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When doing my research I decided not to go with broadband but have HD instead

 

Apparently broadband is brilliant at close range but not so good for distance works whereas HD gives almost as good target separation at close range but is much better at longer distances

 

Martin

Am I right in saying that HD uses a conventional, higher spec, radome with clever processing to make the images clearer plus enables close target recognition (as opposed to BB that uses solid state technologies)?

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When doing my research I decided not to go with broadband but have HD instead

 

Apparently broadband is brilliant at close range but not so good for distance works whereas HD gives almost as good target separation at close range but is much better at longer distances

 

Martin

Am I right in saying that HD uses a conventional, higher spec, radome with clever processing to make the images clearer plus enables close target recognition (as opposed to BB that uses solid state technologies)?

Correct and for what it's worth I was told by an electronics supplier that BB radar would not be suitable for my use but if my budget stretched to it then def go for HD

 

Martin

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Cor I'm really impressed with all you techno guys,but it all goes way over my head.

My unit arrived today biggrin.gifbiggrin.gifbiggrin.gif And now having an arch made for it....can't wait

As I stated before I'm more interested in what's directly in front of me,pot markers,piers,a beach laugh.gif Will be great for early and late returns when dark as I find that disorientating ,I'm not bothered that there's a boat 15 or more miles away

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Cor I'm really impressed with all you techno guys,but it all goes way over my head.

My unit arrived today biggrin.gifbiggrin.gifbiggrin.gif And now having an arch made for it....can't wait

As I stated before I'm more interested in what's directly in front of me,pot markers,piers,a beach laugh.gif Will be great for early and late returns when dark as I find that disorientating ,I'm not bothered that there's a boat 15 or more miles away

Well put Nigel wink.gifwink.gifwink.gif

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Cor I'm really impressed with all you techno guys,but it all goes way over my head.

My unit arrived today biggrin.gifbiggrin.gifbiggrin.gif And now having an arch made for it....can't wait

As I stated before I'm more interested in what's directly in front of me,pot markers,piers,a beach laugh.gif Will be great for early and late returns when dark as I find that disorientating ,I'm not bothered that there's a boat 15 or more miles away

Exact;y the kind of use I would be looking at too Nige.

 

Thanks to all for your answers smile.gif

 

It seems that for me at least BB is deffo the way to go, just got to start saving now!

 

Cheers all.

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At the risk of doing this subject to death, if anyone is interested in the pros and cons of bb vs hd radars there is a useful summary at the end of the bb guide from navico on this web page http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Marine/Broadband-Radar/

 

FWIW, I agree with Nigel's succinct reasoning re bb.

Edited by ChrisE
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As I see it and as the advice I received was if you are using your boat inshore or in harbours ie close range then BB can't be beat but if you intend to go mid channel or even across the channel you will need your radar to do different jobs so in that instance BB may or may not be the best choice. HD is as or nearly as good for close range but is superior for longer range work.

 

At the end of the day all modern radar units will do a reasonable job it's just that some are more reasonable than others. Then of course there's your budget/pocket to consider huh.gif

 

Martin

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I am heading to the Boat Show on Sunday and gonna make my decision whether I mate a new HD head with my existing setup or whether to start again with a complete new BB setup.

 

I am hoping to pick up a bargain from the traders not wanting to take stuff home again after the show.

 

Whatever happens I expect to be radar compliant by Sunday evening :-)

 

 

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We purchased the Northstar BB radar last May and I must say, though we haven't been out on the boat nearly as much as intended over the last year, my experience of it has been fantastic. The detail at close range is brilliant - it can pick out birds on the water and all sorts.

 

Like a few have said, we weren't so much interested in whether there was a container ship 15 miles away as we were if there was a pratt in a sunseeker two miles off heading straight for us at 25 knots. Having had the fog come in very quickly before with the Condor bearing down I know it can be a very scary situation and with the annual Alderney trip and plans to spend more time mid-channel we were set that we would need some sort of radar system. I would thoroughly recommend the one we went for.

 

The GPS overlay is great too and has many excellent uses ph34r.gif

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We purchased the Northstar BB radar last May and I must say, though we haven't been out on the boat nearly as much as intended over the last year, my experience of it has been fantastic. The detail at close range is brilliant - it can pick out birds on the water and all sorts.

 

Like a few have said, we weren't so much interested in whether there was a container ship 15 miles away as we were if there was a pratt in a sunseeker two miles off heading straight for us at 25 knots. Having had the fog come in very quickly before with the Condor bearing down I know it can be a very scary situation and with the annual Alderney trip and plans to spend more time mid-channel we were set that we would need some sort of radar system. I would thoroughly recommend the one we went for.

 

The GPS overlay is great too and has many excellent uses ph34r.gif

Your post re Northstar prompted me to ring up Navico to find out if my, now-out-of-production, Navman chartplotter (now re-badged as a Northstar m84) is compatible with bb and hd radomes from Navico. To my surpise and delight it is. Just plug it in says the customer support guy.

 

Woo-hoo, that's over a

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Absolutely, and the two work very well together, I have a virtually identical unit (the M121) and the set up was very straightforward - as he said, just plug and play (once we'd managed to get the cable through the cabin roof!).

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I am heading to the Boat Show on Sunday and gonna make my decision whether I mate a new HD head with my existing setup or whether to start again with a complete new BB setup.

 

I am hoping to pick up a bargain from the traders not wanting to take stuff home again after the show.

 

Whatever happens I expect to be radar compliant by Sunday evening :-)

As I expected I allowed the salesmen to talk me out of matching a HD head with my existing Lowrance 7200 blink.gif

 

I think I have ended up with what I want. A Garmin 750s which is a 7inch plotter/sounder matched to an HD randome and a new transducer. Together with a G2Vision card for 3D charts etc. Saved around

Edited by Graham Nash
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