Radar Stopped Working

T

Tug

New member
Guess it was about 5:15 AM this morning when i headed out from the dock. It was dark but i could see some of the city lights and some of the bouy lights and with the help of my GPS and radar the 30 minute run was not too difficult...so i thought. When i reached the first lighted bouy , the one i turn downriver on everything got pitch black and i mean black. I had came upon a solid wall of fog , hear is a picture i told out the cabin window. There was not enough light to produce an image.

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb3 ... 0_0804.jpg

As luck would have my radar died....just quite working.I think this is the darkest i have ever been out on the river. About half on the run..( crawl )..was in total darkness but when the sun started coming out i could see a little better but not a lot .It took me 90 minutes to get where i wanted to fish and when i came out of the fog bank it was clear. If you looked back it was like you had just came out of a dark wall. That was scary,,i never thought that fog plus darkness really combines to produce total darkness.

Anyone have any idea's why my radar just died..i tried it again at the dock..it warms up and produces the concentric circles but no radar imagines... Tug
 
Just out of curiosity, what brand of radar was it? How old? Check the power fuse? Is there a fuse in the antenna tower? Antenna rotate? Any symptoms? It it also a chart platter?

That would help in remotely troubleshooting.

Boris
 
The Radar is a 1985 Si-Tex Marine Radar Model T-100..The monitor is a 9" cathode ray tube..ancient..Went down to my boat with the operation manual and some 5 amp fuses.I went through the start up procedure and still no radar image. I went through every key/button and adjusted them to where i thought they should be according to the operational manual.When i started pressing the range keys i started to get a radar image.The digital output readings on the screen are blurry but i guess it is safe to say that if i keep pressing the 1/4 NM button on the left it should be reading 1/4 NM range eventually.What i figured what happened is that when i was out this morning..( playing in the fog ).. i reached for the wiper blade toggle switch to clear the windshield and somehow pressed the range key ..( both are close to each other )..and messed up the radar image.Well now it's working again but tomorrow i will take the boat..( good excuse )..out and test the radar....Thanks for the advice about the fuse, i would probably would not of went and messed around with it tonight.Tug
 
Tug, you've put so much money, time and sweat into that boat, it may be time to start saving for something to replace a 27 year old radar that your life may depend on... :roll: Just looked all 265 of your pictures....

Just sayin'... :lol:

Charlie
 
Defenders sells the 1715 for $ 1737.99 @ TheGPSStore.com sells it for $ 1595.00. I am not sure though if the GPSStore sells the unit complete ready to install or if you have to buy additional parts. Tug
 
Tug, That would be really disconcerting. I was out in THICK fog this weekend, and I would have been totally lost without the radar. The visibility was at times, less than 100 feet, and sometimes almost a 100 yards.

I actually trust the radar more than the GPS & plotter. That probably comes from running the radar every time I run the boat. Being able to pick out crab floats and buoys, and point the boat where I want to go and then let it take me, is becoming a comfortable feeling. (What is not comfortable is seeing the radar return dots approaching RAPIDLY and being directly headed at me.) So, when the Auto Fog horn quit, I did get concerned. I switched to the other radio for it's Auto Fog horn and got the same response. (The RayMarine 218 screen is saying there is no horn connected so it is between the switch and the horn.) Long story short, I was not willing to spend the next 2 hours hitting the horn every 2 minutes to continue the trip so turned around and snuck back into the bay and took a nap. Will get it sorted out.

Long story short, using the radar every time you are out gets you more comfortable with what you are seeing and how any adjustments affect what you see. If all else fails, a shut down and restart (re-boot) can often get you back to what you are used to.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Might be an excuse to upgrade all of the electronics! Consider what it was like long before radar, chart plotters, Gps etc--just a compass, fog horn (mouthpower)!.

I don't have radar on the 22, and it is the first boat in a number of years without Radar. Some really great units available which will be far better than the Old Sitex. Also consider AIS for the big ships and commercial boats.
 
It's 5:32 am...l'm off to chase salmon. If there is any fog like yesterday i will just drop anchor and sleep for an hour. Tug
 
Drifter,

Check the set screw on the drive belt pulley. If not tight it will spin and not turn the belt drive. That's an easy fix. The expensive one would to replace the mag.
 
Tried my radar again this morning ..( fog again )..it worked good for awhile..

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb3 ... 0_0806.jpg



http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb3 ... 0_0805.jpg

and than it just stopped displaying the radar images.

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb3 ... 0_0807.jpg

Good thing is that i put three good size salmon in the box..forgot to take pictures but remembered to snap a shot of the last one before cleaning it.

