Furuno’s Latest Radar is Designed for River Vessels

Furuno has introduced the River Radar FR1908VBB as the newest addition to its vertical screen radars. This radar is designed for tow vessels, tugs and barges or can be used as backup for enhanced situational awareness for any river vessel.

Engineered as a ‘Black Box’ Radar, the FR1908VBB allows the navigator to use the Furuno MU190V 19-inch marine-grade vertical display, or an off-the-shelf vertical display of their choice. The processor outputs dual video signals in high resolution (1280 x 1024). It comes with six NMEA input/output ports, dual SD card slots and can also be equipped with a direct connection to a VDR or SVDR.

The radar has custom river modes for ultra-short pulse length and ten preset towing configurations to enhance the radar’s ability to show distance measurements in inland units. Barge icons can be displayed with length and width measurements in feet, and the radar’s range rings utilize the standard river units of statute miles.

Rudder position can be displayed on-screen via NMEA0183 connection, and the processor provides a one-plug connection to one of Furuno’s satellite compass offerings. The Radar can be controlled from the slim-design controller, which features a touch pad, and provides for a secondary station so that the entire system can be operated from an optional RCU030 trackball controller.

The FR1908VBB is available in a 4KW open array version, and Furuno plans to offer a 12kW version later in the year. Both versions utilize Furuno’s commercial-grade gearbox with either a 6.5-foot or 8-foot antenna.