I am a neophyte with marine electronics and need some basic help. I would like to use MacENC to integrate radar on our fine old wood boat. Can I buy a radar antenna and read the output on MacENC? Let's assume I will buy a Furuno antenna - will it work? and what do I need to do to make it work?
Would it be simpler, if not cheaper to spend the $5k to buy an integrated depth, chart-plotter and radar display with Furuno antennae?
MacENC can plot two things from a RADAR - tracked targets and cursor. MacENC relies on the NMEA-0183 output from the RADAR to do so. To get an idea of what RADAR looks like on MacENC, invoke the GPS simulator in MacENC.
A RADAR can be interfaced through a Keyspan adapter or a NMEA multiplexer...
http://www.gpsnavx.com/MacENC/help/connectingais.htm
Thanks for the reply. The link to your MacENC help area describes it all in detail.
Can you take the data stream right out of the radome, say the Furuno 1834C NavNet VX2 or the new HD radomes and display it through MacEnc onto your laptop without purchasing the Furuno displays or the black box that those radomes are usually hooked up to? I can't figure out which component in the Furuono system does which part of the data processing. Thanks.