Electronics Upgrade

[Jjk2783]

Hi all. Last season, my multifunction display’s screen began to display as scrambled. Usually, a couple of taps would “reset” it to show properly but I think that it may be time to upgrade the electronics-a job I dread as I am already far over budget for the 2020 season. I am of the understanding that because it is an analog system, any upgrade would be to digital and therefore everything… chartplotter, radar, auto pilot has to be done at the same time. Is this true? If so, is it possible to sequence the upgrade in order to stretch out the financial hit? I assume that although the screen is scrambled that the data being captured is still correct and the autopilot would still function-so could I use say, Navionics for a season while I save up?

The device Raymarine C80. If it is original equipment to the boat it would be ~33 years.

[WSMFP]

The C80 came out in 2004 timeframe if I remember correctly. I used to run aboat that was a 2006 that had one. There are still some on ebay if you want to replace on a budget. It the rest of the system still works fine and you are on a budget I would go that route.

Or you could also get a repair quote - https://maxmarineelectronics.com/repair-center/

[Discovery 15797]

Your C80 is not 33 years old...maybe about 15 max.

If your C80 screen is the only problem...why not just purchase a used C80 (plenty for sale) until you have time to research and upgrade all your systems.

The C80 use Raymarine's SeaTalk technology. There are converters for SeaTalk to SeaTalkNG, NMEA 0183, and I think NMEA 2000. Depends on what other components you have and their outputs.

[OutOfControl]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Raymarine-C...wAAOSwHbld9~KH

[tkeithlu]

Consider the issue of integrated versus separated electronics. I went the separated route, such that the only integration is getting a GPS signal to the VHF radio for MMSI OMG transmissions. Recently I replaced the Garmin chartplotter that is my backup navigation, but which routinely simply reads heading, speed, and lat/lon for plotting on the paper chart. Aside from being able to replace parts separately (last year it was the radar), I can lose one sytem (OpenCPN on the laptop, say) and still have plenty of sources of knowledge. Your losing your monitor does not allow you that.

But, I have lots of panel space for separate screens and cognitively have no trouble relating what I see on one screen with what I see on another. Either might not be your case. I guess my recommendation is that if you are doing a from-scratch replacement, be aware of the down side to fully integrated glass cockpits before you invest.

[mvweebles]

I went through this last year for my trawler when my old CRT furuno radar crapped out. Options for separate instruments are somewhat limited, expensive, and take up a lot of real estate. I settled for a mid-range 4g radar and 12" MFD. Someday, I'd like to add wind instruments. Was about $5k for Simrad with transducer. B&G would be similar. I felt the cost was reasonable compared to upgrades 20-years ago, plus N2K is super easy to install by a reasonably skilled DIY person

[noelex 77]

These symptoms are quite common for the older Raymarine C series. I have fixed a few for fellow cruisers, as it is usually a simple internal connector that was not well designed and comes loose (hence the intermittant nature of the problem that you have described).

Unfortunately, it takes a reasonable amount of dismantling becore you can access the plug, but if you take it carefully it is an easy fix.

This is the connection that tends to spring out of the plastic clip:

[Jjk2783]

Thank you all for your responses. I will freely admit to knowing nothing (33 y/o device...) but am learning as I go and enjoying the process nonetheless.

[mvweebles]

If you can replace the MFD with a used one for $200, great solution. Buys you time to make a deliberate decision.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Jjk2783

I am of the understanding that because it is an analog system, any upgrade would be to digital and therefore everything… chartplotter, radar, auto pilot has to be done at the same time. Is this true? If so, is it possible to sequence the upgrade in order to stretch out the financial hit?

Just a comment on this: probably NOT analog.

If you have several instruments integrated, I'd guess it's more likely that your network used the older NMEA0183 (digital) standard communications protocol... and it's still quite usable. The newer NMEA2000 protocal doesn't have to be a huge reason to start all over from scratch when the wallet is feeling a bit of a pinch...

So... yes, you can do a bit at a time. (There's an obscure pun in that sentence, now that I read it...) Might help to get kind of an idea about what components might be best networked together in advance, but the market will be moving on in the meantime, so even that's not a critical step. I usually try to stay with a single brand of stuff, but there are legit reasons to sometimes mix and match, too... no hard and fast rules.

You could replace your C80 with a used C80, or maybe with almost any other new or used MFD you've got space for.

-Chris