User's Manual
Table Of Contents
- GENERAL
- 1 About these Operating Instructions
- 2 Safety Precautions
- 3 NACOS Platinum System Description
- 4 Multi Function Display
- 5 NACOS Platinum Graphical User Interface
- QUICK START GUIDE
- MAIN APPLICATIONS
- RADAR
- 1 General Information
- 1.1 RADAR Safety
- 1.2 Current IHO Standards / Regulatory Approvals
- 1.3 System Structure and Installation
- 1.4 Basics / Evaluation of the RADAR Video
- 1.4.1 Basics of the Evaluation of RADAR Video in Platinum Series
- 1.4.2 Achievable RADAR Range
- 1.4.3 Distortions of the RADAR Video
- 1.4.4 Undesirable Echo Displays and Effects
- 1.4.5 RADAR Setting for the Display of Racon Codes
- 1.4.6 RADAR Settings for Target Enhancer Detection
- 1.4.7 RADAR Setting for SART Detection (X-Band only)
- 1.4.8 Transmission formats
- 1.5 Basic setting of the RADAR Video
- 1.6 RADAR Accuracy
- 2 The RADAR Keyboard
- 3 An Overview of the Screen
- 4 RADAR Application Area
- 5 RADAR Sidebar - Permanent Area
- 6 RADAR Sidebar - Non-Permanent Area
- 7 Target Handling
- 7.1 Overview
- 7.2 Manual Target Acquisition
- 7.3 Manual Target Selection
- 7.4 Automatic Target Acquisition
- 7.5 Settings for Dangerous Targets
- 7.6 Settings for Acquisition/Guard Zones
- 7.7 Target Fusion
- 7.8 Deletion and Loss of Targets
- 7.9 Critical Target
- 7.10 Target List
- 7.11 Target Display
- 7.12 Trial Manoeuvre
- 7.13 Reference Target Tracking
- 7.14 ARPA Training
- 7.15 ARPA Malfunctions
- 7.16 AIS Malfunctions
- 8 User Symbols
- 9 CHARTRADAR (optional)
- 9.1 Overview
- 9.2 Basic Adjustments
- 9.3 Selecting the Objects to be Displayed in the Vector Chart
- 9.3.1 Overview
- 9.3.2 Categories of Display Groups
- 9.3.3 Select a Category
- 9.3.4 Select the Primary Chart Information Set (PCIS)
- 9.3.5 Indication of Category in the Status Line
- 9.3.6 Defining the Symbol Presentation
- 9.3.7 Setting the Display of Text Labels
- 9.3.8 Switch on Additional Information
- 9.3.9 Switch on Conditionally Displayed Features
- 9.4 CHARTRADAR Application Area
- 9.5 Application Area Context Menu
- 9.6 Setting the Depths Lines to be Displayed in the Vector Chart
- 9.7 Setting the Own Ship’s Draft
- 9.8 Activating the Chart Monitoring
- 9.9 Setting the Look-Ahead Sector
- 9.10 Chart Maintenance
- 9.11 Main Differences between CHARTRADAR and Full ECDISPILOT
- 1 General Information
- VOYAGE PLANNING AND MONITORING
- 1 Voyage Planning
- 1.1 Generation of Routes
- 1.1.1 General Information about Pre-planned Tracks
- 1.1.2 Generation, Handling and Administration of the Routes
- 1.1.3 Route Display Settings
- 1.1.4 Route Editing - Graphical
- 1.1.5 Route Editing - Text Mode
- 1.1.6 Details of the Waypoint Data
- 1.1.7 Checking of Routes
- 1.1.8 Completing the Generation of the Route
- 1.1.9 Import / Export Routes
- 1.1 Generation of Routes
- 2 Chart and Route Monitoring
- 1 Voyage Planning
- CONNING
- SENSORS
- OPTIONAL APPLICATIONS
- MAINTENANCE
- 1 Performance Monitor
- 2 Data Maintenance of the Electronic Charts
- 2.1 General
- 2.2 Starting Chart Maintenance
- 2.3 Chart Maintenance Application Area
- 2.4 Update of Charts from Media
- 2.5 Messages during Chart Update
- 2.6 Display Charts which are on a Media or a MFD (workstation)
- 2.7 Maintenance of Charts on your MFD (workstation)
- 2.8 Display Expander
- 2.9 Backup/Restore of Map Data
- 3 Manual ENC Update Editor
- 4 Hardware Maintenance
- 5 SW Version and Updates
- ALARMS
- LISTS AND INDEXES
- DOCUMENT HISTORY
ED 3100 G 110 / 02 (2011-10)
Operating Instructions
A-1 General Information
A RADAR.fm / 10.11.11
A-19
NACOS Platinum
Reflections from the Sea Surface
Clutter echoes from the surface of the sea can be recognised from the fact that a mostly circular but
eccentric area displaced in the wind direction and having non-uniform brightness is formed around the
own ship symbol (sea clutter). These echoes make targets in this region more difficult to detect and
track, but they have no effect on the display of targets situated behind the reflection zone.
These disturbances are more severe in the case of a radar antenna mounted high up than for one
mounted lower down. The area covered by these disturbances increases with increasing sea state, and
is increased particularly by steeper waves.
With the aid of the sea clutter suppression function, the disturbance echoes described above can be
reduced. However, since this also weakens the display of targets and because the target might not be
displayed with every revolution of the antenna, maximum concentration by the observer is necessary. In
the case of automatic target tracking, the sea clutter suppression function can lead to the loss of targets
due to the attenuation of the signals.
Disturbances Caused by Other RADARs
Transmissions from other radars working in the same electrical frequency band occur as disturbances in
the form of small points or dashes. These move in rapid succession along straight or curved tracks to
the centre of the screen or in the opposite direction.
These disturbances appear particularly clearly at the larger range settings, but they impede radar obser-
vation to an insignificant extent only. They can be almost completely eliminated by means of the Inter-
ference Rejection function which is activated automatically on the Platinum RADAR but which can be
switched off if required.
False or Indirect Echo Displays
False or indirect echo displays ("ghost echoes") occur as a result of reflection of the radar pulses by the
ship's own superstructures of all kinds and by nearby objects that reflect very well. Therefore, a typical
feature of these echoes is that they appear at the bearing of the reflecting surface, regardless of the real
position of the targets.
When two ships pass one another on parallel courses, multiple echoes can often be observed as a result
of pulses reflected to and from several times between the ships' sides. On the screen, a series of equis-
paced echo displays of decreasing intensity appears at the bearing of the object.
Sectors of Reduced RADAR Visibility
Sectors of reduced radar visibility occur as a result of own ship's superstructures which impair and
prevent rectilinear propagation of the radar pulses. Theoretical determination of the geometry of these
sectors and of their influence on the display of targets is possible to an inadequate extent only. An effec-
tive practical method consists of determining the shadow sectors against the background of disturbance
signals from the sea surface (sea clutter).
Superrefraction - Subrefraction
If the normal refraction gradient for the radar wave in the maritime boundary layer of the atmosphere
is changed by external influences, subrefraction occurs when the transmitted beam is bent upwards away
from the earth's surface, and superrefraction occurs when the transmitted beam is bent down towards
the earth's surface.
In the case of superrefraction, false echoes of targets outside the set range of measurement can occur:
the echo of a transmitted pulse is not received within the set range but during the next transmit cycle
or by the one after that. The resulting ghost echoes can occur at any position. Since the position of ghost
echoes depends on the pulse repetition frequency, ghost echoes can be recognised as such by switching
over the pulse length or the range on the master radar.