GPS Receiver in Parallel

[bobs]

Hello dear people,

would any of you be able to tell me if a gps receiver ( the make is evermore SA 320 , not that it matters) can be connected or used parallel ? Meaning , can i use a receiver for 2 chartplotters, in my case 2 raymarine plotters ?

You see , my raystar 120 went broke ( yes, the type or problemchild with which raymarine riped off their customers) and as the raystar 125 is ever so expensive i tought of using a NMEA type receiver. As you well know , the raystar communicates via seatalk , making it possible to use one gps receiver for multiple plotters.
I've installed the evermore gps ands connected it on the NMEA input of one plotter , so far so good , but also hoping seatalk (the plotters remain connected through seatalk of course) would translate the date to the other plotter.
No can do , the second plotter keeps showing ' no fix ' .
So i immagine since the date is entering one plotter via the NMEA input , the other plotter is not getting any information.

Could it be possible to connect the gps receiver on both plotters - the NMEA input that is - so infact the 2 plotters would also be connected parallel with their NMEA input ?
In other words , could that damage the gps receiver or the plotters in any way.
I know , if in doubt , try it out ,......but this equipment is a bit to expensive to fool around with isn't it ?

Thanks for any suggestion.

Kind regards.

[Pblais]

Multiple receivers and a single talker should be good up to 3 receivers per talker. Should you venture into multiple talkers you will need a multiplexer to make the transmissions serial. NMEA is not set up for that. Two GPS talkers on one bus might be a problem. Better to use a switch to allow a backup to be switched in and the failed GPS to be switched out.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by bobs

Hello dear people,



Could it be possible to connect the gps receiver on both plotters - the NMEA input that is - so infact the 2 plotters would also be connected parallel with their NMEA input ?

As Paul says that is no problem.
You do not say what Raymarine plotters you have. On some you need to enable the "bridge NMEA setting" for one plotter to send NMEA information via seatalk.
Altering this setting it is possible seatalk will send the gps info from one plotter to the other.
So no new wiring needed.

[bobs]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

As Paul says that is no problem.
You do not say what Raymarine plotters you have. On some you need to enable the "bridge NMEA setting" for one plotter to send NMEA information via seatalk.
Altering this setting it is possible seatalk will send the gps info from one plotter to the other.
So no new wiring needed.

Hello,

it's the older models , the RL80CRC and the L760 fishfinder/chartplotter.
Both hsb plus series.
Before , with the working raystar 120 , they communicated ok.
They are both linked via HSB an Seatalk .

Thanks

[Hampus]

It shouldn't be a problem with just two receivers. Keep in mind though, that the driver for the NMEA circuits are different between different manufacturers and different models. Furuno, for instance, is usually sensitive when it comes to multiple receivers while some Simrad models can take up to ten receivers on one port.

/Hampus

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by bobs

Hello,

it's the older models , the RL80CRC and the L760 fishfinder/chartplotter.
Both hsb plus series.
Before , with the working raystar 120 , they communicated ok.
They are both linked via HSB an Seatalk .

Thanks

The RL 80 will send the NMEA position from one chartplotter to the other, but you must enable the "bridge NMEA setting". This is not necessary if the GPS is connected by seatalk, which is why it transfered position before.
The default is for "bridge NMEA" to be off. Changing this setting will fix your problem and I guess you will owe me a beer.
From memory go menu - system settings- scroll down about 3/4 of the way down you will see "bridge NMEA setting" and the lower soft keys will give you the option of off or on. Sellect on.

[bobs]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

The RL 80 will send the NMEA position from one chartplotter to the other, but you must enable the "bridge NMEA setting". This is not necessary if the GPS is connected by seatalk, which is why it transfered position before.
The default is for "bridge NMEA" to be off. Changing this setting will fix your problem and I guess you will owe me a beer.
From memory go menu - system settings- scroll down about 3/4 of the way down you will see "bridge NMEA setting" and the lower soft keys will give you the option of off or on. Sellect on.

I will try it out even today noelex.

Let you know the results asap.

Thanks allready

[bobs]

Time to update.

Ok , I have changed the settings of the bridge NMEA , but unfortunatly no result.
The second unit keeps showing ' no fix '.
Is was worth a try , but no luck.

Today I will finish up the parallel setup for the gps receiver and most likely both units will get a satellite fix.

