Raymarine RADAR/AIS Question

[highseas]

That is good news,I am ordering one this week to complete my system.Now I just need a transceiver.

[BlueSovereign]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Well, screw them. But that was not even the point of my complaint. They don't even make their components compatible with their OWN systems. If you want to change one element of the system, even using the same manufacturer, you have to change the entire system. That sucks.

DH, I suspect it's more like they don't make different generations of equipment compatible. E.g. my existing 11 yo Raymarine radar couldn't be used with my new E120 multi-function display, so ..... a new Radar unit AND a new GPS antenna. To their credit I can still use my 11 yo Autohelm instruments with their latest systems.

As previously mentioned by someone, there is simply no motivation for various manufacturers to make systems compatible. That would reduce the likelihood of you installing a complete system by one manufacturer!

The only manufacturer that immediately comes to mind, that has had the smarts to realise they will sell more by making their electronics compatable with all electronics manufacturers is Interphase, with their SE "black box" for forward sonars.

[highseas]

The Brookhouse unit is so popular they aren't accepting more orders at this time.I'm setting sail in 4 weeks!

[hanschristian38]

Originally Posted by highseas

Finally ,someone who answered my question.The guys at the "marine" store don't have a clue.

THe guys at the marine store are paid $10/hour - You should not try to get complicated technical information from them - most have no training on any of the electronics.

The profit margin on electronics is low. You have to pay for professional engineering help if that's what you need locally. Or - get great advice on this forum.

[CatsPaw]

I've stripped off the DSC connection and set the Raymarine to 38000 baud - what else do I need to do to make the C80 recognize the NASA AIS?

I don't see why I would still need the Brookehouse mux in this case because I'm only connecting the AIS and nothing else. Am I missing something here? I'm getting voltage on nmea green in wire and the AIS unit is flashing to show it's receiving AIS signals. hmm...

[richardhula]

Originally Posted by CatsPaw

I've stripped off the DSC connection and set the Raymarine to 38000 baud - what else do I need to do to make the C80 recognize the NASA AIS?

I don't see why I would still need the Brookehouse mux in this case

You don't. MUX is only needed to combine separate NMEA sources (NOT as reported earlier in this thread). I have three individual devices hanging off one AIS rx & working perfectly, similarly with GPS.

Re C80 hook up, check connection polarity, ensure your AIS rx is receiving ship data & that AIS layer on C80 is turned on. You can also check AIS NMEA stream by looking at rx buffer (Menu/System Diagnostics/External Devices/NMEA).

Regards

[CatsPaw]

Thanks - I wasn't sure about this after reading all the different sources of information. On system diagnostics/external/nmea I see nmea sentences out but none received. I'm not sure what you mean by checking the connection polarity - I have the black portion of the data cable hooked up to the green nmea in cable, and the little screen (or ground) wire of the NASA AIS hooked up to my negative power connection on the C80. I'm wondering if there is a problem with my NMEA cable because I'm seeing voltage across the AIS data cable to NMEA connection, but nothing seems to be getting back to the C80.

I also don't see an AIS layer option when I press menu, but that may be because I'm not receiving any AIS data - I see the "NO AIS" icon on the top right of the screen.

Thanks again,
Malik

[David M]

It's okay to switch polarity on a NMEA connection if you suspect the polarity may be wrong. No damage will occur. It will either work or it will not.

[CatsPaw]

Do you mean the positive to the negative? I haven't changed mine since it was wired by the installer - the DSC out worked when I got the boat, then it stopped working a while ago. Now the AIS looks like it's wired correctly but it's not working either, so I suspect something's wrong with the NMEA wire or connection in general, just don't know what.

Thanks,
Malik

[highseas]

Like the Milltech ad says;"Give your PC the power to see shipping traffic".Doesn't say give your C80 the power to see.I tried every combination,nothing worked on C80,settled for laptop use only for now.Mostly just want to see ships offshore anyway,for now thats it for me.Sounds like most people who actually get both working are using the Brookhouse.

[scotte]

Originally Posted by CatsPaw

On system diagnostics/external/nmea I see nmea sentences out but none received.

Did you set the rate to 38400 bps?

Also, for the C-Series, the input and output is slaved to the same rate, so once you set it to 38400bps input for your AIS, you can't get 4800bps output for your DSC (without additional hardware)...

[richardhula]

Originally Posted by CatsPaw

On system diagnostics/external/nmea I see nmea sentences out but none received

This explains why you see no AIS info displayed. You need to check connections to the NMEA lead. You tell me that C80 is set to receive AIS 38400 baud & that your AIS rx works with another device. Use that same feed or parallel connections to it. Use the negative side of AIS NMEA feed to the green wire on C80 NMEA cable & the positive feed to white wire on C80 cable. It should then work.

Regards

[richardhula]

Originally Posted by highseas

Like the Milltech ad says;"Give your PC the power to see shipping traffic".Doesn't say give your C80 the power to see.I tried every combination,nothing worked on C80,settled for laptop use only for now.Mostly just want to see ships offshore anyway,for now thats it for me.Sounds like most people who actually get both working are using the Brookhouse.

MUX NOT required for simple AIS hookup unless you want to multiplex AIS & GPS or boat data on same NMEA input. I use NMEA input exclusively for AIS & bring in other data on Seatalk using NMEA/Seatalk adaptor.

Assuming you have software upgrade (latest v 4.29) on C80 that supports AIS, set input to: AIS 38400 baud & connect +ve output on AIS rx to white lead on C80 NMEA lead & -ve to green. It will work!

Regards