LightMaster Nautical Training and Software
Enhancing your safety and enjoyment afloat
RadarTraining Simulator
Additional Information
International Regulations for Prevention of Collision at Sea require that you keep watch by means of radar if it is fitted on the vessel and operational.
Radar can be the most useful navigation instrument on the boat, but if you are not sufficiently familiar with operation of the controls and interpretation of the radar picture, it can mislead you into potentially dangerous decisions.
A major benefit of radar is it is completely self-contained. You are not dependent on marine authorities maintaining buoys, or other vessels operating AIS identification systems.
All controls function just like real equipment
You operate radar controls & navigate your vessel
You can edit or create new scenarios at will
There are no fixed displays or pre-recorded video (except in the helpful tutorials)
Radar Controls
Power : Switches the radar set on or off
Standby / Transmit : Toggles the transmitter electronics on or off
Range Selection : Select distance represented by the radius of the screen
Rings On / Off : Hides or shows the Range Rings
Heading Mark Suppress : Temporarily hides the Ship’s Head Mark
Head Up / North Up : By default, the top of the screen is aligned with the ship’s bow. North Up rotates the display to put North at the top.
Electronic Bearing Line : A line from centre of screen to the edge, which can be rotated to read off or indicate a particular bearing.
Variable Range Marker : A circle of variable diameter around the centre of screen, to set or measure a particular range from your vessel
Wakes : Turns the Wakes function on or off, displaying a ghost indication of previous positions of all contacts
Interference Rejection : Switches in a circuit to prevent a distinctive spiral pattern resulting from interference from another vessel radar
Target Enhance : Slightly enlarges the image of all contacts, to make small contacts easier to see
MARPA : Mini Automatic Radar Plotting Aid which can calculate and display the direction, speed and other data of selected contacts
Cursor Position Control : A rocker pad or joystick to move the cursor around the screen and display range and bearing of selected contacts
Brilliance : Adjusts the overall lighting of the whole screen
Gain : Varies the amplification of returning echoes. Adjust to minimise noise speckle while retaining weaker contacts
Tuning : Adjust to match receiver frequency to exactly that of the transmitter
Sea Clutter : Adjust to minimise reflections from waves, while retaining weaker contacts
Rain Clutter : Adjust to minimise reflections from clouds and precipitation
Controls listed are for Green-screen set. LCD set has more functions but fewer physical controls
Radar Displays
Plan Position Indicator : The main display of contacts, including coastline, around your vessel
Own Ship Heading and Speed : Shows your current heading and speed through water
EBL and VRM : Angle of Electronic Bearing Line and Distance of Variable Range Marker
Cursor Bearing and Range : Bearing and Range from own ship to cursor position
Tuning : A bar-graph indicator to assist setting correct tuning
Range : The distance represented from centre to edge of the display
Rings : The distance represented by spacing of range rings
Head Up / North Up : Current orientation of the display
Rel / True Motion : Whether in relative motion or true motion mode
MARPA : Which target is selected by MARPA and data for that target
Simulator Controls
Exercise Panel : Expand or Minimise the Exercise Control Panel
Open Exercise : Selects one of the available exercises
Run Exercise : Loads all parameters to set up the complete scenario for the exercise
Pause, Resume, Stop, Reset : Control the progress of an exercise
Timescale : Allows virtual time to be accelerated, thus speeding up the action (1x to 6x normal)
Show / Hide Exercise Manager : Open or close additional window where exercises can be created, edited or viewed.
Exit Simulator : Close the Program
Vessel Controls : Autopilot or Manual
Rudder and Throttle : Adjust your own ship
Exercise Manager is a complete exercise editing and display system, with multiple controls
LightMaster Radar Simulator
Range Setting
Targets and Contacts
Electronic Bearing Line
Target Range
Guard Zone
Variable Range Marker
Licences
Software Licence Types & Conditions
Individual Licence
- Issued for personal study by one named individual
- Non-Transferrable
- Only the named individual or immediate family at same address to use it
- Not valid for any other person to use
- Can be used on more than one PC, but only for use by the one licensed person
- NOT valid for use on classroom PCs
- NOT valid for teaching any other person
Software Licensing
You do not buy or own the software. You buy a licence or licences, which permit you to use the program in either a personal or a shared-use capacity.
An instructor may purchase a Personal Licence to learn the subject, or evaluate the best way to structure their teaching. They must be in possession of a Professional Licence before using the software to provide access to any other person.
The software is provided with no time limit on use, unless it is provided as an evaluation copy, with a time limit. You may continue to use the software on the licensed PCs for so long as they are running compatible versions of Windows. We cannot guarantee to provide updates if future OS changes prevent them from working.
Software Pricing
Personal Radar Simulator £70 GBP
Professional Radar per PC £495 GBP
More than 2 Pro Licences – Call for Best Quote
Professional Licence
- Issued for one PC per licence
- Non-Transferrable
- Can be used for
- a succession of different students
- Can be used under different tutors at one location
- Can be used by one tutor at different locations but only one PC per licence
- Is valid for use on classroom PCs
- Is valid for teaching any other person
Talk With an Expert to Choose the Best Software for You!
If you are not quite sure which Licence or Program is best for your intended use, just call or email us. Details are on the Contact page.
What They’re Saying
Customer Testimonials
I will be taking a Coastal Skipper practical course next month. I was concerned that I had never used radar before, but the LightMaster Radar Simulator has given me confidence that I will be able to demonstrate competence with the radar during my course.
We have used a LightMaster Radar Simulator as a central plank in our RYA Radar Course for several years. During lockdown it enabled us to run courses over Zoom, with each student having their own Simulator to run at home.
Wow! I’ve had such enjoyment getting into navigation with the radar software. My new cruiser will have a full electronic nav system, but I would not have been able to use it to the full without this great program.
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