Wooden Radar Dome mount

[Old Salt]

I am looking for a solution for mounting a 10# radar dome on my boat. I dont want to add a stainless or aluminum monstrousity (arch or tee top) on my wood boat. Any suggestions or pics of your radar domes? I would be OK with a stainless post, but how do we mount it to the boat? I only need to get it about 3' above the height of the cuddy. It would be best if it was convertible. I am thinking of two stainless pipes inside one another and a bolt or pin to keep it up and in place. I've searched the internet and all I can find are commercial units that are BIG. My cuddy top wont support a base. The rear cuddy bulkhead is the most structure I have to offer. Wondering about a fiberglass tube that is fiberglass taped to the inside of the bulkhead and at the base on the berth.

[kc8pql]

When you say cuddy, I think low with sitting hight. Will the radome be well above your head when you're on deck? You really don't want to blast yourself with microwaves.

[rbgarr]

Motorboat or sailboat? Either one can have a 'cuddy'.

http://i26.tinypic.com/2ut6ule.jpg

[paladin]

Are you trying to be the poster boy for cataract surgery? Why not just stick your head inside a microwave with the door interlock defeated...faster and less painfull....make sure your insurance is paid up.

[Old Salt]

I dont understand the comment about the microwave oven. I will have the unit 2' above my head. It is a powerboat. I like the wooden arch idea!

[paladin]

The pulsed radar signal from the unit emits a very short high powered signal, much like a microwave oven, it has the same effect on your eyes predominately causing cataracts, and has a tendency to cook the insides of your head over time just like a chicken in a microwave...no difference. the radar unit needs electrostatic shielding below the radar unit and above your head. In fiberglass boat s the manufacturer sometimes puts a wire mesh screen in the over head of the steering area...some folks just epoxy down a piece of aluminum foil inside the headliner...etc you would want the radar as high as possible but nothing under 3 feet higher than your head, then the tilt angle becomes important....it's probably not important...make sure you have insurance for the missus or whatever, and I assume ya dunno want no more kids......

[pipefitter]

You mean like this aluminum monstrosity? Notice the cable is integral to the arch. it only reappears inside the console behind the panel where it plugs into the unit out of sight. Other than a radar mast, anything made from wood might end up being a monstrosity of sorts anyway by the time it is braced adequately. I just built this as a matched item to a fully rigged tee top with all the bells/whistles.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l309/tigmaster/P1030006.jpg

[Lew Barrett]

To amplify on Chuck's comments, even though they're pretty clear, the original microwave oven by Amana was called a "Radarange" because it uses a magnetron, just like a radar does. The invention was an offshoot of the experiments they did in WWII, and they reckoned they could sell stuff to consumer based on the original mass produced magnetrons.
Your radar will be 2k watts or so, whereas a microwave is maybe 700 watts. The other thing about a dome is that the array (rotating) inside is usually 18 inches. Little ones are 12 inches. In an open array radar, the long arms (say 48") give more vertical control of the beamwidth, precisely because they are longer. Chuck suggests you aim the radar carefully because there is some spatter outside the nominal 20 degrees (or so) that the radar will be specified at. Truth is, all of us with radars nearby our noggins will be getting buzzed a bit but the closer you are, the more you need to be aware of this, and the more careful you need to be both in running it (I never run the radar if I believe people will be on my foredeck due to the way my rig is oriented, and I have a 13 foot high boat).
So, we're just being careful to suggest that radar waves (rays if you like) aren't healthful.

[paladin]

Gee, Lew It sounds better when you write it.....they had pumped me full of something about 2 hours before I started writing, and I wuzzint supposed to try to lift anything for 6-8 hours,,,,I thought I could punch keys downward. My head hurts.

[pipefitter]

My point is, the radar dome is plastic. A nicely fashioned mast or arch can be made to look the part as a gradual transition from the plastic to the wood. Sometimes, the plastic is much more apparent when it is attached directly to more traditional materials.
Also, a mast fabricated can be made to hinge at it's base with a simple release pin and it would include a machined and sealable flange that would most likely be through bolted with 1/4 x 20 SS bolts. I have made many of the masts with the proper gussets and they end up accenting the part instead of becoming a sore thumb so to speak. If the part could be made of anodized aluminum, it would somewhat match stainless. I typically dislike most stainless parts because they use thinner flanges, that even though sufficient for the task, look somewhat anemic in comparison. Of course they could be made with thicker flange materials and larger tubing but the cost goes up rather quickly when you start adding custom machined parts.

[pipefitter]

This is a type of mount that would be used for a radar dome. I think this particular one was for some custom light or something but I don't remember. Surely, something could be made of wood similarly. This may have been made for a pilothouse to get the dome above a search light.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l309/tigmaster/P2070042.jpg