Radar support is an advanced functionality of Orca Core. It allows you to view a Radar Overlay on your Orca Charts and control your Simrad or B&G radar directly via Orca. Simrad and B&G radars are brands made by Navico, so this article will refer to Navico radars.
Radar controls in Orca integrate seamlessly with your existing Navico chartplotter. Any change you make in Orca will also be reflected on your other systems that are connected to your Navico radar.
Orca supports connecting to the following Navico radars:
HALO 24, 20+, 20, 8, 6, 4
Only Orca Core 2 (which has two cables) supports connecting to Navico radars.
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 / VelocityTrack color coding
Guard zones
Target trails
Setup sector blanking
Setup heading offset
For dual-range radar setups, Orca will connect to the primary radar configuration.
Connecting to a Navico radar
Orca supports the following connection topologies:
Connection via a Switch – such as the Navico NEP Switch or a standard Ethernet switch
Direct connection – an Ethernet cable between the 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 Navico Ethernet switch, you'll need a Navico 5-pin ethernet 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.
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 Navico 5-pin ethernet to RJ45 male adapter cable²
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)Navico 5-pin female ethernet to RJ45 male cable: Navico SKU 000-11246-001. See the Navico website for details.