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb3 ... 0_0808.jpg

I can hear the radar turning, what do i do..remove the dome and see if any belts screws are loose. I guess i should wait a few hours before i do that...do the older radars emit radiation?? Tug
 
ALL radars emit radiation, that's how they work. However, it's not nuclear radiation and it stops when the power stops.If you can hear the antenna turning, it's probably an electronic problem. Jiggle all the connectors.

As to removing the radome, get a manual, or contact the factory to see what an overhaul costs. Then see about a new radar/chartplotter.

Boris
 
When you buy the Furuno 1715 LCD Radar package does it include everything that you need to install a functioning radar or do you have to buy any special connectors and adapters to connect it on your boat's power supply and GPS. Tug
 
Tug
The GPS store sells the furuno 1715 ready to install as far as no extra parts needed. You do have to hook up a wire or two and remove some packing under the dome cover. All very very easy stuff. Am real happy with mine.
 
Didnt have a chance to read this whole thread, but in case it's not been brought up, you might check the ground on the radar unit. I had a similar problem with my Raytheon set up several years ago. Reattaching (more completely) the ground on the terminal block took care of it.
 
Falco... i will do that today, l'll go over the whole thing and tighten/reconnect everything that is possible.

No fishing today...i need radar just to find my way out of the driveway and to get to the marina...Tug
 
Just window shopping but what do you think of these items. Tug






ORDER CONTENTSItem Price Total
C-Map MAX Wide NA-M026 Great Lakes on SD
$179.95 $179.95
Sitex EC-11 Chartplotter with 10.4” Screen
$1,439.00 $1,439.00
Sitex MDS-1 12” 2kw 24nm Radar Dome
$979.95 $979.95

Order SummarySubtotal: $2,598.90
Shipping: $0.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total: $2,598.90

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Email info@thegpsstore.com
 
I can't comment on the SiTex stuff but I have a Lowrance HDS-8 with the broadband radar. It's similar in price to the SiTex unit (not including the map).

1 Lowrance 3G Broadband Radar Dome $1,169.86
1 Lowrance HDS-8 Gen2 Base US 83/200 kHz T/M Transducer $1,513.65
For a total of 2683.51 from Imarineusa.com

You could even do the HDS 5 if you wanted for about $900 less than the price above. The issue is if you want to use one unit for both the radar and chart plotter, the bigger screen is better. I typically run the HDS8 on either chart/sonar or chart/radar. If I'm fishing in the fog, it's on sonar/radar and I use an iPad + navionics for my GPS (or my android phone + Navionics for my GPS). For a large screen GPS, the iPad is hard to beat. The Navionics software covering all of the U.S. and Canada is about $30 and a GPS capable iPad can be had for $529 (brand new iPad2 at Apple - less from some sellers).
 
Looked on the Imarineusa.com site and found:

Lowrance 3G BroadBand Radar Dome $ 1499.00

Lowrance HDS-8 Gen 2 Base Usa 83/200 kHz T/M Transducer $ 1719.00

Prices are up or i am looking in a different site:



Just spent the last couple of hours messing with the radar on my boat, checked all the connections and fuse. there is one smaller plug at the rear of the monitor that is loose. The plug has just worn over time,there is a sort of locking hook that is suppose to keep the plug in..that has lost it's effectiveness. I will try to tape the hook closed which may lock the plug in place... the unit runs good but if i shake it... it messes up, this may be that plug coming loose. The next time i go out i will see whats ..what. If it messes up again i will toss it..it's better not to have any radar than one you cann't reply on. Tug
 
TUG;
Something you may want to look at is the power panel connection to both the RADAR Unit and the CRT Display. I get the impression your problem may be primarily the display system.

If nothing starts and yet you hear the RADAR rotating, you may want to tackle the display first. If you have the crimp type connectors that are scrweed or 'pushed' onto the power panel breaker or power switch, these have a tendency to become loose with time and can cause an intermittent supply to the device; much like what you are experiencing. You can sometimes just pull the wire them out the barrel of the crimp connector - just replace them. They are inexpensive. The lack of sharp focus on your display tells me that the display CRT has a low voltage situation. These connectors would be my first guess.

If you have fuses or circuit breakers, exercise them by pulling the fuses out and reinstalling them; if breakers, cycle them 'no-off'.

The connectors on the back of the CRT Display are usually gold plated and seldom have any corrosion, but it can happen. There are some deoxidation/lubrication electrical connector sprays available that you could spray into the female plug, then plug and unplug the connector several time to assure a quality connection.

These are a few things you can do in the boat with little cost. If any work ...Good, no big bill.

Good luck,
Art
 
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