"Watchman" radar feature

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williamabernathy

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Hi, All,
Radar novice here seeking advice on the “Watchman" function on my old Furuno Model 1721 (that doesn't work; display seems ok, I think the magnetron's worn out). I am trying to decide whether to repair it or to replace it with another unit that may or may not have that feature.

As I read the manual, “Watchman" lets the unit stand by, then cues it to transmit every 5, 10 or 20 minutes for 1 minute. If a target appears in a pre-set Guard zone, an alarm sounds and the radar keeps transmitting. If the radar sees nothing in the Guard zone, it goes back into standby for another 5/10/20 minutes.

“Watchman" seems like a good idea, a good way to minimize time on the magnetron and reduce wear and tear on the unit. However, since I've never used radar, is it really that big a deal? Is it really that important a feature?

Main purpose for my radar would be collision avoidance. I boat in the lower Chesapeake Bay and tributaries, though I may take the southern half of the Great Loop one day.

Many thanks for advice. It's much appreciated.
 
It's not a big deal unless you own a sailboat and do a lot of long trips without charging your batteries very often. :-)
 
Magnetrons don't really wear out any more than other solid-state electronics. Other than the reduced battery draw I don't think the standby function serves any real purpose. If the scan motor stops during the standby periods you might save a little mechanical wear, but I wouldn't worry about wearing out the magnetron.

Mike
 
My Furuno Radar is on from the moment we leave the slip and till we dock or drop the hook. 11+ years and still going strong.
I wouldn't worry about the time on the magnetron
Furuno make great products
 
Unless you are mostly off shore a lot can happen in 5-10 minutes I wouldn't be comfortable with this. My radar stays on as long as I'm moving.
 
I agree, it s a good feature if saving power is your priority in areas with little traffic and where traffic will be fairly slow moving. I can imagine using this on a sailboat offshore where traffics are expected to be large ships. Otherwise I don't see the point, Furunos are favorites of commercial users who put a lot of hours on them

Trails would be the one feature At the top of my list
 
I use the watchman mode at night when on the hook if I suspect the weather is going to be bad. It helps let me know if I drift or if somebody else is drifting closer to me.
If the weather is terrible, then I can turn it on full time and/or stay up on the bridge.

I use it more for piece of mind on nights where I'm not sure. Running the radar full time for 8 hours at night can deplete the batteries (or at least it concerns me to do it).
 
I have to agree about Furuno. Not fancy, but they last forever. I'm on my third and I have used the Watchman feature a few times, always at anchor. Granted, I'm just a coastal cruiser, but when I set the Watchman feature at 1/8-mile before going below to sleep, I was always awakened by the radar alarm. Once it was another boat entering the mooring field late at night and anchoring within the 1/8-mile guard zone. Once it was at 3 AM and it was a local fisherman going out in his outboard. Another time it was some yahoo who thought it was funny to buzz a boat at anchor. That told me that Watchman really works but frankly, when I'm at anchor, dragging is much more of a concern to me than what, more often than not, turns out to be a harmless radar target.

I no longer use it and depend on GPS to let me know if my anchor isn't holding.

Bill
 
I have never used the watchman feature but will look into it this upcoming season. I find that when on the hook the GPS alarms are key for my comfort level.
Our boat is a very good Radar target, the Anchor light is 16+ ft from the waterline, I also leave the cockpit lighting on as well.
 
I use Watchman mode for dragging too. I set it so that if land gets too close, it goes off :) I've never used GPS with much success - but I guess it's just me. We swing on the hook, and if the boat turns 180 degrees, then the alarm goes off, but there really is no issue.
 
I always use a gps as an anchor alarm, it s very accurate. Having it by my bed (portable garmin) means I can just look at the screen and see what s going on I find that not having to get up and go see what the alarm is about makes it lot easier to go back to sleep

Plus, there is no hear an alarm from the helm on larger boats

A portable gets good reception below deck...
 
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