Furuno FAR2137S/12 User manual

TUNINGTHEFAR2137S/12RADARFORBIRDDETECTION
Whilethelarger,60KWFAR2167DSradarisdesignedspecificallyasa“birdradar”,
the30KWFAR2137Sabsolutelydetectsbirds.Onlargetunasuperseiners(250‐300
footvessels)fromSpain,SouthAmericaandAsia,mostuseacoupleof60kWS‐
bandradarsforlongrangebirddetectionandinadditionsomeuseone30kWSfor
shortrangebirddetection.
The60kWS‐Bandnormallyareinstalledontopofthemastandapproximate
detectionrangeisaround12‐14nm.Themaxdetectionrangeisaround18nm.
Becauselargeseinersusuallyusethe60KWradarswithhighgaintogetevensmall
target(flock)detection,theyhavealotofseaclutterandthescreenisverynoisy,
especiallyonshortrange,sotheyuse30kWSforshortrangebirddetection.The
30KWnormallyisinstalledattheveryfrontendofthetopdeckorontopofthe
wheelhouse(alowerlocationthan60kWS).Thislocationisalmostthesameheight
asthemastlocationonsmallerfishingvesselsof80‐100feetorso.Thedetection
rangeofFAR2137Sisusuallyuptoaround8nm.Themaxdetectionrangenormally
seenis12nm.Thefollowingaretherecommendedsettingstogetstartedwith
detectionontheFurunoFAR2137S:
1. Turntheradaronwhileawayfrompierwalls,buildingsandothersourcesof
physicalblockageoftheradarbeam.Transmittheradarfor10‐15minutes
beforemakingadjustmentssothatthemagnetroncomestoastableworking
voltageandtemperature.Forbestresults,doNOTmaketheseadjustments
inport!
2. Settherangeat8nmandoff‐center(TheOff‐Centerbuttonputsthevessel
inthebottomofthescreen).8nmrangesettingisoptimaltogetthebest
effectoftheechozoom.Ifyousetrangelongerthan8nm,birdechoesget
smallandarenoteasilyvisible.
3. TurnAutoA/C“Off”
4. Setpulselengthtothemaximum(“LONG”).
5. Setinterferencerejectionto“1”orlower.
6. Setechostretchto“2”.
7. Setechoaverageto“2”.

8. Installationmenu‐‐‐>select“Cableattenuation”‐‐‐>select“Manual”‐‐‐>set
thisnumberlower(defaultsettingis“30”).Thisistoaddgain.
a. Toaccesstheinstallationsettings,holddownthe“HLOff”buttonand
pressthe“Menu”button5timesinrapidsuccession.
b. NOTE:besureyouknowwhatyourtotalcablelengthisandplan
accordingly.While30MisthestandardFurunocablelength,individual
radarsmayhavebeendeliveredwith50Mcableonlargeboats,or
custom‐cutshorterlengths.
9. Setautorainto“OFF”.
Forbirddetection,thegainsettingisnormallyveryhighandthereforethescreen
getsverynoisyandwillshowalotofechoesthatanavigatingCaptainmaynotwant
tosee.However,bydoingso,averyexperiencedskippercandiscriminatethebird
echoes.Thisjustrequiresalotofscreentimeandexperience.
Fromalong‐timeFurunoUSAtechwhoisveryfamiliarwiththeseradars–
thousandsofhoursofscreentime:
“The Japanese and Spanish have different ideas on several of the settings for bird
detection. If anyone is not happy with bird detection it is more likely a setup
issue than a radar performance issue.
First thing I would have them do is make sure AUTO A/C is off and look at the
Video Contrast setting by right clicking on the “picture” menu. Normally we set
the Video Contrast to 2B for navigation/general purpose but for birds I would
probably set it for 3C or 4C to bring the color curve to a higher level that will
paint birds better.
They also need to ensure that the install settings are good – Cable ATT, antenna
height, STC curve settings will all have a major effect on bird detection.
Unfortunately there is no “one size fits all” settings list, each vessel is a new
canvas and needs to be figured out. The key to it is having users that are
informed on what all the controls and functions in the “bazillion” menus do and

how they really affect the target detection. There is way more to setting up a
bird radar than can be typed in an email – they need some hands on experience
with it.
I still feel like the 2137S is a better choice for these boats than a 2167DS when
it comes down to performance. I don’t want to be “that guy” who says don’t buy
the big boy but in the end we have to consider the customer’s outcome. At the
antenna height they have there is no real advantage as far as range goes and they
will see much more noise/clutter etc. with the 60KW – I really don’t feel like they
will get the value out of the extra cost and may actually be more pi**ed off if it
doesn’t meet their expectations. “ 
Thisinformationisn’ta100%cure,butitshouldgetyouonthepathtobetterbird
detection.Asalways,certainsettingswillneedtobeadjusteddependingonsea
andatmosphericconditionsandtimeofday.Also,radarswithalotofmagnetron
transmittimewillgo“dim”overtime.Besuretokeeptrackoftransmithours,
whichareshownatstartupandwhentheradarisinstand‐bymode.Aradarwith
manythousandsofhourstransmittingonanoldmagnetronwilllosetarget
sensitivityovertime.Whentargetsgodim,Furunostocksreplacement
magnetronsandMIC(MicrowaveIntegratedCircuit)thatarenormallyreplacedas
aset.Wecanmakealotofoldradarslikeneworprettyclosetoit.
Wehopethisinformationwillbeofhelp.
FurunoSupportNumbers–OfficeHours0800‐1700localtime
CamasWA–360‐834‐9300
DentonMD–410‐479‐4420
E‐mail:[email protected]
Theabovee‐mailisourcommercial&deepseasupportgroupofabout10people.
Wetrytoreturne‐mailswithin24hours,usuallyless.