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Radome installation

C

captgeorge

George Graves
<div>I am trying decide on whether to go with a mast mount or use a
stern post mount for my RL72 radar with an 18" radome. I would
like to hear from those of you who have beeen down this road
previously.Thanks,
David Green
S/V High Spirits
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I had mine mounted on the mast and itit works fine and hasnt cause any line or sail hang ups yet. The post type seems so in the way and subject to people pressure (nice hand hold). One problem I have with my mast mount;the installer didn't secure the coax cable and the slightest movement causes it to bang inside the mast. Drives me crazy at night. I havent thought of a easy cure. Any ideas?
 
David,
Three years ago I was making the same decision that you are today. So of course I asked everyone I knew with a radar. I also asked about gimbaling the radar. Most people I spoke to did not. They said that they had no trouble useing their ungimbaled radar.
I installed a post because of fear of genoa chafe from it being mounted on the mast. I also thought I might add a lifting arm to the post at some time. But, let me point out that the mast mount people I spoke with were just as happy as the post mount people.
I personaly found that in fog, when the water is usally flat because of the lack of wind, my radar worked great. However, I discovered the need for gimbaling on an all night sail. The wind was blowing 12+knts.. We were going to windward, in a high commerical traffic area, The Race (begining of Long Island Sound). I could see the lights of various tugs with barges all around me. Because we were heeled over the targets to leeward were jumping in and out. Getting a fix on distance with a line of position was impossibe. I could not tell if we were on a collision course with the use of the radar. That night I learned a lesson the easy way.
Enjoy the radar,
Larry
 
Mine is on a Edson post on the stern. I have never had a problem like Larry Hume's, but I think I hve never been hard on the wind when I was relying on the radar--well, maybe once, and I was so busy holdling on and dealing with the periodic sail handling crisis that I cannot remember if I was losing targets. Once nice thing about the Edson pole is that it is tall, but also has an adjustable radome base. So, if you are on a long board on one tack, you can change the angle of the dome manually to compensate for the heel. I have never done this and I do not exactly relish the idea of standing up, and stretching to adjust the pole, but it is doable and after reading Larry's report, I think I will spend more time thinkiong about how to easily get to the adjustment arm. Finally, I suspect that if you had a mast mount, even without gimballing, you would not lose much on a heeled course.
 

I've used the split insulation designed to put around hot water pipes to quiet the cable. Take the insulation & split it putting it around the cable then duct tape it and slide it up the cable repeating the process. It comes in 8' or 10' sections and you can add several together if needed. Email if you have futher questions. I use mast mounted radar with satifactory results compared to cost of a gimbled mount. North Wind can be seen in the Morgan Picture site.
 
<div>Rod ...Re;Slapping coax cable. Thanks for the foam jacket idea.It sounds like the answer to the problem. However,my M383 is on it's cradle about 300 miles away and off hand I can't recall seeing a port that would give me access to the interior of the mast. The cable exits the mast via 1/2 inch dia hole at it's base in the bilge area. How did you manage the installation?Take care ,
Carl
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Carl,
I'm not sure if my mast is stock or not, but there is a 1-1/4" PVC tube that runs from just below the masthead to within a foot or so of the mast heel. All my electrical & antenna wires run inside this tube (keeps them away from internal halyards). Like your installation, my radar cable was not inside this tube and was banging around inside the mast. I finally moved it inside the PVC tube and eliminated the banging.
To determine if your mast has such a tube, look for 3/16" size Pop-Rivet heads on the outside wall of the mast. On my boat they show up as pairs (side-by-side) every several feet, running up the forward face of the mast. I pulled the radar cable down through that tube with a messenger line. It was really tough to get the cable end electrical fitting through the hole in the mast wall below the cabin sole. I'm sure that it's far easier to do while the mast is out of the boat.
Good luck!
Jim
 
Our radome is on the mast, and creates no problems for us. Our genoa has a reinforcing patch at the point where it sweeps across the dome, but it doesn't look like it gets much wear. Obviously, there are a lot of pole mounts, and people must be happy with them, but I've never understood how one rationalizes the trade-off in height. If or when our radome fails, I'd put another right back on the mast without thinking about it twice.
 
<div>Jim,I'll get up to the boat in a couple of weeks and check out my mast to see if it has a interior PVC tube .That would solve the slapping problem.
Thanks for the advice.Carl
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I also plan to install a radome on the mast of my 384 Wind Gypsy while the mast is up. Because of the cable length the dome will be about 18 feet above deck. Should I drill the hole for the cable exit at the radome such that it is located at the internal conduit and penetrates it? Then drop a weighted fish line to the bottom of the mast to feed the cable up the conduit?
 
Charles,
You've got a good grasp on what needs to be done. My radome is mounted just above the steaming/deck light and the cable penetrates both the mast and PVC conduit on the front face of my mast. There are a couple of things to be careful of. Be double-dog sure that you go slow when making the hole in the mast so that you don't accidentally chew up some of the wires inside the PVC. Also, take pains to ensure that the connector on the end of the radar cable will fit through the rather small hole in the sidewall of the mast in the bilge area. You may need to make the hole larger.
Good luck!
Jim
 
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