Wx Radar Usage - Page 2

lonestarwings · 03-27-2008, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dividedsky

even though i dont want kids i dont wanna shoot blanks.

your not supposed to stand directly in front of it while its working, whats to say a little bit behind it makes you immune. repair techs who climb up huge transmission towers report feeling dizzy in as short as 5 minutes if its still transmitting. what do they work on, RADIO WAVES, what does our radar's principle work on? RADIO WAVES! its a different length of the spectrum but its still the same principle.

TURN IT THE F OFF IF YOU DONT NEED IT!

I found a few good articles which might help dispell your concerns, but one of them also shoots down the birdstrike prevention theory:

www.avionics.com - Avionics Library - Avionics Information Online

Health effects of exposure to radar microwaves

kidicarus5897 · 03-28-2008, 08:12 PM

I leave it off, fly into a big *** thunderhead, and try to guess what color it will paint. then, in the middle of the ****-storm, I turn it on and see how close I was. The passangers can even vote, and the one who comes closest gets his seatbelt back. Pretty fun game

mckpickle · 04-08-2008, 02:37 AM

If you do your job properly you'd know if there is any wx enroute anyway. Keep it off. It's a moving part and moving parts ware out. I love the center console radar.

T/R DISAGREE · 04-08-2008, 03:50 AM

1. IS it raining or do you see TCU????? Then leave it off.

2. You want to see lakes and the coast line, LOOK AT THE F-ING WINDOW!!!!!

3. Ask Vick about bird strikes.

I use the WX mode in thunderstorms or when I have duel FMS but I don't heat up the radar. Honestly you really heat up the plate in blue skys. Use WSI before you leave a hub and see if you really need a radar when flying. BTW ask a former freightdog what a radar is.

lonestarwings · 04-08-2008, 04:13 AM

Thanks for the feedback. I leave it off most of the time now.

rjacobs · 04-08-2008, 08:49 AM

one other thing that seems to work really well, but is not used frequently is using the variable gain function. You have to PULL THE KNOB OUT to get it into variable, you cant simply dial it down while it is pushed in. As soon as it gets pushed in it goes to auto-gain which is usually high. Pull the knob out when it is dialed to high and then go back 3 tick marks, about 2 oclock or so. This will cut out a ton of the clutter that is painted with this aweful radar and makes it some what useful. I fly with a lot of guys who swear at the radar and say how much of a piece of **** it is, however when I suggest doing this, they just write it off as useless. Then I show them what I am painting vs. what they are painting and they can actually see the difference.

judge · 07-05-2008, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yariv

but since we're on the subject, how does everyone else use the radar? what's your tilt technique? gain? range? ever use any of the other modes? what kind of weather are you looking for? how well has it worked for you?

i like to leave it on "test" mode.

Yariv · 07-06-2008, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonestarwings

I leave it off most of the time now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by judge

i like to leave it on "test" mode.

smarta$$... between the two of you, you shouldn't be getting any false echoes...

scotts · 07-21-2008, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjacobs

one other thing that seems to work really well, but is not used frequently is using the variable gain function. You have to PULL THE KNOB OUT to get it into variable, you cant simply dial it down while it is pushed in. As soon as it gets pushed in it goes to auto-gain which is usually high. Pull the knob out when it is dialed to high and then go back 3 tick marks, about 2 oclock or so. This will cut out a ton of the clutter that is painted with this aweful radar and makes it some what useful. I fly with a lot of guys who swear at the radar and say how much of a piece of **** it is, however when I suggest doing this, they just write it off as useless. Then I show them what I am painting vs. what they are painting and they can actually see the difference.

Proper use of tilt will reduce and/or eliminate the ground clutter. Down low (below about 8k depending on what range you have displayed) keep the tilt at 3 to 4 deg. up or higher as you get lower. When you are low you don't need ground clutter to differentiate between cities and cells. On the ground looking at your departure area, keep it at 6 to 7 deg. up to minimize ground clutter.

Using manual gain only changes threshold for the colors you see. If you have the gain set too low, you may be lured into a cell that looks benign but is going to kick your butt in reality.

scotts · 07-21-2008, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mckpickle

If you do your job properly you'd know if there is any wx enroute anyway. Keep it off. It's a moving part and moving parts ware out. I love the center console radar.

Sorry Steve, got to disagree this time.

Keeping it off isn't going to help you avoid overflying a TCU when you are IMC. We've had FA's get injured by severe turbulence because the pilots were not using the radar or had the tilt set too high to see it coming. Looking at Intellicast on the ground isn't going to show you how an individual cell is developing over the next two hours when you finally fly over it.

As for the parts wearing out, if it's installed for me to use to keep me safe, I'm going to use it. The minimal increase in wear from the antenna scanning isn't really an issue. I use the radar all the time. I'd rather know it works and keep the metal parts (antenna and associated parts) dried out (metal parts corrode) than let it sit there and not be doing me any good.

Our company doesn't teach radar like it should be. Especially considering the experience level of many of the new-hires. Just a fact of life when a company is trying to control costs. It wouldn't be such an issue if the CA's would pass on what they've learned in the process of mentoring (!) their FO's.

BTW, I used to work on radar.