Radar will not transmit

[Metafora]

I'm looking at a boat with Raymarine radar. The survey says the radar will not transmit. Can anyone give me an idea what this might mean in terms of repair cost? *The unit is only a few years old and recently discontinued by Raymarine.*

Thanks.

 

[Steppen]

Could be anything from a loose connector, a blown fuse, a bad display*or a significant failure in the transmitter.* Transmitter repair would entail removing the antenna (where the transmitter resides) and sending it to Raymarine for their flat rate repair service.* Here's their out of warranty repair page:

http://www.raymarine.com/default.aspx?site=1&SECtion=3&page=1080

If you buy the boat then the first thing to do is to check cables, fuses and reseat any circuit boards inside the antenna housing.* Many times it can be as simple as reseating or cleaning a connection.* You will also need to determine if the unit is not transmitting or if the display is not functioning (two different faults).*

Alternatively, you may want to consider upgrading to a new, integrated chart plotter with overlaid radar or a new color radar.

 

[Marin]

If you decided to pursue the purchase of the boat, you might want to get an estimate from a reputable shop with experience on Raymarine equipment as to what a troubleshoot and repair cost might be. Obviously they will be guessing to a degree since they won't have the radar in their hands to determine the problem.

But if you can get a "probably about $500" or whatever estimate, you could then negotiate a reduction in the boat's price to cover this. We did this on the autopilot that was on the boat we bought that needed "about $500 worth of work" to make it functional. We actually didn't want the autopilot--- we didn't even know the boat had one when we flew to California to inspect and survey it--- and we removed it as soon as we got the boat home to the PNW, but it did provide us an opportunity to drop the purchase price down a little bit.

So if you can do the same thing you can either put the savings toward fixing the radar you have or toward the purchase of a new and better one.


-- Edited by Marin on Monday 12th of March 2012 01:20:16 PM

 

[Keith]

I'd just price a Furuno replacement, and make that a condition of sale. Used boats are going cheap these days. Then if you want to try a repair, good for you. I'm done with Raymarine crap though.

 

[Metafora]

Thank you all for your input. I have decided against the boat for other reasons. So I shall remain happy with my Sabre and my Antique Furuno Radar.