New Radar

[dale1]

Greetings.

I just ordered a Garmin xHd18 radar. Its going on a 2002, 265 express.

is it necessary to mount the antenna on a mount, or can I go straight to the roof?

this is a trailered boat, so height is a bit of an issue.

main question is, will the raised section of the hard top affect performance if mounted flat?

thanks,
dale

 

[dale1]

12 reads and no reply's? :huh

 

[everwhom]

Here's an article that seems helpful: http://www.boatus.com/magazine/2014/jun ... radome.asp

I have mine mounted on a 12 inch stand that tilts forward 4 degrees to compensate for bow rise when running...

 

[dale1]

thanks.

the article is good. I get it that higher is better. my problem is height.

I wonder if the bump on the grady hardtop has an effect on performance if its mounted flat?

there has to be a thousand gradys out there with it mounted flat. Just wondering about performance with that location.

of course the place that I'm purchasing the antenna say i need a mount.

thanks
Dale

 

[TUNAHUNTER197]

Dale, to give you prospective my 2000 265's radar dome is mounted at the fwd most point on my hardtop. It has a small starboard piece under the front part of the dome, my guess is so it sits level. Although the electronics are 15 years old I have no issues with picking up objects and no issues trailering my boat around, she sits about 13'8'' off the ground.

Attached is a few pictures of the boat and how the radar is mounted, hopefully it helps.

 

[dale1]

Rob,

thanks, that looks good.

do you get a radar return behind the boat? or do you even need one? ive never had a radar before, so I don't know if you try to look back often or not :hmm

thanks again
Dale

 

[fellinger]

I have the same radome on my 272 Sailfish mounted all the way forward direct to the top. I have no issues with it at all. I think it is at a good pitch. You can also adjust the radome offset in your settings. I am using it with a 7610vsx.

 

[Finest Kind]

I also have a Garmin unit mounted on my hardtop similar to Felliger's set up. Great unit, no issues.

Regardless of how its mounted whether on hardtop or on pedestal, targets will be lost when VERY close to the boat.
Since a target like a small boat will be "underneath" the level of the straight line of sight radar beams, that target will "disappear" when within 50 feet or so of the boat and "reappear" as the distance increases and the radar beams can pick it up again.
Not a problem really because even in the dark and/or in thick fog when a target is THAT close you are probably going to know it's there anyway even without radar.

However the higher the radome sits, the more pronounced this effect will be. i.e. the "blind circle" will be larger the higher the dome is.

 

[teaklejr]

Hello. I had my radar get destroyed by a branch a few years and ended up finding a company that makes a hinged mount/removable mount that works perfect. Here is the link to the mount http://nauticalcreations.com/products/8 ... adar-mount I also got the 4 inch pedestal so the radar would sit higher once mounted. The person I talked to was very nice with great customer service. I would highly recommend this product no need to worry about something hitting radar and its very easy to remove.

 

[drbatts]

On my boat the radar dome is mounted on a a small stand(~1ft) just in front of the bubble on the hardtop. The stand raises it up above the bubble. Was on it when I bought the boat years ago. Works fine. Not really an issue for me as I don't trailer.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

I mounted a Garmin 24XD on my 228 hardtop. It is mounted as far forward on the hump. My head unit is a 4208. I honestly think it would perform better if I had a plate under it to counter the offset of the bow rise. I have to crank up the gain to see targets close near the boat. I am likely going to buy the plate to pitch the front of the radar down about 4 degrees.

 

[bbal08]

We had a new Garmin Xhd 24 installed on our 282 Sailfish early this year. Had the same issue as we also trailer. The dealer is a certified Garmin installer and he suggested there is no issue with mounting directly to the front of the hardtop. The bump is still lower than the actual antenna under the dome. Works fine in all directions.

 

[fishbust]

Just get the lowest mount you can find. You want it angled downward in front to reduce blindspot where you want it least.

 

[dale1]

Greetings. I mounted it directly to the hard top. i used it twice. wow. what have i been missing. I really like it. if there is any interference with the bump i can not tell it. thanks, dale

 

[fellinger]

Greetings. I mounted it directly to the hard top. i used it twice. wow. what have i been missing. I really like it. if there is any interference with the bump i can not tell it. thanks, dale

Great! What display are you using? Do yourself a favor and use it alot so you can get used to the sea/rain clutter settings in different conditions. Use the overlay and single range options a lot inland and offshore so you can get an idea of what different targets look like.