radar and lightning

[Wayne Grenier]

Have any of you ever had a radar unit damaged by a non-direct lightning hit? I have a new Furuno 1620 radar unit with about 4 hrs on it-last summer I was in a lightning storm where there was lightn ing everywhere around us although we were never hit. Subsequently I found all of the electronics with antenas up the mast were fried and the in line fuses were blown-this included the vhf and the am/fm which I can just replace-but the radar unit as well-what components could be damaged? is there a fuseable link or fuse inside that may make this a simple fix? the more I know the better I will be before I bring it to the shop-thanks-

[Cathy Monaghan]

It may not have been that particular storm but another electrical storm while you were away from the boat and she was sitting by herself on her mooring or in her slip where she took a hit. Anyway, you should contact your insurance company. They should cover most of the cost of replacing your electronics.

[cbrenton]

My Furono radar has a fuse in the positive wire that leads to the panel. It's easy to forget about since it is buried behind the panel. I am not aware of any fuses within the unit itself.

Charlie Brenton
"Carol Anne"

[The Patriot]

Have any of you ever had a radar unit damaged by a non-direct lightning hit? ... is there a fuseable link or fuse inside that may make this a simple fix? ...

In the same fashion as Charlie, I have the Furuno 1621 which should be quite similar to the 1620. There is an in-line fuse holder in the antenna cable assembly, which is the 10 meter wiring harness that runs from the radome to the rear of the LCD unit. My owners manual shows no other user-replaceable components inside the radome or inside the LCD display.

[Wayne Grenier]

That is the fuse that blew- i did replace it and I got nothing-but it did not blow the circuit breaker-then the battery on that side went dead-so it looks like I'll be taking both the radar and the transmitter to the shop-ps I have read your adventures in your CD 28 and I take my hat off to you-an interesting coincidence is the fact that some of the worst weather you ever encountered was right outside of Cuttyhunk-exactly where this happened-I am now 99% convinced the grounding system and the lightnig rod are effective-however the next time lightning is predicted I will take into consideration the possibility I might fry all my electronics to the tune of over $1,000-
Everything that went up the mast is gone-including a vhf and a am/fm-both of which are not worth repairing-they can replaced for $300 total-however-the radar was about $1,000-so I need to have it checked to see if its worth repairing. Fortuately since I live in New Bedford-a commercial fishing port -there is a Furuno dealer/repair shop-so that's my 1st spring project-maybe I'll luck out-maybe not-it could have need a tragedy-I had my son and 2 of his friends with me-they were 12-13 years old-they loved it! but someone could have been killed-the power on Cuttyhunk was out for the rest of the day as they got several direct hits to the transformers etc-thanks-

[The Patriot]

That is the fuse that blew ... Everything that went up the mast is gone ... the radar was about $1,000-so I need to have it checked to see if its worth repairing ...

It probably can be repaired, either by replacing the magnetron (or whatever microwave generator is in there) or the main circuit board. These could be simply "swap" repairs and may even be covered by insurance if you do that sort of thing. I am thinking that the LCD unit may be OK if popping the fuse protected that end of the rig, however I am basically guessing. I have gotten so used to sailing with radar that I treat it now as standard procedure. BTW, you might consider adding AIS in some of your new gear. I use an AIS receiver and am frankly knocked out by the added information and safety benefits.