Thoughts of replacing radar with solar panel ?

H

Hydroarp

New member
Starting to question the usefulness of a radar. Obviously, they are vital to fog travel or night cruises. However, I rarely travel in fog situations and when I did, I utilized my horn and my Garmin Chart to return back to the dock. I mostly avoid night travel. So, I'm contemplating the radar being replaced by a solar panel. Any thoughts?
 
I find my radar very useful when I do end up in fog. At night it's nice too. In fog, just being able to see the position of other boats is very comforting! I've ended up in fog a few times while salmon trolling on Lake Michigan. It's nice to know where the other fishing boats are. I don't think I would give up my radar for solar. That being said, I did just install solar panels, and very happy with the results. (You can see my install under the thread basic solar). However, I did not have to remove my radar to make room for them. If you rarely use your radar, and are not experienced at using it or practicing with it when you can see what it's showing you, then it's probably not really doing you much good anyway. The solar is a useful producer of electricity when you're on the hook more than underway or have access to shore power. Colby
 
Don't replace the radar with a solar panel. They are not mutually exclusive. The radar is not about only finding your way, it is about being run down or you running down another vessel. Use your Radar during the day, Many do to learn how to use and tune it.. "Auto Tune" often does not give the best "picture" in many circumstances.

With a 22, you can easily put 200 watts (or more) of solar panels and the radar on the roof.
 
Colby & Bob
Thank you gentlemen. Understood, I can have "both" ! I will get more familiar with the radar and research a placement for the solar panel. I appreciate the advice. Brian
 
Concur with the above adding radar is not only good for collision avoidance but
also it is a navigational aid. Use of the electronic bearing line (EBL) is very helpful
in identifying land masses, bouys, obstacles in poor visibility (fog yes, how about
heavy rain?) especially if your chart plotter goes south.

Aye.
 
Foggy":32w5essv said:
... how about heavy rain? ...
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Heavy rain will attenuate the radar signal. Potentially, you will only be able to see the rain on the radar and not obstacles that are in/behind the rain.
 
I would never get ride of radar. I dont use mine much but its like so many things in life, when you do need it you really need it. i usemine here inwashington a lot when its really sunny because of the low angle of the sun. you just cant see into the glare very well many days. Radar is very heplful in those conditions. To learn how to use mine I ran it everytime I got on the boat for the first year. learneda lot that way. you see the return on screen and you see what its returning in real life. Teaches you what all those blobs are.
 
RADAR IN HEAVY RAIN

My experience is radar’s use navigating through a downpour and/or
avoiding/circumventing a thunderstorm has been invaluable.

It is not a surprise if your 1.5KW radar unit gives poor results in heavy rain.
It is on the lower end of transmission power, one of the variables* in effectiveness
in radar performance. If you want good radar performance in heavy rain, you need
at least a 4KW unit, or better transmission power. Otherwise, compromised
visibility results in hard rain. Modern units also have adjustments (rain, sea, gain)
to reduce the effects of rain, snow or hail.
*Other variables: frequency of electromagnetic waves, size of radar antenna,
atmospheric conditions, antenna field of view, radar system’s height
https://www.wevolver.com/article/lidar-vs-radar-detection-tracking-and-imaging#
 …Radar systems….use radio waves [and] are generally more robust against adverse weather conditions [than laser systems]. Radio waves have longer wavelengths than light, allowing them to penetrate through various materials, including fog, rain, and snow, with less attenuation. As a result, radar systems can maintain their performance under challenging weather conditions….
Click to expand...
RECREATIONAL BOATS WITH RADAR AND COLLISION AVOIDANCE

COLREGs, Part B, Section 1, paragraph 7:
7. Risk of Collision
Vessels must use all available means to determine the risk of a collision, including the use of radar (if available) to get early warning of the risk of collision by radar plotting or equivalent systematic observation of detected objects. (e.g. ARPA, AIS).
If the distance of any vessel is reducing and her compass bearing is not changing much or it is a large vessel or towing vessel at close distance, or if there is any doubt, then a risk of collision shall be deemed to exist.
Click to expand...
The key is “all available means”. If you were to have an collision event on the
water, in clear or poor visibility, and you were not using your radar when you
should have been - as required by COLREGs - then you did not use all available
means and your responsibility for the collision just increased significantly.

In daily use, getting a ticket for not using radar is extremely unlikely to nil.
However, in an ‘event’, the reverse is true; “if you got it (radar), you got to use it.”

Aye.
 
We have radar mounted on an arch. We also have a 110W solar panel. The panel is a semi-flex panel that I put on the roof when we anchor out. It's held down by simple web straps with snaps that go around the roof hand rails. When not needed, it's stored standing up in the head. On a 22 you'll have to be a tad more creative on storage. Since we boat in the PNW and there's frequent fog, I wouldn't remove my radar. FWIW.
 
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