Furuno Radar

J

jjones

Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
RO Number
27557
Messages
207
I'm planning to buy a radar. I'm new to boating but after getting caught in a bad storm it seems like a good idea. Although I've heard that radar doesn't really work well in the rain. Maybe I'm wasting my money. But I figure in fog or other poor visibility conditions it would be worth having.

I'm clueless about which to buy but I would like to keep it under 2k and after looking around for some reason I lean towards the Furuno 1715. I have a Lorwance GPS sounder so I wrote to Lorwance about their radar but got no response. I'm putting this on an old Stratos 2600 center console.

Is this a good radar for the money? Will radar pick up distant rain storms or only land and obstacles? Is radar useless in the rain? Is mounting the antenna on top of the t top good or do I need to get some sort of bracket to get it higher? The specs say the display is waterproof. Does this mean I can mount it on the dash and not have to worry about the salt water and rain affecting it?

Thanks,
Jim
 
It's not useless in the rain. Higher power will help with rain, but also running on very short scale of 1.5 mile or less will help to see through the clutter. Even the cheapest units can see rainstorms in the distance.

I've owned the entry model furuno units and they are very good. I like the higher power, open array narrow beamwidth a lot better, but you will have to pay for it! A 2K radar is still very very useful, I used one just like it for years and years.
 
"Is this a good radar for the money?"

I don't own one, but from everything I've heard, Furuno makes very good equipment. ( I would suggest that you check the price at Boatfix. I feel that they provide good service and have very good prices. )

"Will radar pick up distant rain storms or only land and obstacles?"

Radar shows anything that will reflect radio waves. This includes, storm clouds, land, obstacles, birds, buoys and much more.

"Is radar useless in the rain?"

NO. The radar signal -is- attenuated by rain ( thus more powerful units perform better ) but they definitely work in the rain.

"Is mounting the antenna on top of the t top good or do I need to get some sort of bracket to get it higher?"

Radar is a line-of-sight instrument. Higher gives more range. That said, mounting at T-top height is fine. Mounting it on the T-top is likely not fine. Be sure to use a strong, solid mount.

"The specs say the display is waterproof. Does this mean I can mount it on the dash and not have to worry about the salt water and rain affecting it?"

Many marine devices state that they are waterproof. And within limits, that is a true statement. But I, personally, would not deliberately expose the units to full outdoor exposure full time. More or less, your water proof electronics should be exposed to the same amount of water you want to be exposed to while at the helm. Don't worry if it gets splashed, but don't hose it down. Besides, the radar ( and everything else ) would be hard to use with water running down the face of the unit. Try to protect them.
 
I have had/used Radar from Raytheon/Raymarine, Simrad & Furuno and while all can be good equipment and all will do the job, I put Furuno highest on the list
 
Thank you all for answering my questions. This is very helpful.
 
I have the Furuno 1623 on my new Formula 31PC and I am always amazed at how it seems to pick up the smallest things...the other day there was a definite single from a group of Canadian Geese. The display, while small, is very clear and easy to use.

hth

Jeff
 
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