Simrad HALO 200X 50W Pulse-Compression Radar Pedestal Only

The HALO 200X is Simrad's premium open-array radar pedestal, sold here as the kit without an antenna so the owner can spec the 3-foot, 4-foot, or 6-foot array that fits their installation. It's the radar of choice for cruisers and sportfishers stepping up from a dome, and for offshore boats that want commercial-grade solid-state pulse-compression performance with full recreational integration into the broader Simrad chartplotter ecosystem.

Solid-state pulse compression is the defining technology. The 50-watt transmitter doesn't seem like a lot of power until you understand pulse compression: the transmitted pulse is much longer in duration than a magnetron's, and the radar packs more total energy into the picture for the same peak power. The result is detection performance equivalent to a 12 kW magnetron radar across both short and long range, with substantially cleaner close-in returns. Targets as near as 6 meters (20 feet) appear cleanly, while the upper range tops out at 72 nautical miles instrumented.

The pulse-compression architecture also fundamentally changes how the radar handles clutter. Advanced digital signal processing in the RI-50 interface module wipes out sea clutter and rain attenuation that magnetron radars need manual tuning to deal with, and Beam Sharpening produces enhanced separation between small or distant targets so two boats anchored 100 feet apart at one nautical mile show up as two distinct returns instead of a smeared blob.

VelocityTrack is the Doppler differentiator that makes the HALO 200X feel different to operate than a non-Doppler radar. Every return on the screen is color-coded by motion: approaching targets get a saturated alert color, diverging targets fade to a neutral tone, stationary returns (buoys, shoreline, channel markers) stay in the background. The radar checks every target in range automatically with no manual selection required, and there's no software cap on how many targets can be tracked simultaneously. Combined with traditional MARPA target tracking (still available), VelocityTrack covers the whole picture, MARPA for the targets you care about most, VelocityTrack for situational awareness on everything else.

ZoneTrack is the next-generation feature that brings professional-vessel monitoring tools to recreational chartplotters. Define up to two custom zones on the radar screen (a harbor channel, an approach, an anchorage edge), and the HALO 200X automatically detects and tracks up to 50 targets per zone, calculating course and speed on each one. Dangerous Target Alerts then flag targets that are closing range too quickly, with graphical bearing and heading relative to your own vessel.

Operating modes simplify the day-to-day. Harbour mode tunes signal processing for short-range clutter in marinas. Offshore mode optimizes for long-range detection in open water. Weather mode highlights moisture-rich storm cells and squall fronts. Bird mode is the angler's tool for finding flocks of feeding seabirds (and the bait fish below them) out to about 10 nautical miles. Each mode is a one-tap selection, no manual tuning required.

Dual Range mode lets the radar transmit and process at two ranges simultaneously, so the chartplotter can show a short-range picture (collision avoidance) and a long-range picture (weather and traffic awareness) at the same time, both fed from the same pedestal. This is one of the high-end features that owners moving up from a dome notice first, the way the same hardware can deliver two pictures without compromise.

The kit ships with the HALO 200X pedestal, the RI-50 interface module that handles 12V or 24V power input and Ethernet output to the chartplotter, and a 20-meter power-and-Ethernet cable that runs from the RI-50 to the pedestal. What you supply: the open-array antenna (3-foot, 4-foot, or 6-foot, sold separately), the Ethernet drop to the chartplotter helm, and the breaker and DC supply.

The pedestal is rated for an 80-knot wind velocity at 48 rpm rotation in both 12V and 24V systems, with operating temperatures from -25C to +55C. IPX6 ingress protection on the pedestal and antenna, IPX5 on the RI-50 module. Mounting footprint matches earlier HALO generations, so this is a drop-in upgrade on most installations from a HALO20+, HALO24+, or earlier HALO open array. The pedestal weighs 20.3 kg (44.8 lb), and a 3-foot antenna swing circle is 1142 mm (45 in), with the 6-foot reaching 2047 mm (80.6 in). Average power consumption is 45-60 W at zero wind, with peaks of 235 W at 12V or 380 W at 24V at maximum wind velocity.

Chartplotter compatibility is broad inside the Simrad family, NSS, NSO, NSX, GO series, and the new NSS 4 generation all support HALO 200X over the standard Ethernet RayNet-equivalent backbone. The radar is compatible with sibling-platform sailing chartplotters chartplotters on the same network (cross-helm display works in mixed-brand glass-helm installations), and it supports the same MARPA, dual-range, and VelocityTrack workflows across all of them.