I'm new to radar. The new Sci-Tex T760 looks appealing, but the close range is listed as 1/8 mile. Being radar blind within a couple hundred yards seems impractical when forced to maneuver in tight places in dense fog, which is one of the reasons for getting radar. Am I missing something? Any other suggestions?
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Mark, how high are you mounting the radar? On what the of boat?
The 1/8th of a nautical mile is indicative of the display and (presumably) how the antenna is tuned for close range. The outside of the principal display would be a couple of football fields in diameter.
How large a display is on that unit?
If you mount the unit high, you affect the radars effective ranges. If you have the unit placed on a broad coach roof you can affect its site lines also.
We have a Furuno 4kw unit on our sailboat which I have never seriously used at closer ranges, except in an anchorage for mostly amusement. Ours is mounted on a Questus backstay system with the antenna about 14' above the water.
Sorry for my typing. Aside from som tops above, it's radius, not diameter, that is being shown.
I am not familiar with that product, but IMHO you should determine if you have perhaps confused the specification for how close you can zoom in your display (e.g. range rings of 1/8 mile each ring) with how close an object is to the boat.
I looked-up the unit, Mark.
It's got a lot of features. You have the ability to drive a large monitor from an output on the back. You have AIS, ARPA, etc., etc.
The range should be fine -- the range rings will go to 1/8" mile on the 7" display.
You'll have to learn to use the touch screen in bouncy conditions -- but it should be fine in terms of features.