Raymarine Audibility Vs Hearing problem

[goeasy123]

Like many an ageing sailor my upper frequency hearing has gone. I can't hear the audible warnings from my Raymarine kit.


Does anyone have a solution or ideas? Louder won't help. It needs to be lower frequency.

[a64pilot]

If it has an external alarm feature there are many things that can be done including lights, if not, then without getting more complex than it’s worth likely not.
Get a dog and train it to bark, or do you have a Wife?

[andreas.mehlin]

Maybe this https://www.yachtd.com/products/alarm_button.html
Seems to be nmea2k....if u have seatalk ng u can make it woek

[goeasy123]

Andreas.... That looks like it might do it. Mind you overkill and a bit pricey. Thanks.

[skipgundlach]

I have somewhat the same issue with hearing the autopilot head telling me I've gone into standby. Ray tells me there's no way to make that sound come out anywhere else, at any other volume.

Hearing aid manufacturers these days are producing remote mikes for circumstances where the primary audio source can't be reliably heard by the wearer of the aids.

It makes my admiral's mumbled whispers in the cockpit at night crystal clear. We MAY put it next to the autopilot head so as to blast me with what would otherwise be a soft 3-beep...

[goeasy123]

Skip, andreas' post makes me think that the warning data signals that causes the beep to sound must be transmitted on the NMEA bus. It must therefore be possible to transmit them on a NMEA to Wifi output to a device that converts to a lower frequency and/or higher volume.... or a visual alarm.

[toddster8]

It's no joke. Even for those with good hearing, the little electronic beeps from RM equipment can barely be heard over wind or engine noise. I doubt that they would wake me up in the night. In contrast to alarms from some other makes.

If you can get hold of an old SeaTalk1- NMEA 0183 interface box, (E85001) it has contacts to activate an external "general alarm" buzzer or bell. No longer sold but occasionally pop up on Ebay.

[toddster8]

It seems that Raymarine does have an external alarm available. Also not cheap.
Raymarine support forum post suggests that it's fully functional with Lighthouse3 devices and "reduced functionality" with Lighthouse2, but does not elaborate that I can see?
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?id=4871921
http://forum.raymarine.com/showthread.php?tid=8781

[Paul Howard]

I have fairly good hearing, but am 70+ years old.

I have been up and down the IntraCoastal waterway several times and find the U.S. Coast Guard and military announcements on the VHF radio incomprehensible. ( I am a Canadian).
Many of the radio operators are young women who speak with high pitched voices, speak very rapidly and with a southern U.S. accent. Many times after the announcements I call on the VHF to 'Whoever just made an announcement' saying if they want me to understand what they said, would they please repeat slower and in a lower pitched voice. I have never had a reply nor heard a repeated message.
As we men age our hearing of high pitched voices and the ability to sort out words, mostly from females, decreases. It is not that we aren't listening.

[goeasy123]

Paul.... I was diagnosed with hearing loss by a old and experience consultant at Leicester Royal Infirmary. He told me that the majority men start to lose their hearing at the median of the female voice. He suggested, not entirely tongue-in-cheek, that it was a genetic adaption necessary for the survival of the human race.


But seriously it's a well known phenomena. In France they make the Securite announcement in a female voice repeated by a male voice. The Brit coast guard, military and civil air traffic have standards for pace and pronunciation.


For Raymarine to release a product that can't be used effectively by a any identifiable number of users, especially a safety feature, is a design failure.

[Bean Counter]

On our Rayamarine E120W there are wires set aside for connection to a any 12 Volt remote alarm (does not have to be a raymarine.) I wired a buzzer in our downstairs cabin so we could hear the anchor alarm. You could wire it to a relay that runs the fog horn if you wanted.The Raymarine manual tells you which wires to use.

[goeasy123]

Originally Posted by Bean Counter

On our Rayamarine E120W there are wires set aside for connection to a any 12 Volt remote alarm (does not have to be a raymarine.) I wired a buzzer in our downstairs cabin so we could hear the anchor alarm. You could wire it to a relay that runs the fog horn if you wanted.The Raymarine manual tells you which wires to use.

I have a C120W. Do you think there's such a connection and where might it be?

[Christian W.]

I was a professional musician until retiring from performing when my hearing started to fail. Because my music hearing was critical to me I invested in very high-end hearing aids. The beauty of these instruments is that they can be tuned for various acoustic situations, including directional focus, and by the wearer via an easily available tablet/phone app. The aids must be available from a number of makers, mine are from Siemens.
Unfortunately they are extremely expensive, demand special care at sea, and can't be worn during sleep, but I imagine could be worth looking at beyond your Raymarine issue. I am able to tune them so that VHF, short wave and phone are comprehensible, as well as sensitivity to under way boat noises. All the best!

[JohnSporck]

To have a piece of equipment with an alarm that is not functional could be considered depraved indifference. It seems to be a very short step from an alarm that can't be heard to murder. The result is easily foreseen.

[Bean Counter]

Originally Posted by Andy Todd

I have a C120W. Do you think there's such a connection and where might it be?

According to the installation manual page 27 there is a 3 pin socket for a SeaTalk/Alarm output. There should be 3 wires that come out from the lead, a yellow, red and "Drain" which I imagine is silver or black. I am guessing when the alarm is activated the yellow wire triggers the remote alarm - but I am just guessing - you would need to trial and error, or put a voltmeter on to see which one sends electricity when the alarm is activated. Raymarine C120 | Raymarine C120 ManualsRaymarine C120 Manual - User Guide | Installation Guide | Reference


On further investigation I found this
;Raymarine Support