B&G Zeus 3

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by JayH

That may be the difference. I have Caribbean C-MAP without Active Captain data. You should be using a Class 10 SD card.

Edit: If your problem is related to Active Captain, I wonder if you can turn it off.

The card was sent directly to me from B&G after their download website failed.. Its an off the shelf retail card..

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by travellerw

You know.. I feel bad that my post would make you not buy....

Since my post I have decided to eyeball my setup and see if there is something wrong with my install (usually %90 of problems).. So I have now simplified my network and will do my next trip with things simplified to see if I can isolate an install issue. Unfortuantley I won't move for a few weeks.. and I will come back and post if I could fix it.

However.. I still stand by the fact that the programing teams suck at B&G. Just 2 weeks ago I had to e-mail them and let them know that thier website was broken and users could no longer download updates. It took 4 e-mails with the them to convince them the website was actually broken.

Not to mention the whole craziness with the Gofree shop about 4 months ago. I was left without charts or updates for months. Although they shipped me a brand new card since the download didn't work, it wasn't the best solution. Even now, I spent $30 on the insight planner and its no longer supported.

This is just conjecture.. but I'm pretty sure they are trying to move thier programing offshore and doing a VERY bad job of it.. Even VERY bad doesn't describe how bad (heads need to roll and people need to be fired). Unfotunately I don't think that team will get better for 4-6 months.

The Triton2 stuff I have is fantastic.. The Zeus stuff I have is "NOT FANTASTIC"!

Alright I absolutely feel I need to come back and update this..

I HAVE FIXED MY PROBLEM.. First I did some rerouting of my NMEA 2000 connections and this helped a little (it reduced the small number of errors reported on the bus)... BUT THE BIG FIX WAS MY FAULT... It turns out I have been creating new tracks and not turning off the old ones. By the time I looked at it, it was recording (and displaying) 5 tracks over top each other. Once I turned off all tracks the plotter is performing FANTASTIC..

Stupid is as stupid does! However I wanted to update this post to make sure the hardware was not blamed!

[mathiasben]

Good to hear, I'm decided on the Zeus2.

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by mathiasben

that sounds heinous. was seriously about to pull the trigger on one of the defender advertised remanufactured 9" units before finding this thread. now I don't know what to do.

I am also considered the remanufactured option. Need to review the warranty.

[captainsinkers]

Does anyone know what the wiring for the sonar ports are?

Also there is a note that comes with the zeus 3 saying it doesn't work with Forward Scan even though much of the marketing material says it is "built in". Anyone know much about this?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Spyderpig

Thw WiFi module is an expensive option for what is just a normal WiFi router. I just cut the supplied Ethernet cable that goes from the Zeus to the 4G radar and put standard RJ45 connectors on then plugged into a $5 WiFi router and all the Go functions worked great and the radar. It also routed all the NMEA messages onto WiFi for use with your my tablet apps.

I like the Simrad WiFi module.

It's waterproof and has the Simrad rugged waterproof Ethernet cables, and gives you an extra port. Powered by normal 12v so you don't need a power supply for it.

You can use a normal router, but you will make your cables non-waterproof and less reliable by cutting and crimping on RJ45 -- which in my experience don't last all that long in salt air. You will need to arrange a power supply.

The Simrad module is a somewhat overpriced at around $200, but is an elegant real marine solution.

Signal strength is fine and we connect to it from all over the boat (and beyond) with no issues.

I've used it now for four years with no problems. I use it for GoFree but also to get nav data into OpenCPN on ship's computer and also into an IPad for INavX. The datastream comes from my Zeus Touch at the helm, and it gets everything from the NMEA2000 network into 0183 usable by OpenCPN and other programs, which is possible to translate, including AIS.

I have a lot of problems with my Navico equipment, but this particular aspect of it is really well implemented.

[danleach]

Originally Posted by captainsinkers

Does anyone know what the wiring for the sonar ports are?

Also there is a note that comes with the zeus 3 saying it doesn't work with Forward Scan even though much of the marketing material says it is "built in". Anyone know much about this?

Contact Navico right away if you have that note in your unit and complain like bloody hell. Use words like lawsuit and filing fraud complaint with your state AG. Demand a full refund...and talk to the retailer you bought it from about returning it. Or force them to force Navico to give you a Sonar Hub...which will solve this issue.

My understanding is that the first ones, manufactured in February, have that note. And that later made units should work with forwardscan. The plug is there.

Amazing fail as they launch what is otherwise a great unit.

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by mathiasben

Good to hear, I'm decided on the Zeus2.

Did you get the remanufactured 9"? I picked up one a few weeks ago at Defender for $850. Now i am trying to figure out how to get the warranty registered. There was no card with the unit, Defender said to call B&G. I sent two E-Mails to B&G and their parent company and have gotten zero response.

[mathiasben]

Originally Posted by deluxe68

Did you get the remanufactured 9"? I picked up one a few weeks ago at Defender for $850. Now i am trying to figure out how to get the warranty registered. There was no card with the unit, Defender said to call B&G. I sent two E-Mails to B&G and their parent company and have gotten zero response.

