DRS12a X-class not performing

[Pelagic Fisher]

Hi

I recently purchased a DRS12a X-class with 6-foot antenna. I was told I would be able to track boats similar to my size (50 foot) easily within 10nm. I purchased it for that reason, but so far performance has been poor!

I can barley pick up targets only 2nm away unless I put gain way up but then there is to much noise, my old dome radar could do a better job!

I was wondering if there are any settings I could adjust to try and optimise for tracking other boats within 10nm. would a 3.5 or 4 foot antenna be better as they have wider beam widths? I am hoping the performance can be improved!

Thanks

 

[Quitsa]

Hi

I recently purchased a DRS12a X-class with 6-foot antenna. I was told I would be able to track boats similar to my size (50 foot) easily within 10nm. I purchased it for that reason, but so far performance has been poor!

I can barley pick up targets only 2nm away unless I put gain way up but then there is to much noise, my old dome radar could do a better job!

I was wondering if there are any settings I could adjust to try and optimise for tracking other boats within 10nm. would a 3.5 or 4 foot antenna be better as they have wider beam widths? I am hoping the performance can be improved!

Thanks

There is definitely something wrong either in the installation or settings. I had that same radar on my old boat and it worked extremely well. How high is your radar array mounted? Is it possible that there are structures on the boat that are interfering with the transmissions? What about the mounting angle? Is the radar angled appropriately for the normal running angle of the boat?

The autotuning on that radar works quite well for boat and land type targets. What are your gain and filter (sea state and rain) settings when you experience the poor target finding?

Remember that radar range is essentially line of sight so the height of your antenna and the height of the target will limit range. For example, if your antenna is 3 meters above the water and the target is also 3m high, the maximum range at which it can be detected is about 7 miles. A very big target such as a container ship or a high shoreline might be visible on the screen at 15-20 miles or more. I have seen thunderstorm cells nearly 100 miles away but of course they can be many thousands of feet high.

There is no way that your DRS12A would not greatly outperform a dome if installed and tuned properly.

 

[Pelagic Fisher]

Hi

I recently purchased a DRS12a X-class with 6-foot antenna. I was told I would be able to track boats similar to my size (50 foot) easily within 10nm. I purchased it for that reason, but so far performance has been poor!

I can barley pick up targets only 2nm away unless I put gain way up but then there is to much noise, my old dome radar could do a better job!

I was wondering if there are any settings I could adjust to try and optimise for tracking other boats within 10nm. would a 3.5 or 4 foot antenna be better as they have wider beam widths? I am hoping the performance can be improved!

Thanks

There is definitely something wrong either in the installation or settings. I had that same radar on my old boat and it worked extremely well. How high is your radar array mounted? Is it possible that there are structures on the boat that are interfering with the transmissions? What about the mounting angle? Is the radar angled appropriately for the normal running angle of the boat?

The autotuning on that radar works quite well for boat and land type targets. What are your gain and filter (sea state and rain) settings when you experience the poor target finding?

Remember that radar range is essentially line of sight so the height of your antenna and the height of the target will limit range. For example, if your antenna is 3 meters above the water and the target is also 3m high, the maximum range at which it can be detected is about 7 miles. A very big target such as a container ship or a high shoreline might be visible on the screen at 15-20 miles or more. I have seen thunderstorm cells nearly 100 miles away but of course they can be many thousands of feet high.

There is no way that your DRS12A would not greatly outperform a dome if installed and tuned properly.

Thanks for the reply!

installation should be fine, there are a few whip antennas either side but no major obstructions. I will take a few photos tomorrow just to show you! that is good to know it worked well for you! so based on your experience, you believe it is capable of tracking other boats out to 10nm? the antenna is mounted 6m from water level. mounting angle is fine for normal running angle.

I have gain, sea and rain set too auto. today I was out and could see a boat (size of about 40ft) 2nm away by eye sight and the radar was only just showing a flicker every 30 seconds of so, that's when I knew something is wrong.

 

[Quitsa]

When you are on the boat next, go into the settings menu and check that the proper antenna length has been specified and that your radar type shows up as the correct model and the "main bang" suppression setting is moderate, i.e., around 20 or so. You might also just wipe the slate clean and restore factory defaults and then put in the correct values for radar height, antenna length etc.

Who did the installation? Perhaps they did not do the initial configuration properly. That could certainly impair the performance.

10nm might be a bit far to see another 50' vessel unless it is very high or an especially strong target such as a steel commercial fishing boat with a high dredge boom. But 6-8 miles is certainly a reasonable expectation unless the waves are very big. I can see lobster pot floats with small radar reflector maker poles 4-5 miles away and those poles are only about 6 feet high and not very big.

 

[Pelagic Fisher]

When you are on the boat next, go into the settings menu and check that the proper antenna length has been specified and that your radar type shows up as the correct model and the "main bang" suppression setting is moderate, i.e., around 20 or so. You might also just wipe the slate clean and restore factory defaults and then put in the correct values for radar height, antenna length etc.

Who did the installation? Perhaps they did not do the initial configuration properly. That could certainly impair the performance.

10nm might be a bit far to see another 50' vessel unless it is very high or an especially strong target such as a steel commercial fishing boat with a high dredge boom. But 6-8 miles is certainly a reasonable expectation unless the waves are very big. I can see lobster pot floats with small radar reflector maker poles 4-5 miles away and those poles are only about 6 feet high and not very big.

I have changed all the settings you spoke about thanks. I will see how it goes tomorrow.

The local Furuno technician installed it. if you can see 6 foot marker poles from 4 mile away something is definitely not right! Do you have an email address I could send the photos too? all good if not. There is a SC-50 behind the radar on a 6-inch thick pole. the pole wouldn't be affecting it would it?

Thanks

 

[Quitsa]

No, the SC-50 behind the radar shouldn't cause what you describe. If it was installed by a professional Furuno technician, he really should come and check the it and verify the settings.

 

[Pelagic Fisher]

No, the SC-50 behind the radar shouldn't cause what you describe. If it was installed by a professional Furuno technician, he really should come and check the it and verify the settings.

Thanks Man I will give him a call!

 

[colemj]

Turn the rain setting off.