I use a Furuno Navnet VX2 6 Kw open array radar for finding birds. Here is the long version of how I set up my machine for optimal bird finding. I can routinely see birds 3 to 4 miles away in seas up to 2-3 ft and on calm days I can even see weed lines. Try setting up on a calm day offshore away from other boats. Birds appear as red spots on a cluttered green background. The echos come and go as the birds go up and down. A caveat is that when set up for finding birds the radar is not much good for anything else. 1. Power up the Navnet while holding down the menu button till you hear a double beep (2-3 seconds). After the beeps you can release the buttons. 2. When the first menu appears select the second option, INST. MODE and press the enter button. Wait while the unit continues to boot up. 3 When the unit has booted up if the Radar mode is not selected then select radar and power up the radar to transmit. 4 Press the menu button and select the last option, SYSTEM CONFIGURATION. 5 In the next menu select the last option INSTALLATION SETUP. 6 In the next menu select the second option RADAR SETUP 7 In the radar setup menu select the seventh option RADAR ANTENNA HEIGHT. Select HIGH (33 feet) then press enter. 8 Next go down to the eighth option in the radar setup menu, STC CURVE. Select WIDE STC curve and then press ENTER. 9 Press menu and return to the radar screen 10 Press the Hide/Show button until the soft keys that show SIGNAL PROC. Etc. appear 11 Then press SIGNAL PROC. soft key. 12 Set the INTERFERENCE REJECTION to OFF. 13 Set ECHO AVERAGE to HIGH. 14 Select PULSE to LONG, (the range must be set to 3 miles to be able to do this.) 15 Press the RETURN soft key and then when it appears press the TARGET soft key. 16 Then press the TRAIL soft key and select ON. 17 Then press TRAIL TIME and select 15 or 30 seconds. 18 Then press the GRAD soft key and select MULTI. 19 Select TRAIL COLOR, my preference is blue. 20 Then press the GAIN button. (I underline this to differentiate it from the GAIN soft key.) 21 Press the A/C SEA and select Manual, then turn the gain down to 0. 22 Press the A/C RAIN soft key and turn the gain down to 0. 23 Press the A/C AT soft key and select OFF. 24 Press the GAIN soft key, select manual and turn the gain up high till the screen starts to go green, somewhere between 50% and 100%. 25 Select the 3-mile range. 26 Finally, make sure that NOISE REJECTION is OFF. In the radar mode select MENU, then press the RADAR DISPLAY SETUP. Then turn noise rejection off.