Did not, focused on other projects at the moment.

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by JayH

Short answer is yes. I have a B&G Zeus2 and a Lowrance HDS Gen2 and they can share charts, waypoints, and routes. But the C-Map charts have two activations, so you can load them locally on both devices anyway. Local is better for speed and redundancy.

Just spent a week on the boat and could not get this to work. When I pull up the chart options the display only shows the charts that were pre-loaded or available on the chip inserted in that display. I need to play around with it some more, I may not have the setup done correctly. I simply plugged in the 2nd display and turned it on. The first display to get powered up is deemed to be the "master". The new display was showing some goofy artifacts when viewing the charts. I need to play around some more with it.

[gamayun]

Hey, I'd like to resurrect this thread. Thinking of buying a Z2 12, upgrading from the T7. Is this still a good idea given that the Z3s are on the market, but out of my budget at the moment? The T7 I currently have is under the dodger and I would put the Z2 at the helm. Is the touch display an issue when wet or did they get that resolved with the Z2?

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by gamayun

Hey, I'd like to resurrect this thread. Thinking of buying a Z2 12, upgrading from the T7. Is this still a good idea given that the Z3s are on the market, but out of my budget at the moment? The T7 I currently have is under the dodger and I would put the Z2 at the helm. Is the touch display an issue when wet or did they get that resolved with the Z2?

Hi Gamayun,

As part of an extensive electronics refit last year, we replaced a single Zeus T8 with 2- Zeus2 12" MFDs [1 at each helm] and couldn't be happier. The gain in resolution on the Z2 12 is worth it alone... [I had originally purchased a 9" Z2 for the inside helm, and 12" Z2 for the cockpit. Once I saw the difference in the 12", I got a second 12" Z2 to replace the new 9" Z2...]

I was looking at the Zeus3s at the time, but was able to get 2- 12" Z2s for about the cost of 1- 7" Z3 at the time because Defender had some factory refurbished units on sale, and I couldn't pass that up... [Check there first if you haven't already...]

The control buttons on the Z2 are arranged differently from the ZT and provide more functionality. You can do most everything with the buttons and knob now - obviating the need to touch the screen when it isn't convenient. [In fact I can't think of anything you cannot do with the buttons and knob, but there may be something obscure I'm not remembering at the moment...]

To demonstrate this point about not having to use the touch screen, the Z2 at our outside helm is actually mounted next to the companionway so all in the cockpit can see it. Therefore I installed a Zeus MFD remote control at the helm and manage everything on the Z2 with that. [i.e., no screen touching...]

Regarding your question about Z2 touch screen performance when wet, I will have to explicitely test that and get back with you. I don't recall ever having moisture on either Z2 or hands- and maybe that is a good sign...

In case this is helpful.

Cheers! Bill

[gamayun]

Very very helpful, Bill. Thank you. I actually use the controls more on the T7 than I do the touch screen and it looked like there are fewer buttons on the Z2 so good to hear your experience with that. I did look at the Defender remanufactured models. This would be a private sale so a little better than Defender's price, which I think is a good deal. I'm told it was used for a year and the software is updated. On another thread, Travellerw(?) made a demo that simulated saltwater and freshwater on the Z2 screen and explained the mechanics behind the touch screens. His video suggests that if I'm getting breaking waves over the stern, the screen might react a bit wonky; if it's pouring down rain, it should work fine. Interestingly (to me) it probably has to do with the conductive properties of sea water versus fresh. It appears that the B&G screens work by recognizing our electrical field (blood is negatively charged) and not from fingertip pressure. Anyway, in either scenario, I'd probably have the AP driving!

[danleach]

On the Zeus3 feature set vs. 2...question.

[In fact I can't think of anything you cannot do with the buttons and knob, but there may be something obscure I'm not remembering at the moment...]

The 3 has that 4 way button under the knob that allows you to do everything without touching the screen....including moving the cursor on the chart....then hitting the center of the knob to select that location. You can then zoom by dialing the knob. You can't actually do that with the 2. Also the 3 has wifi built in....not in the 2. Screen rez is upgraded....and the units (after the first few) are supposed to drive foreward scan without a Sonar Hub.

[carlylelk]

I bought the Z3 and 4G radar. I'm going through the install manuals and it's a bit confusing. The one wiring diagram for NEMA 2000 only includes Lowrance and Simrad. The other one includes B&G with Lowrance and Simrad, but only shows a SimNet.

I suppose I can use the wiring diagram for NEMA 2000, even though it doesn't include the B&G gear. If so the RI10 interface is connected to the Z3 via ethernet, and to N2K backbone by a SimNet Cable and a SimNet to N2K adapter. Can I just get the SimNet Cable, cut the end off and use a field connection to the N2K backbone?

Can someone point me to a better resource for a wiring diagram?

Thanks,
Duane