Hi,
Has anyone any knowledge or experience of the C.A.R.D radar detection
system?

I have had a look at the web site but would appreciate any comments or
feedback. It seems as if it may be a way for me to be sensibly be able
to get more than 20 minutes at a time of sleep even though I know it
will not pick up any ships or fishinjg boats not using radar.

Several times at sea I have talked to shipping who could see me
visualy but could not pick me up on radar due to sea clutter
especially when seas were high.

Thanks

Peter Hendra
N.Z. yacht Herodotus

Peter Hendra wrote:
Hi,
Has anyone any knowledge or experience of the C.A.R.D radar detection
system?

I have had a look at the web site but would appreciate any comments or
feedback. It seems as if it may be a way for me to be sensibly be able
to get more than 20 minutes at a time of sleep even though I know it
will not pick up any ships or fishinjg boats not using radar.

Several times at sea I have talked to shipping who could see me
visualy but could not pick me up on radar due to sea clutter
especially when seas were high.

Thanks

Peter Hendra
N.Z. yacht Herodotus

Hi
I bought one for a 27ft boat i had and had nothing but trouble with it.
I really didnt rate it at all. I have just bought a new boat and fitted
a sea-me to it which i think is a far better bit of kit
I have spoken to people who really rate the C,A,R,D
The thing i liked about the card was it gave the direction and it was a
lot cheaper than the sea-me
Have you thought about one of the Nasa AIS detectors?
The beauty of them is they give speed direction and mmsi number.
But they dont show anything under 300 tonnes

Rob

Peter Hendra wrote:
Hi,
Has anyone any knowledge or experience of the C.A.R.D radar detection
system?

I fitted a C.A.R.D. six years ago. It's never faulted and has been
valuable. We've used the C.A.R.D. whilst crossing the N Pacific from W
to E, up and down the Malacca Strait, and sailing through Indonesia to
Australia.

In addition to its 'intended' purpose, we've used the C.A.R.D:

* to verify whether our own radar is working (we had a fault in which
the radar would stop transmitting but the display would freeze);
* to alert us to another boat entering a secluded anchorage; and even
* to detect a terrestrial airport.

Our C.A.R.D. returned its pruchase price to us on a glorious day when
we seemed to be alone in the world, only to find that a Indonesian navy
patrol boat was dead set on running us down. So our C.A.R.D. is one
part of our watchkeeping - it's not indispensible, but it does add
value.

Cheers

I have had the CARD radar detector for several years. I do a fair amount
of singlehanding and it has been invaluable at sea. It rouses me from my
nap with enough warning (at least 10 minutes) to avoid collisions.

The only thing to consider is that you have to make sure the sound is
on. One time, as a freighter was passing nearby, I could not take the
constant beeping and turned the sound off, intending to turn it back on
when the ship was out of range. Imagine my surprise as I woke up from my
next nap to see the unit lit up like a Christmas tree but not sounding
the alarm. Another freighter was almost on top of me. Luckily we missed.

Needless to say, I now keep the sound on all the time no matter how
annoying it gets, especially in high traffic areas.

Alvin

Peter Hendra wrote:
Hi,
Has anyone any knowledge or experience of the C.A.R.D radar detection
system?

I have had a look at the web site but would appreciate any comments or
feedback. It seems as if it may be a way for me to be sensibly be able
to get more than 20 minutes at a time of sleep even though I know it
will not pick up any ships or fishinjg boats not using radar.

Several times at sea I have talked to shipping who could see me
visualy but could not pick me up on radar due to sea clutter
especially when seas were high.

Thanks

Peter Hendra
N.Z. yacht Herodotus