Radar support is an advanced functionality of Orca Core. It allows you to view a Radar Overlay on your Orca Charts, and you can control your Raymarine radar directly via Orca.
Radar controls in Orca integrate seamlessly with your existing Raymarine chartplotter. Any change you make in Orca will also be reflected on your other systems that are connected to your Raymarine Radar.
Orca supports connecting to the following Raymarine radars:
Quantum 1 & 2 with WiFi
Quantum 1 & 2 without WiFi
Only Orca Core 2 (which has two cables) supports Radar connection via Ethernet.
Orca Core 1 can be connected to certain radar setups – but this connection is unofficial and Orca can not guarantee a functional experience as it relies on a 3rd party WiFi access point.
Supported functionality
All basic controls are supported, from changing modes to range, sensitivity, and noise reduction. The following functionality is not yet supported but will be added in the future:
Doppler color coding
Guard zones
Target trails
Setup sector blanking
Setup heading offset
Connecting to a Raymarine radar via Ethernet
Orca supports the following connection topologies via Ethernet:
Connection via a Switch – such as the Raymarine RNS/HS5 Switch or a standard Ethernet switch
Connection via Axiom – an Ethernet cable between Core and Axiom, and Ethernet or WiFi connection between Axiom and Quantum radar
Direct connection – an Ethernet cable between Quantum Radar and Core
Once connected, Orca will automatically detect the Radar and show Radar Controls in the Control Center. For information about controlling your Radar, see the relevant article.
Connection via a Switch
Connection via an Ethernet switch is recommended for when you have multiple devices controlling your Radar.
For connection to a switch, you will need:
An M12 male to RJ45 female adapter¹
Option A: If you use a standard Ethernet switch, you'll need a male-to-male RJ45 Ethernet cable
Option B: If you use a Raynet Ethernet switch, you'll need a RayNet female to RJ45 male adapter cable²
Orca Core should be connected directly to the same switch as your radar. Chaining multiple switches between the Orca Core and your radar may prevent Orca from discovering your radar.
Connection via Raymarine Axiom
Connection via a Raymarine Axiom makes for an easy installation. The Axiom must be powered on for Radar control to work in Orca.
For connection via Axiom, you will need:
An M12 male to RJ45 female adapter¹
A RayNet to RJ45 male adapter cable²
Axiom Pro has two Ethernet connections, allowing a cabled connection to both the Radar and Core without an external switch.
Direct Connection
Direct connection is only recommended if you do not intend to access the Radar from any other devices.
For direct connection, you will need:
An M12 male to RJ45 female adapter¹
A RayNet to RJ45 male adapter cable²
Orca Core does not yet support Radar commissioning, so the Radar must be commissioned by Axiom prior to use via Direct Connection.
Recommended connection equipment
M12 male to RJ45 female adapter: We recommend the following high-quality and cost-effective alternatives:
- Amphenol RJS-12D04FM-RS8001 (Mouser webshop)
- L-COM M12RJ454D-0.5 (Digikey webshop)Raymarine RayNet female to RJ45 male cable: Raymarine part number A62360 / A80151 / A80159. See the Raymarine website for more options and cable lengths.
Connecting Orca Core 1 to a Raymarine Radar
Cores without an Ethernet cable can also connect to Quantum Radars via a WiFi access point. The WiFi access point must in turn be connected to the Quantum Radar directly via Ethernet or via an Axiom.
For a WiFi access point connection, you will need to:
Contact Orca Customer Support via hello@getorca.com to verify if your access point is supported and set up a specific configuration on your WiFi access point
Connect your Radar or an Axiom with Radar access to your WiFi access point via an Ethernet cable
Connect the Core to the WiFi access point via WiFi Link
This connection option is not official and Orca can not guarantee functional support.