(HOUSTON) — JRC has announced the installation of the world’s first, smallest and IMO compliant solid state S-band radar with 8-foot antenna and high-speed rotation for the high speed car/passenger ferry Lake Express. The 192-foot catamaran travels at a service speed of 34 knots between Milwaukee, Wis., and Muskegon, Mich.
Lake Express selected JRC for the dual X- and S-band radar installation due to 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-foot antenna, fully meeting IMO performance standards, the magnetron-free solid state technology also adds the advantage of greatly reduced “in life” service costs.
The Lake Express bridge upgrade included the 8-foot high-speed solid state chart radar (JMR-9282) interswitched with a 6-foot 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.
For more information about JRC, visit www.jrc.am.