Page 34: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 1977)

ITT Decca Marine Introduces 'Clearscan'

New Radar Technique To Reduce Interference

Pictured at the Decca press conference, left to right: Louis Foy, Decca Radar,

London; Walter Finney, Robert Burns and Alan Thompson, ITT Decca Marine, Inc.,

New York, and John Gunner, Decca Radar, London.

Dravo Corporation

Appoints Peter Sour

Peter K. Sour has been ap- pointed group controller for Dravo

Corporation's Equipment & Trans- portation Group.

Mr. Sour joined Dravo in 1975 as vice president, finance of Un- ion Mechling Corporation, Dravo's subsidiary barge line. He will re- tain this post in addition to his new responsibility.

Mr. Sour attended Cornell Uni- versity, graduated from New

Haven College with a bachelor's degree in business administra- tion, and most recently completed the Advanced Management Pro- gram at the Harvard Business

School. He is a member of the

National Council of Physical

Distribution Management, the

National Association of Account- ants, and the American Produc- tion and Inventory Control So- ciety.

Dravo's Equipment & Trans- portation Group includes, in ad- dition to Union Mechling, Dravo's heavy equipment distributors,

Dravo Doyle in Western Pennsyl- vania, Dravo Marks in Ohio, and

Dravo Cal-Ore in the Pacific

Northwest. Dravo's other oper- ating groups are Engineering

Construction, Manufacturing and

Natural Resources.

Blount Offers Brochure

Describing Shipyard

And Drydock Facilities

Blount Marine Corporation, lo- cated in Warren, R.I., has pro- duced a new brochure containing photos and descriptions of its line of steel vessels and its ship- yard and drydock facilities.

Blount Marine designs and builds a variety of hulls from 65 to 250 feet, including passenger and vehicle vessels, offshore tug/ supply vessels, research vessels, party fishing boats, tugs, and tankers.

For a free brochure, write to

M. Blount, Blount Marine Corpo- ration, P.O. Box 368, Warren,

R.I. 02885. At a recent press conference held at the Seamen's Church In- stitute in New York City by ITT

Decca Marine, Inc., a major tech- nological breakthrough in marine navigation, the new Decca "Clear- scan" Radar was introduced.

According to ITT Decca Ma- rine, Inc., the U.S. distributor for

The Decca Radar Company of

Great Britain, Clearscan uses ad- vanced video enhancement tech- niques to automatically suppress virtually all the things that make it difficult for an operator to lo- cate ships, buoys, land masses, etc.

For example, on the conven- tional radar screen, such things as rain, or even the tops of waves, can show as a solid mass which blots out images of ships in that vicinity. The operator can adjust his reception manually to elimi- nate such "rain and sea clutter" in that sector. But, in doing so, he may also eliminate important "targets" in that sector as well as targets in other sectors.

Clearscan works in every sec- tor, automatically suppressing not only rain and sea clutter but also other types of interference as well—without losing the signifi- cant images the operator must see. At the same time, it bright- ens and enlarges these images so they are more easily seen and identified.

The result is a radar picture of unprecedented clarity, complete- ness, accuracy, and brilliance.

And the picture is maintained continuously, without any adjust- ment whatsoever by the operator.

Clearscan is being offered in two parts: the VP-1 and VP-2 (Video Processors 1 and 2).

The VP-1 printed circuit board, which is a direct replacement for the video board in existing solid- state units, provides automatic suppression of sea and rain clut- ter. The VP-2, which will be available in early 1978, is an op- tional "black box" unit that may be used with Decca radar equipped with VP-1. The VP-2 circuitry suppresses interference from receiver noise and other ships' radars. It also brightens weak echoes and "stretches" small echoes on the 12, 24, and 48 (or 60) mile ranges for better viewing.

According to a Decca execu- tive, sea trials of Clearscan have been going on for the last 18 months. He indicated that Clear- scan has been successfully tested on a variety of vessels—an ocean ferry, containership, fishing boats —and in several different waters, including the North Sea and

North Atlantic. "The new Clearscan Radar has to be seen to be believed," says

Alan Thompson, sales manager of ITT Decca Marine, the U.S. distributor for Decca Radars. "Clearly, it's a major advance in radar technology . . . certainly the most important in the last 10 years."

For complete information on

Clearscan Radar, write to Mr.

Thompson at ITT Decca Marine,

Inc., P.O. Box G, Palm Coast,

Fla. 32037.

Hyundai To Build

Full Containerships

Hyundai Shipyard has signed a contract to construct two 18,000- dwt containerships for Hanjin

Transportation Co.

This is in line with the second phase of the government's Fleet

Expansion Program to build ves- sels including containerships, to- taling 1,000,000 tons by 1981, at domestic shipyards.

Another contract was signed by HDS and Korea Shipping Co. for the construction of a 25,000- dwt containership.

AQUAMET

Stainless Steel Boat Shafting ...Available where you need it

We've been telling you all along about the durability, dependability and economy you get with Armco's AQUAMET Stainless Steel Boat

Shafting. But for this knowledge to do you any good, you have to be able to buy the AQUAMET Shaft you need for your boat.

AQUAMET is the name in heavy-duty shafting, and we certainly want to get it to you when and where you need it. That's why we make our family of AQUAMET 17,18 and 22 Shafting available through marine dealers and distributors across the country.

For a list of dealers and distributors handling AQUAMET Shafting nearest you, attach this advertisement to your letterhead and mail to

Ed Wilkinson, Armco Steel Corporation, Dept. A-247, Box 600,

Middletown, OH 45043.

Advanced Materials Division

ARMCO V 20

Maritime Reporter/Engineering News