Raymarine Rl70 Radar

[jimw]

Often times my RL70 Radar shows "Warning Antenna not Rotating". Does anybody have a fix for this? Is there a belt inside the covered dome that may be loose and slipping. If so, is it something a shade-tree mechanic like me can fix?

Most of the time the unit works fine. But the message above has me concerned.

[swamppro]

Often times my RL70 Radar shows "Warning Antenna not Rotating". Does anybody have a fix for this? Is there a belt inside the covered dome that may be loose and slipping. If so, is it something a shade-tree mechanic like me can fix?

Most of the time the unit works fine. But the message above has me concerned.

First open the dome cover up and see if moisture is present. There is a belt that could be broken but hardly ever breaks. The RL70 is the head unit. What size dome do you have, 2 or 4kw?

[jimw]

First open the dome cover up and see if moisture is present. There is a belt that could be broken but hardly ever breaks. The RL70 is the head unit. What size dome do you have, 2 or 4kw?

[jimw]

The range only goes out to 24nm, so I think it is a 2KW. I don't think a belt is broken. It works fine sometimes. Maybe a slipping belt? Is there a way to tighten the belt? If needed, can I get a replacement belt and where would I find one?

[Chisox]

Swamp,

I have rarely seen the drive belt break also. The interesting question is the intermittant display of the message. It could be the belt slips and doesn't maintain the rotational speed, thus prompting the message. It could also be a false error message due to another faulty connection. What say you?

I know on that radome, if the hot and ground have issues, the display head will say "Scanner not Responding".

[Fishinspot]

Swamp,

I have rarely seen the drive belt break also. The interesting question is the intermittant display of the message. It could be the belt slips and doesn't maintain the rotational speed, thus prompting the message. It could also be a false error message due to another faulty connection. What say you?

I know on that radome, if the hot and ground have issues, the display head will say "Scanner not Responding".

Osprey, Thats what mine ended up being. I have the same head unit with a 4kw. I didsconnected and reconnected everything and it worked like a champ.

[swamppro]

Osprey, Thats what mine ended up being. I have the same head unit with a 4kw. I didsconnected and reconnected everything and it worked like a champ.

Yep, I kinda jumped the gun. Check the radar cable on the back of the head unit for corosion. Add some dielectric grease while there. If the problem still persists do the same on the dome. Inside the dome there is a black plug that is easily accessable and a black and a red wire. Make sure they are clean and plug back in with the grease as well. If its intermittant it could be just bad contact in the wires.

[jimw]

Thanks for everyones' ideas. I just came back from the boat; I unplugged and re-plugged the cable going from the display up to the radome with no success. Still get the message "not rotating". As soon as the weather cooperates I'll go down and pull the cover off the radome and check the connections at that end. This has been an intermitent problem so I think it is a problem with connection rather than a belt problem.

[Chisox]

Jim,

If your Radome is on a mast, it will be relatively easy to get the "cover" off. If it's bolted directly to the top, you'll have to unbolt it first. The captive screws that hold the "cover" on are accessed from the bottom...

[Newenglandcharters]

Often times my RL70 Radar shows "Warning Antenna not Rotating". Does anybody have a fix for this? Is there a belt inside the covered dome that may be loose and slipping. If so, is it something a shade-tree mechanic like me can fix?

Most of the time the unit works fine. But the message above has me concerned.

You guess it.

Most likly a broken belt. Yes you can get a Latex Tube at Homey Depot and replace it. The heat from the Sun and freezing in winter does a job on the belts. If its more than a couple years old thats most likly the problem.

The best RADARS are Gear Drive.