Raymarine Magnum 4kW Open Array Radar Pedestal

The Magnum 4kW pedestal is Raymarine's premium open-array radar at the entry-level transmit power for the Magnum lineup, sitting below the 12kW pedestal that targets blue-water cruising. The 4kW configuration delivers a 72-nautical-mile maximum range, which fits coastal cruising, offshore sport-fishing, and most recreational long-range applications. The Magnum platform employs many of the same radar technologies trusted by the United States Coast Guard for commercial and patrol applications, packaged in a recreational pedestal with the durability and weather sealing offshore work demands.

This SKU is the pedestal only. The antenna array is a separate purchase: Raymarine offers a 4-foot array for compact installs where arch space is limited and a 6-foot array for tighter beamwidth and longer practical detection range at the same transmit power. The 4-foot array gives you a 2.5-degree horizontal beamwidth before beam sharpening. The 6-foot drops that to about 1.8 degrees. Raymarine's beam sharpening technology applied on the pedestal side digitally refines the radar returns to deliver better than 1-degree bearing resolution regardless of which array length you pick, which is the spec that lets the Magnum render map-like coastal detail and tight target separation at long range.

The headline operational features are what most operators notice first. Automatic MARPA target acquisition and tracking handles up to 25 simultaneous targets without manual click-to-track, with course and speed vectors computed in real time. Combined with Raymarine's Evolution 9-axis heading sensor and the Magnum's real-time heading updates, the target plots stay accurate even when the boat is rolling or turning, which is where older radars typically show vector lag. Enhanced Bird Mode is the second standout. The Magnum's Bird Mode surfaces feeding bird flocks at distances up to 10 nautical miles, which on a tuna boat or mahi boat is the difference between finding bait schools and trolling blind. The Bird Mode tuning on Magnum is meaningfully improved over Raymarine's previous radar platforms.

True Trails is the situational awareness feature that adds historical wake plotting to every moving target. Instead of just showing where a target is right now, True Trails draws a fading historical track behind the contact so you can see at a glance whether a vessel is closing, diverging, or holding course. Combined with the automatic MARPA tracking, the radar picture gives you both the absolute position and the recent motion history of every target on screen. For night watches and fog-bound passages, the True Trails feature dramatically reduces the cognitive load of interpreting the radar picture.

Network integration runs through Raymarine's RayNet Ethernet network. The Magnum pedestal pairs with current Raymarine Axiom and Axiom Pro multifunction displays running LightHouse 3, and the pedestal is also backwards compatible with legacy LightHouse 2-based displays including the a, c, e, eS, and gS-Series MFDs, the C-Series and E-Series Widescreen units, and the older E-Series Classic and G-Series displays. Not all Magnum features are available on every legacy MFD. The latest LightHouse 3 displays give you the full feature set including Bird Mode tuning, True Trails, and the enhanced MARPA. We can confirm compatibility with your specific chartplotter before you order. Tell us your existing chartplotter model and your arch configuration, and we'll spec the right antenna length and confirm the install plan.

One thing worth knowing about the Magnum versus the modern HALO solid-state pulse-compression radars from other manufacturers. The Magnum is magnetron-based, which means it has higher peak power on a single pulse but needs a 60-to-90-second warm-up cycle and doesn't have Doppler target coloring. Modern solid-state Doppler radars from competitor brands trade peak power for instant warm-up and color-coded approaching/receding targets. The Magnum's advantage is the very long-range performance and the proven Coast Guard-grade detection at extreme distance. The trade-off is the older operational paradigm without Doppler coloring. For Raymarine-loyal customers running an Axiom Pro helm, the Magnum is the natural radar pairing. For owners who specifically want Doppler coloring, Raymarine's Cyclone solid-state Doppler series is the alternative within the Raymarine lineup.