Thursday 28 January 2010 – The German Maritime Search and Rescue Service, (DGzRS) is installing Raymarine’s HD Digital radomes in its new rescue boats, following successful sea trials.
The new orders came after Raymarine’s subsidiary company Eissing tested the new HD Digital RD424HD radomes against traditional analogue radar antennae. The tests took place in the harsh environment of the North Sea.
Eissing’s Managing Director, Thomas Günther, says, “The trials showed that the difference in detection of individual targets by the HD Digital radomes compared with that of the traditional analogue radar was outstanding. The HD Digital radome and display aids presentation and interpretation by showing the targets in different colours and shades from light blue to deep red; the better the echo, the more intense the colour. Once it saw this, the DGzRS was immediately convinced of the benefits.
“Also, rapidly approaching targets were not picked up by the analogue model; however, the HD Digital radome showed a flock of seagulls as a light blue echo. Even a solitary seagull was detected.”
Carl Göhner, an Inspector at the DGzRS, says, “The identification of targets will become much easier for us – a remarkable result!”
The HD Digital radome even detects targets just above the water surface. The test area was conducted near Neuharlingersiel, where the tideway leading out of the port is bordered by a small stone dam. It is only 30cm above the water, but was still clearly defined on screen during the trial.
Raymarine’s 18-inch and 24-inch HD Digital radomes feature high-power 4kW transmitters for superior target detection and resolution. Whereas other systems often merge rain and targets, the HD Digital technology even enables targets to be distinguished through heavy rain clutter.
Raymarine’s HD Digital radar antennas use state-of–the-art 8 pulse width transmitters to optimize target detection and clarity at both short and long ranges. There is no requirement for users to manually adjust the radar to get the best picture, as this is all processed automatically by the digital signal.
Notes to editors
Safe Emissions
Powerful enough to slice through atmospheric clutter, Raymarine radars are still comfortably within International limits for energy absorption - in fact the energy absorbed from an ordinary mobile phone can be several times greater than that from a correctly installed Raymarine radar.
Installation
All radars work on line-of-sight principles so although antennas could theoretically be fitted almost anywhere, unobstructed and parallel to the water is better.
Interference resistance
Raymarine radars use interference technology to resist signal interference from other vessels’ transmissions.
For further information Fiona Pankhurst, Head of Corporate Marketing and PR, +44 (0)23 9271 4700 Ext. 1093 or fiona.pankhurst@raymarine.com or Alice Driscoll at ADPR, Tel +44 (0)1460 241641or Fax +44 (0)1460 242719 or by email at alice@adpr.co.uk
This text can be downloaded from www.adpr.co.uk
For high res images: Please contact Swan Gan at Raymarine +44 (0)23 9271 4700 x1170 – swan.gan@raymarine.com for a password to Raymarine’s Asset Management System (AMS). This provides access to all Raymarine images and product data.
January 2010 (RM661)
