Simrad Radars
Simrad Radars
Simrad delivers powerboat-focused navigation, radar and sonar built for serious offshore use. This is the Simrad radars range: radome and open-array scanners for traffic and weather in any visibility.
Browse the full Simrad range or Radars from every brand.
Extended warranty, up to 5 years. Manufacturer-backed cover on eligible B&G, Simrad, Lowrance and Navico equipment, from an authorised UK dealer.
Find out moreRadome or open array: how to decide
A radome bundles the scanner and antenna into one enclosed housing, which suits smaller boats and lower mast heights where a compact, low-windage unit matters more than outright range. An open array uses a longer rotating antenna inside a bar housing to produce a narrower beam, giving sharper target separation and longer range, which is why they are more common on larger cruisers and offshore boats with the mast height and power budget to support them.
Range and target discrimination both scale with antenna length rather than transmit power alone, so a longer open array will pick out two boats close together at distance more clearly than a radome will, even at a similar power rating. Mounting height also affects performance more than most people expect, since radar is line of sight in the same way VHF is; a scanner mounted too low will have its range cut well before the unit's rated maximum comes into play.
