[semi-extrinsic]

Radar systems are fairly common on boats larger than ~30 ft, and you can operate those without any license at all. The latest generation devices are all broadband, working on the principle that if you spread your broadcast over a wide enough range, the power you're broadcasting on any given band is very low, i.e. legal and not causing interference for others. Maybe this guy is working off the same principle?

[pdabbadabba]

You don't always need an operator license but, when you don't, you typically do need properly certified equipment. (This is also why you don't need a license to use Wi-Fi.) The rules vary by service and by frequency band.

I'm no expert on boat RADARs, but I'd bet that, 1) they operate in bands allocated for that sort of use and 2) that they have been either type accepted or certified by the FCC to comply with whatever rules govern their band of operation.