BROADBAND RADARESSENTIAL GUIDE
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How far can I expect to see with
Broadband Radar?
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When to Use Pulse Radar
vs Broadband Radar
Broadband 3G™ Radar and Broadband
4G™ Radar are ideal for
t Close range operation in tight quarters with an
unmatched full screen radar scale of 200’
t Tall Coastline detection past 30nm with Broadband
4G Radar
t Weather detection greater than 15-17nm
t Precise navigation with high resolution target
detection for collision avoidance situations up to 3nm
t Monitoring of both close and far ranges with
Broadband 4G Radar
t Natural sea clutter rejection
t Directional sea clutter rejection with Broadband
4G Radar
t Easy installation with maximum RF emission safety
t Maximum safety and situational awareness
Pulse radar is ideal for
t Detailed visibility of storms and rain cells farther
than 16-20nm away
t Seeing hard to detect sloping beaches and shorelines
t Triggering RACONS
t Cosmetic appearance of a turning open array
I can’t see my friend’s boat 6nm
away. Why?
t Always be careful with distance and line of sight-
all radars need to be higher to see farther, and the
farther you look, the bigger and taller the object
needs to be
I can see coastline in the distance
but my radar cannot see it. Why?
t This is true of all radars in some conditions due
to the slope of the land, height of the coastline,
vegetation, humidity and distance.
t Broadband Radar target detection ability decreases
more rapidly than pulse radars as the radar range
scale is increased while adequately seeing important
larger targets far away. Broadband 3G Radar is good
at seeing targets at distance, but Broadband 4G Radar
is 50% better, with a working range up to 32nm and a
useable display range of 36nm.
RADAR HORIZON TARGET
TYPICAL RADAR TARGET RANGES
Scanner
Height
Target
Objec t at sea
level
Small boa t
(2m high)
Big Launc h
(6m high)
6 feet 3.1 miles 6.3 miles 8.4 miles
9 feet 3.8 miles 7.0 miles 9.2miles
13 feet 4.4 miles 7.5 mile s 9.8 miles
Ballpark D istances
Typical Maxi mum range in
good prop agation conditio ns**
Target
Height
(ft)
Radar
Horizon
(nm)
Broadban d
3G Range
Broadban d
4G Range*
Marine Targets
Large Power St ation/ wind farm 300 21.3 18-2 5nm 25nm+
Long coast line with 100m
high cliffs
300 21.3 13-2 5n m 19-25 nm+
High densit y urban coastline 150 15.1 8-15nm 11- 19 nm +
Forest-cov ered coastline gentl y
sloping to 250 m
750 33 .7 5-10nm 8-15nm
Low lying sub urban coastline 150 15.1 5-10nm 8-15nm
Large conta iner ship
(ship depen dent)
100 12. 3 10 -17nm 13-17n m+
Low lying coa stline ,50m
dense vege tation
100 12. 3 4-8nm 6-11nm
small low ly ing island 50 8.7 2.5-5nm 4-7nm
Medium siz ed power boat 13 4.4 1. 3-2.6 nm 2-3.5nm
Channel mar kers with
radar refle ctors
10 3.9 1.3 -2.6n m 2-3.5nm
Small power o r sail boat 13 4.4 0.7-2nm 1-3nm
Small marker b uoy 10 3.9 0.25-0.7nm 0.25-1nm
Kayak 300 -800ft 6 3.0 300-800 ft 300-80 0ft
Birds 160-500 ft 100 12. 3 16 0-5 00f t 160 -50 0f t
Sandbars 1 5.7 0.2-0. 6nm 0.3-0.9nm
Ranges ab ove with radome hei ght of 13ft.
*Broadba nd 4G Radar - single ra nge noise reducti on = high
** Above dat a is typical targe t distances, not guar anteed
Can I improve maximum usable range by using
manual controls?
t In some cases, yes, but introduces more noise in the image
and not recommended for non-experienced radar users.
General Recommendations
for selecting Broadband or
Pulse Radars
t Broadband 3G Radar is the best value
choice for the vast majority of radar
applications and addresses the need
for superior all weather navigation
usage. Broadband 4G Radar is the best
18’’ dome radar available combining
the best resolution for navigation and for
offshore operation from 20-30nm
t Low emissions combined with the
fact that “all collision incidents occur
with objects less than 10’ of the boat” -
where radar visibility is now possible
with Broadband Radar, makes you and
your family safer in ever y way
t Pulse radars are for operators that
regularly go further than 20nm offshore
and need to keep tabs on distant storm
cells and detect far away coastlines - in
addition to seeing these objects
on their chartplotter map. For these
applications, HD digital open array radars
are recommended
6kW HD Digital Open Array (Pulse) Radar on
72nm range with full colour storm cells
Broadband 4G Radar sees solid coastlines and
three freighters in line approaching Auckland
on this map overlay
Broadband 4G Radar easily displays a small
power plant more than 15 nm away on a
Lowrance HDS
When to Use Pulse Radar
vs Broadband Radar