David Rinnan kirjoitti:
Hi all,

I have a problem with my simrad 2kw radome. I tend to get a message
along the lines of "heading lost connection" or similar. I have to press
"CLR" to get back to receiving mode.

The problem only occur when the sea is rough and this is why I am
considering the mount being the faulty parameter. I had a quick email
correspondance with Simrad but they did not seem to be on top of things
and suggested I send in the units for software upgrade. Could this be
the problem?

Considering how important the radar is I have been very close to just
throwing the simrad over board and bying something else (i got the
simrad stuff with my boat).

I would however be very sad if I buy a new radar just to discover that
the mounting is the problem.

I should add that the boat is a Nordstar Patrol 28. You can see an image
from the manufacturer via this link.
http://www.nordstar.fi/img/ns28patrol/1.jpg

My radar is mounted on the port side of the pole next to the port
lantern. The pole is heavy duty BUT it can be tilted for the boat to
pass under bridges or during winter storage. This is why you can see the
ropes (pardon my french here but im from sweden and my boat-english is
crap) from the roof to the pole. The ropes can be tightened pretty hard
but it is impossible to tighten so much that the pole dont move. The
"ropes" on the sides are similar to what you see on a sail boat with
very good tightening screws and its metal wires with plastic on the
outside. The forward rope is actually just a rope.. but the rope goes
trough a wheel making it possible to tighten pretty hard. I am
considering changing the rope to a wire with a similar tightening
mechanism as on the sides (might have to add a sturdier mount on the
roof for that to work though).

Saying that the pole moves is bit of an exageration.. but I guess it
"moves" more than if it couldnt be tilted.

I dont know what I am getting at here.. but my thinking is that given
the bouncing and jumping arround with a boat in heavy sea - shouldnt the
radar be able to cope with that without loosing its bearing or
connection? The pole might not be as sturdy as if it was fixed but that
litle extra movement should be able to create this much problem, or?

3rd option. can it be that the GPS signal is somewhat lossy and this is
the cause for the problem. the error message does state that it looses
bearing. I dont have a separate electronic compass installed yet so the
radar is relying on the GPS for bearing.

Ok friends, 3 options available - which one do you think is the cause
for my problems?

I have Simrad CR34 as the main unit and a slave station DS44 indoors. A
separate power box for the radar, a 2kw radome.

I just found a place where I could upload my own pic where you can see
my mounting of the radome.
http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/694...657copyyp0.jpg

Thanks and safe boating to you all

regards
david

PS note the outside "flybridge" driving possition that is possible on
this boat. That is why the radome is not mounted on the roof. Ds

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lost Bearing, bearing pulse error etc. sounds to me like loose
connection with the cable connecting transmitter and display unit. I
would check the cable connections inside the radome at first.

Secondly it could also refer to power outage at the transmitter, I have
encountered this problem with both Raymarine and Simrad radars. Mostly
it occurs in sailing boats when battery level is getting lower but is
still enough to power the display. Only thing you get is the lost
bearing pulse which means that antenna is not rotating.

But back in to your case, with rough seas loose cables inside connectors
can cause this problem. Try to pull each wire separately to see wheter
they come out, but better if there is warranty you can let others do it.

/Jani