decided to get Standard Horizon's GX2400 VHF as the price/feature price intersect point was better than half the cost of the 73. Keep up the live shows! While I don't often have time to watch them live, I have watched nearly all of them more than once.

That sounds like an awesome setup!

Hello Mike. Unfortunately, no. They do have a different cable setup and the VCM is slightly different. The Cyclone radar has a heavier gauge power cable than prior models to deliver more current to the scanner to support the 100-knot wind speed usage. Because of that its a 2-piece cable setup, similar to a Quantum radar. One cable is for power and the other is RayNet High Speed Ethernet.

Thanks for watching! One of the benefits of solid-state radar technology is there are no consumable parts in there anymore. In theory, a Cyclone radar can go forever because it does not have a magnetron inside. The magnetron is the device that generates the high-energy microwave pulse in a conventional radar. They do wear out over time. Modern magnetrons like we use in the Magnum and HD Color radar systems do last quite a long time, typically several thousand hours of use.

no not modern

Hi John. Once you have radar overlay turned on open the Menu in your chartplotter app. Menu...Targets...Radar Settings. On that tab you can choose the opacity level and color palette for the radar.

The Quantum radome scanners are exceptionally power-efficient. They consume 17-watts of power while transmitting, 7-Watts of power in standby, and less than 2 Watts of power in Sleep mode. These also support timed-transmit mode, which can be helpful for power savings when you are on long passages in open water. You can program the radar to wake up, make a certain number sweeps of the horizon, then sleep for a fixed amount of time, over and over.

Unfortunately, no. Quantum 2 does not support 60 RPM or dual range mode.

@@RaymarineInc i am build something a parking sensor a cam and old hummingbird sonar looking out 100ft or so hitting anything will be a past boating issue as well as sea mammals and turtle's logs anything the could hurt the boat no radar can c into the water and sonar dont c fwd would you like to be part of this project?

Hello Charlie. Yes, the trails feature is generated entirely in the radar and isn't impacted by clouds or weather. Every time the radar sweeps around and "paints" a target, its position is updated on the scope and it is displayed in the primary target color. The trails features, when enabled, takes the target position history and continues to display it for a set number of seconds. In the video I had it set for 30 seconds. So the position of each radar target "now" is in red, and the prior 30 seconds are shown in blue, trailing behind it. Stationary objects don't move from sweep-to-sweep, so they don't leave any appreciable trail behind them. Its normal to see a minor bit of variation around a stationary target due to the motions of the boat and the radar scanner on the waves, but ultimately its "now" position and its prior 30 seconds of positions all land on the same general spot so you don't see any trail of substantial length like you see from a moving boat.

Hello BD. LightHouse 3.16 Hvar will be coming out before the end of this month. We will have more detail on what it contains soon, but password protection did not make it in. That is something that is on our shortlist of features to get in though.

Lighthouse 4 released last week

Hello Nick. Definitely get your e127 updated. Version 19.03 is the latest for your system, so you are very far behind. Whenever you activate a route you do have the option of reversing its order, and then also advancing the waypoint. If you cursor over the route, or long-press it, one of the items in the context-sensitive menu that appears is advance waypoint. You can also get to it through the menu. You can use it to advance the track to the waypoint you want to start with.

@@RaymarineInc Thanks, I will give it a try!

Thanks for watching! When in radar overlay mode (live radar over chart) you can choose to show the radar with either Doppler mode on or off. The radar color palettes for radar overlay are slightly different than the selections available in the radar app itself. This is to try to account for all the extra colors utilized by other objects on the chart like buoys, navigation aids, water depths, etc. There are 4 color palettes available for radar overlay. Full Color, Purple, Black or Red. When Dopple mode is enabled, the approaching targets will be colorized red, receding targets green, in the Purple, Black or Red palettes. If you are using Full Color radar overlay, with Doppler enabled, the approaching targets will be bright pink, and the receding targets green.

Hello Eddie. When you acquire a target with the MARPA or ARPA system and track it, you can get a readout of that target's course, speed, closest point of approach and time to closest point. Simply touch on the target while it is tracking and that data appears in a popup with additional options for things you can do with it. If you turn on the switch for Target Info, its course and speed will remain visible as long as it remains in track. If you have one or more targets tracking you can also access a summary screen with the details on all of them by touching Menu...Targets. All of the tracked radar contacts are summarized in a table. Touching on targets in that list also gives you options for additional information.

@@RaymarineInc thank you so much for responding.

Magnum does have bird mode. When you're in the radar app on your MFD touch Menu and you'll see Bird Mode as one of the choices. On a Magnum system the birds generally appear as small, light blue targets.

@@RaymarineInc Thanks for the info.! Is this a feature that can be requested to the Magnum Radar?

Yes. In addition the "True Color" doppler palette I had on in the video, we do also have several more traditional Doppler color palettes to choose from. Doppler Gray, Doppler Blue, and Doppler Yellow palettes are also available. They use a traditional red and green for inbound and outbound targets, and then gray, blue or yellow for the stationary contacts. When you are in Doppler Mode on your radar touch Menu....Settings....Presentation and you'll see them under the Color Palette options.

While its OK to temporarily have the radar upside down, I would not leave it in that position for the long-term because of the potential for condensation to build up inside the radar scanner. It is impractical to seal the radar enclosure airtight, so instead the radar scanner is fitted with a breather hole vent and drain system. That system will only work though if the radar is right-side-up, otherwise condensation will built-up in the cover. you did not mention which radar you have, but the Quantum radar, for example, has its breather hold on the bottom, port side, aft, right next to one of the mounting bolts. There is a diagram in the radar installation guide that shows its location, and advises against blocking that hole. I'd say its fine to keep it upside down while you are trailering, even if it happens to be raining, but once you get to your destination put your mast back to its normal position to allow the drain and vent to work properly. Don't leave it upside down for weeks or months at a time, otherwise its likely to fill up over time with condensation.

@@RaymarineInc thank you! I’m adding the new 3’ cyclone pro👍

The traditional fluxgate compass that was used for many years with our autopilot systems is not ideal for providing heading for a radar system because its update rate is too slow. The old autopilot fluxgates update 1 time per second, where current generation pilot and accessory heading sensors update 10 times per second. This makes the radar's target tracking and doppler functions far more accurate. The EV1 heading sensor, or AR200 Augmented Reality Sensor (which has both heading and GPS output) is suggested for use with Quantum 2.

@@RaymarineInc as a sailboat, speed is something we don't have. I will see how it goes first and then update if needed. Thanks again. Happy Easter 🐣

Hello Piotr. Thank you for the suggestion. I'll try to incorporate some of that in to a future episode.

@Raymarine please Include the installation of various radar units, direct connect or if they need hubs etc

Yes you can. Bird Mode is a selectable feature in the radar's main menu. When it is active it runs an algorithm and tuning parameters that are favorable to picking them up. You could instead choose Harbor or Offshore mode.

You raise interesting and valid points. I encourage all boaters to read and understand the Navigation Rules. For boaters here in the United States the US Coast Guard has the latest version online here: www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/navrules/navrules.pdf

Quantum 2 has a 24 RPM rotation speed that is pretty standard. If you don't have a heading compass installed on your boat, consider adding one as it will improve the radar image. With a compass heading source attached your Axiom screen offers a stabilized radar PPI. That allows the radar image to update with the movement of the boat, without having to wait for the scanner to come around again on its next sweep. The videos shown in this episode were all on a radar with stabilized PPI active.

@@RaymarineInc i have a the fast heading compass but i am thinking of upgrading to the one with more axis

Will do. Thanks!