1987 Radar and Loran Trash?

Howdy,
My 1987 vessel has 1987 Radar and Loran.
Shall I dump them both in the trash?
Is the Loran-C a collectors item now?
Is there any value in the old radar antenna?

If the radar works you can keep it. It is a simple, old school manual monochrome radar. As far as finding targets it will do that fine provided you tune it properly. I just replaced mine last year for an upgrade.
The LORAN was trash 20 years ago.

If the radar still works it's worth something, but not much. Probably can unload it on eBay or Craig's List for a couple hundred. The LORAN not so much. The US and Canadian chains have been off line for like 15 years now. There was some talk of bringing it back, but if they do there's no guarantee that the old equipment would be compatible. I believe the old transmitters were dismantled, so reactivation would require all new equipment and it could end up working on different frequencies. And it would be very expensive so unlikely to happen anyway. The moisture in the screen visible in the photo probably means it doesn't work anyway. When I threw my old LORAN away, I converted the 8 foot whip to an FM stereo antenna. Worked pretty good.

I have the same era radar, still use it.

Depend on your wallet, if it is flush, newer radar is easier to read, especially with chart overlay. If you aren't flush with money, then keep the old one.

Trash the Loran. Put the radar on ebay, maybe get something for it. Although the shipping may be more than it is worth...

Thanks! Perhaps I’ll tune up the radar.

If the radar is installed and works, might as well keep it and use it until you want to spend the $$$ for a newer / better radar. As others have said, the Loran is scrap.

Well instrumentation including RADAR has gone through quite a few upgrades since your unit was built and installed. As with all of this older equipment the question is always "how do you intend to use it" and "how is it currently functioning".

If you do a lot of offshore or restricted visibility boating then I would suggest that buying a more up to date RADAR system will be justified. You don't need to buy a spanking new unit but a good quality (Garmin, Furuno, Raymarine, Simrad) unit of the 2008+ vintage will most likely give you unit easier to use, more accurate....and reliable unit and shouldn't cost too much.

BTW one of the displays in your photos is shot and showing significant amount of moisture which will compromise it's usability.

RB Cooper

Had the same radar decades ago. Certainly better than no radar. Maybe upgrade later, but not your first priority.

Ted

I have a mid 1980s radar I kept as a backup. As long as yours lasts, it's probably worth keeping.

The manual is your friend with the old Raytheon R10X and R20X series. Hopefully you have one. You will get plenty of practice tuning it because every time you turn it on it wakes up at its default settings which may or may not be where it needs to be. Another annoyance was lack of backlight of the keyboard. Difficult to use at night. You either have to carry a very dim flashlight or memorize the buttons.

The loran is outdated? I still have three payments left to make on mine ��

"The LORAN was trash 20 years ago."

That is true but if one of the countries that doesn't like us there is a chance they could blow a small nuke 10miles up that would wipe out our electric grid , GPS and set us bacl a decade.

GPS requires sats , LORAN is a ground bases system that would be far easier ti get operating.

Why toss it out ?

FF said:

"The LORAN was trash 20 years ago."

That is true but if one of the countries that doesn't like us there is a chance they could blow a small nuke 10miles up that would wipe out our electric grid , GPS and set us bacl a decade.

GPS requires sats , LORAN is a ground bases system that would be far easier ti get operating.

Why toss it out ?

Click to expand...

At least in the US, the transmitters are not just dead, but physically gone. So it's not like they could just flip a switch and make that old LORAN functional again. It's been over 10 years since the transmitters went offline and a few years for Europe.

https://www.nti.org/gsn/article/pen...ely-impacts-satellites-electromagnetic-pulse/

The military satellites used to monitor the flight paths of ballistic missiles are at higher orbits and have already been hardened to withstand radiation, according to War is Boring.


I would guess that at least some of the new generation GPS satellites have been too.

I honestly haven't given much thought to recreational boating in a post thermonuclear war or post EMP society.

I suppose the boat will either be a fishing vessel for three-eyed fish or to smuggle resistance fighters (it already has the perfect name). So maybe my old LORAN-A receiver in the shed would come in handy. Better build a Faraday cage for it, I suppose.

And purchase a Greek fisherman's hat.

Thanks FF.

Aluminum foil hat for now.....

motion30 said:

The loran is outdated? I still have three payments left to make on mine ��

Click to expand...

Yes, I still see them occasionally in YW listings and photos. Walk down any dock and you will find couplers with 8 ft whips. Doomsday preppers?

Further to the demise of the LORAN system: https://www.soundingsonline.com/news/the-death-of-loran

At least the USCG will not be turning off the earth's magnetic field anytime soon.

Old Radar?

We have a ancient Furuno radar on our GB32, probably put on the boat early in its life, after 1987. Works great. It picks up buoys, small boats with any metal, and landforms. Keep your radar if it works, toss the Loran. If you want to upgrade radar go to Doppler Radar, the real cats pajamas.