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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
debatable...
Posted By: Christian H In Response To: Re: Good post, Jerry, lots of information... (risto)
Date: Thursday, 21 December 2000, at 11:31 p.m.
See notes in original text
: When you mention kayakers being visible on radar if the water is not too
: rough, do you mean kayakers with no special reflectors at all?Kayakers and kayaks are generally organic "radar translucent" material. Metal is a much better reflector of radar waves than plastic, a human body, water etc. Only rock comes close, but might be a bit heavy as a radar reflector!
: If this is the case then one might make a mental note and at least carry some
: aluminium foil for such an occasion as all of the above would suggest that
: even just wrapping the foil around one's hat might improve the radar print
: significantly if the waves are not big enough to interfere.Yes, the aluminum foil may work well. "Chaff" used as radar jamming decoys in arial warfare is made up of fine strips of aluminum foil. The reflections from these clouds of chaff produce tremendous return, albeit largely due to the wide dispersion of the individual aluminum bits. A bit of aluminum foil on your hat may improve chances of detection. It would also keep those alien rays from reading your thoughts! 8-)
: On the other hand it seems like there really is no point in using any kind of
: reflectors if the waves are high - 3 feet might already mask you
: completely as you would only pop up occasionally and the interference
: would cover even this.: And the idea of using a high pole to lift the reflector is beginning to look
: pretty bad, too: on a calm sea you would not need it, on a rough one it
: would swing uncontrollably and as the probability of rolling increases, it
: would be the last thing you'd want to have.Here's where we differ. I have used a thin "whip" antenna as a suspender for a radar reflector. The thick end was loosely placed in a rod mount behind the cockpit. Were I to flip it would fall out under it's own weight (tether to boat!), or will be easily dislodged by the paddler should it remain in place. I also have no reservations rolling with the 6' pole in place, as it's water resistance is not that great.
The whole idea behind this setup is more to overcome visibilty problems due to fog and darkness. I have not had to use it in very rough conditions. But then I also can't remember ever having flipped my kayak by accident (surf zone excepted 8-) A great brace is always better than a good roll!
Cheers,
Christian: am I drawing the right conclusions, I wonder?
: risto
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