Important Radar Recalibration Announcement

As many folks are aware, the north magnetic pole is migrating. What many people don’t realize is that they need to calibrate their radar units so when in “north-up” display mode, things are accurate. We recently hired a radar technician specialist and he walked us through the process. It was simple enough, and we share the procedure for your navigational safety. It’s quite similar to boxing a compass, but with radar instead.

Turn on the radar unit, and after warmup, initiate transition and zoom in to the closest range. You’ll need two people to conduct this part of the calibration: one to run the unit and one to row around the boat, or walk around using nearby piers and parking lots.

First, use the dull side of aluminum foil and wrap it around one arm of your assistant; on the other arm, use the shiny side. Be generous with both. Additionally, make a hat of the same material, shiny side out. This will provide a better radar return if in the harbor.

The key to this next step is to have your crewman circle the boat at varying distances, say, 50 feet, 100 feet and 150 feet, slowly advancing in a clockwise direction and then a counterclockwise direction three or four times, and at each cardinal point rotating in place with arms out, again in a sunwise direction. The difference between the counter-rotating shiny side and dull side will help establish the polarity parallax and is used to recalibrate true north. This can be verified by repeating the exercise.

For details on your specific unit be sure to refer to your owner’s manual for your unit. Under the menu bar is a field called “recalibration of radar polarity.”

And just like that we’re all set for another 10 years of happy sailing.

Thanks, Captain Paul