Does anyone know , by using a NMEA gps and not the seatalk unit (rayman 125) will I lose the possibility for plotting a autoroute or will everything stay the same ?
Meaning will I still be able to set a track on the chartplotter and have the autopilot do the rest ?
I can't really check it out since my boat is still in drydock .

Thanks for the help

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by bobs

Time to update.

Ok , I have changed the settings of the bridge NMEA , but unfortunatly no result.
The second unit keeps showing ' no fix '.
Is was worth a try , but no luck.

Today I will finish up the parallel setup for the gps receiver and most likely both units will get a satellite fix.

Does anyone know , by using a NMEA gps and not the seatalk unit (rayman 125) will I lose the possibility for plotting a autoroute or will everything stay the same ?
Meaning will I still be able to set a track on the chartplotter and have the autopilot do the rest ?
I can't really check it out since my boat is still in drydock .

Thanks for the help

I do not understand why this did not work. I had the same set up, at one stage, with an RL70 and RL80 and the NEMA position was sent.
The only other thing that could prevent this working is if some of the NMEA sentences were turned off. Or too many are on and confusing the receiving unit. This is in the same menu as the Bridge NMEA setting. Make sure all on. If they are all on try turning them all off and slowly turn them back on looking for a response from the second unit. I would try RMB, APB VYG first.
I will look up the handbook tonight to see if there is any other setting that could be causing problems.


I think the autopilot track feature will work, but I am not sure. I never use this function as I have heard tales of boats changing course to steer to a new waypoint and colliding with another boat.

[goboatingnow]

firstly as the two unit are connect via seatalk HS, one is a master and the other a slave. The nmea feed can only be connected to the master and the bridge nema has to turned on on that master. Slave unit cannot handle any seatalk or nmea input.

[bobs]

Yesterday I have connected the gps antenna parallel to both displays , with succes.
Both the RL80CRC and the L760 gave a fix.

Now here's another question , i paid about 100$ for the gps unit (evermore SA320) and the raystar 125 goes over the counter for around 300$ .
Does anyone know what justifies that hugh difference in price ?
Is it the name raymarine , or is the seatalk system such a enormous benefit ?

Thanks

Ps:

any luck with the manuel Noelex ?

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by bobs

any luck with the manuel Noelex ?

Nothing other than the stuff that has already been mentioned.
If you have already wired both up to NMEA it is probably better anyway as you can have either unit powed up. Seatalk conversion would require you to have the RL unit on to get a fix on the slave.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by bobs

Now here's another question , i paid about 100$ for the gps unit (evermore SA320) and the raystar 125 goes over the counter for around 300$ .
Does anyone know what justifies that hugh difference in price ?
Is it the name raymarine , or is the seatalk system such a enormous benefit ?

It's not just Raymarine, all the others do the same. This type of behavior is what drives the standards like NMEA2000. I've been mostly successful integrating various vendors products on N2K. It's changing the old practice of price gouging.

[bobs]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

Nothing other than the stuff that has already been mentioned.
If you have already wired both up to NMEA it is probably better anyway as you can have either unit powed up. Seatalk conversion would require you to have the RL unit on to get a fix on the slave.

I must say noelex , for a moment there i deed succeed in having gps info on the other unit (the slave) while it was not connected to the gps antenna , but recieved the coordinates via the master unit that was also turned on. I was able to ' find ship ' and the indication on the gps info display said ' Dfix '.
Then all of a sudden it was gone and I got a message of ' lost fix '.
I tried again a few times wthout any luck , so I decided to connect the gsp antenna parallel on both displays and now everything works like a charm.

Yeah DotDun , i suppose most manufacturers take advantage of the ignorance of many of us to sell their stuff with a big margin.
That's where these forums and boards come in handy , dont they.

Thanks very much for the help everyone . and I hope I can help others in the same way.

And maybe you should have a look on the jeanneau forum and the hints and tips section , also interesting sites , where i have made some contributions under the nick sailbleu.
There's a good chance you might find my last essay ' cutless bearing multitool ' most interesting .

Hints & Tips

jeanneau owners network - Home?


Greatings.

[r.furborough]

There is an bit of a weakness in the RL series, the HSB transmitter/receivers built into the units are weak and can fail, also they need a termination resistor which is sometimes integrated into the connection lead/plug. If this fails you cannot get them from Raymarine, unless you can find one on eBay or similar you will only be able to use your units as stand alones.