Furuno rdp-139 radar issue

[Anonymous]

Hi!

I have a furuno rdp-139 display with depth sounder and 4kw radom radar. Serial.no 4309-7089
I have a radar issue that i cant find any cause to. When i start the radar i have a very weak signal on the radar echoes.

During the first turn on screen of the radar i have full strength on all echoes on all preset ranges but after the first full turn the echoes comes down to not more than half and i lose the echos on distances over 1 nautical mile.

I have tried to reboot and also turn the radar on and of (via the TX on and of) but cant get it to kick back in to "full echo mode". I have tried to set the gain/rain and sea at different levels to sort the issue but i cant get it to work.

The radar has run just over 600 hours “on” time according to the system check that can be done and i cant see any indication in the system "health check" that there is anything wrong. I my world if the magnatron on the 4 kw radom was broken it would not give me any clear echo on the first display turn...ore am i wrong?

Any help i can get will be deeply appreciated. I am using my radar all the time and this issue rely intervenes with my daily use of the boat.

Regards

Mats

 

[Johnny Electron]

I am using my radar all the time and this issue rely intervenes with my daily use of the boat.

The radar has run just over 600 hours “on” time according to the system check

The serial number you provided was not sold by Furuno USA but the serial number indicates it is from early 2001. I would guess based on age (13+ years) the total "on" time has been reset sometime in the recent past. It would need to be troubleshot by a qualified tech but it sounds like either the Modulator board (which powers your magnetron) or the display processor (SPU board) which processes the radar video. If you have another RDP139 on the boat, you might try swapping the displays and set them up to see if the problem is the same. (using a different SPU board to run the radar)

 

[Anonymous]

Hi!

Thank you for a quick reply. I do not have another display in the boat so that kind of troubleshooting would be difficult to do. What would these components cost to replace, if they at all can be replaced?

//Mats

 

[Johnny Electron]

I wouldn't replace anything until the part is verified by a qualified tech. Both parts are costly. Furuno does not sell directly to customers, we sell our products from a dealer network. You should contact your local dealer for current pricing.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi!

Thank you for your help. I am having a hard time getting anyone to check out the radar and i don’t have a second RDP 139 display to test the radar with. A neighbor has a later model from around 2006 that i might be able to test with. Is there any way to do a factory reset on the unit so i can start over with the installation and see if i can get it going again?

Regards

Mats

 

[Anonymous]

This post looks like an issue that is close to mine...: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1797&p=5426&hilit=reset#p5426

 

[Anonymous]

Hi.

This issue is resolved, not thanks to any reply in this thread but in the one that i posted a link to in my previous post. Stickman gave a very accurate description of how to do the basic setup and then talked about the tuning control. And that made all the difference. After the basic set up it still gave weak echoes but after i used the tuning function i could get i right back to normal.

What caused this from the beginning is not clear, from one day to another it just hade weak echoes.

I have been given several reasons for the problem with the radar and they all involved electronic components or the magnetron. This was not the case for me and I urge you to have a closer look before changing the magnetron for example.

Regards

Mats

 

[Johnny Electron]

Exactly why I said

I wouldn't replace anything until the part is verified by a qualified tech

If you are able to manually tune in better targets than auto tune, then it sounds like either a display problem (SPU board) with the auto tuning or the MIC (Tuner) inside the scanner. I am glad you were able to get it working enough to use. Thanks for posting the follow up.