High Speed Solid State S-band Delivered for US Ferry

A Solid State S-band radar with 8-ft antenna and high speed rotation – reportedly the world’s first and smallest – has been installed by JRC for the high speed car/passenger ferry Lake Express. The 192-ft USCG-inspected Subchapter catamaran travels at a service speed of 34-knots between Milwaukee, Wisc. and Muskegon, Mich. for the service started in 2004

JRC said the dual X- and S-band radar installation offers Lake Express the features, design and integration of the new Multi Function Display as well as the ability to utilize a high speed S-band radar. With the world’s first 8-ft antenna, fully meeting the IMO performance standards, the magnetron free Solid State technology also adds the advantage of greatly reduced “in life” service costs. JRC said there have been more than 700 successful Solid State S-band radar installations to date, used on a variety of vessels sailing in different parts of globe.

Speaking on the choice of JRC’s Multi Function Display for this retrofit, senior captain John Rogers said, “In researching the options for this project, JRC’s offerings stood out and the finished install has exceeded our expectations. We are very happy with the ease of use and performance of the new equipment and we look forward to the advanced features of this navigation suite serving us for years to come.”

The Lake Express bridge upgrade included the 8-ft high speed Solid State chart radar (JMR-9282) interswitched with a 6-ft high speed X-band chart radar (JMR-9210) and a new ECDIS (JAN-9201), all equipped with 26-inch monitors. Also installed as part of this navigation electronics suite upgrade; a GPS navigator (JLR-7800), Class-A universal AIS (JHS-183), GPS compass (JLR-31) and the AlphaLine repeater for use as a heading and Rate-of-Turn indicator. All components were purchased from and installed over the offseason lay-up period by Finn Marine.