Radar signal reflection is important to small boats. And I have seen little or no reflection from other small boats on the water.
I want my boat to have a strong bounce when I'm 3 to 10 miles out from the radar of the ships in the shipping lanes. And I would want to show up well on other small boats radar at night or in a fog.
What do you think are the best ways to get higher radar signature? What would you recommend I do?
2007-07-21 08:40:58 · 3 answers · asked by Keith_Angler 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
purchase of a commercial radar reflector is a good start.
try the boating magazines for adverts for these items
2007-07-21 08:50:56 · answer #1 · answered by atlanticviewer 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Commercial radar reflectors such as used on some Bouys are a good step, but adding additional metal to your boat will help as well. Radar needs a metallic surface to reflect, and doesn't detect fiberglass boats hardly at all. Radar reflectors are designed to be metalic, and have maximum surface in as many directions as practical. A single flat surface would only be most effective at right angles to the radar. Remember however that radar is a line of sight system, and if you are over the "radar Horizon" which extends only a little farther than the visual horizon, you are effectively out of the radars sight. 3 to 10 miles may be a bit much unless you can raise the reflector quite high! Simple physics, no way around it.
2007-07-21 19:52:08 · answer #2 · answered by billcroghan 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ones with a right-angle corner that faces toward the source of the radar signal (like the ceiling corner in a room) give the strongest returns. These "retroreflectors" are already used on buoys and other objects where a good return is desirable.
2007-07-21 16:14:35 · answer #3 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