Help with equipment choices

[goboatingnow]

Now that I’ve my lightening claim sorted I have to upgrade everything electronic in the boat ( all nmea 2000/Seatalk ng units failed )

I am in the raymarine walled garden but open to a discussion

What I have done is replaced the depth tridata ( as the transducers survived) with a i50 tridata

And the AP has been replaced with an EVO1 and control head as I like that AP.

For choices maybe I should have gone for an ITC-5 and an all i70 instrument solution ( I still could offload the new i50)

Choices for the wind are rays gear and a i60 display. ( I don’t put N2K up a mast ) rays wind sensor is pricey , any other options I’m missing

Alternative some other mast head wind sensor ( nasa marine do one ) that’s 0183 , it’s cheaper then Ray but the new axiom units have no 0183 inputs anymore.

This then means a 0183 to Nmea 2K converter and an i60 or better an i70 instrument

For the ais I want to replace the AiS 650 with a AIS 700. Ate there any better value SOTDMA n2k AIS units out there worth considering

For the MFD , I’m leaning towards Axiom or Axiom+. However the Element series mfd looks slightly better value ? Anyone any experiences

If I move away from a ray marine plotter it needs good reasons , ( cost functionality , specific features, garmin retains 0183 support ) I’ve not made a radar choice yet so that doesn’t constrain the MFD choice.

All comments welcome ( ps I’m not putting opencpn etc in )

I notice the Garmin SOTDMA is a reasonable bit cheaper then the ray AIS 700 even though they are the same SRT OEM unit

Update the em-trak B951 is identical and a little cheaper then both !

[Pizzazz]

It is a little bit difficult to follow but:

Autopilot EV1 is an excellent choice. Get the Raymarine wind sensor. It is better than the cheaper alternatives an integrates well. I had a NASA marine sensor, it was OK, accurate but the update and sensitivity adjustments on the Raymarine make it better. Important on a sailboat.

I think the iTC-5 is a good choice to consolidate all your sensors. You can then display them on the chart plotter. I do understand that sailors like to have separate wind, speed and depth displays but each costs $500. A small Axiom costs just a little bit over that. So, consider buying an Axiom just as a repeater display, so have two Axioms side by side, one for instruments, the other for chart. It will be cheaper if you have the space.

Definitely stay with the Axiom family, so that you can share the radar display later. You want the radar display to overlay over the chart. Stay with Raymarine because of the autopilot.

You are overthinking the AIS transmit. Ideally, you want a separate antenna and the receive/transmit function completely separate from VHF. Since you are building the system from scratch, you may want to select components that make DSC work, i.e. if you receive a DSC call, that call to show up on your chart with location. I have rarely seen this working but it is super nice when talking to fellow sailors over VHF (i.e. coordinating a trip together and you just see your buddies on the chart).

Going back to the wind sensor, the Raymarine is great but only works with Raymarine. If you want to take the wind data out of the Raymarine system (i.e. to feed to Open CPN) that would be impossible (Raymarine restricts that). This was one of the reasons I went to NASA marine originally. But then, you can only feed nmea wind data to Raymarine via 0183 (you need the input) or you can use an older Seatalk head that has nmea input. But then the update rate is slow and not always compatible. So, make a choice - if you want the best performance and integration, go Raymarine wind. If you want OpenCPN go with NASA but it will give you a headache.

Pizzazz

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Pizzazz

It is a little bit difficult to follow but:

Autopilot EV1 is an excellent choice. Get the Raymarine wind sensor. It is better than the cheaper alternatives an integrates well. I had a NASA marine sensor, it was OK, accurate but the update and sensitivity adjustments on the Raymarine make it better. Important on a sailboat.

Hmm. The update rate for the wind NASA NMEA 0183 is 10 hz. That’s actually better then the raymarine one. I don’t use wind wane input that much. Rarely use it in AP mode

I think the iTC-5 is a good choice to consolidate all your sensors. You can then display them on the chart plotter.

I can do that anyway in all cases they end up on the Seatalk ng bus. One way or the other currently my i50 does what the ITC-5 does ( for depth and speed )

I do understand that sailors like to have separate wind, speed and depth displays but each costs $500.

Agreed , but I’d prefer not to have total reliance on thd MFD , or switching display pages constantly.

A small Axiom costs just a little bit over that. So, consider buying an Axiom just as a repeater display, so have two Axioms side by side, one for instruments, the other for chart. It will be cheaper if you have the space.

Interesting idea. To some extent since I have one i50 I’ve burned my bridges.

Definitely stay with the Axiom family, so that you can share the radar display later. You want the radar display to overlay over the chart. Stay with Raymarine because of the autopilot.

I’ve no need for sophisticated AP MFD integration as I have a p70 control head. So garmin etc will give me normal N2K integration

Radar , I’ve no current radar , so future radar will follow the selected MFD manufacturer. Garmin is currently better value for a plotter with physical buttons which I like as the axiom pro is very expensive

You are overthinking the AIS transmit. Ideally, you want a separate antenna and the receive/transmit function completely separate from VHF. Since you are building the system from scratch, you may want to select components that make DSC work, i.e. if you receive a DSC call, that call to show up on your chart with location. I have rarely seen this working but it is super nice when talking to fellow sailors over VHF (i.e. coordinating a trip together and you just see your buddies on the chart).

It’s my requirement to use a single antenna , had a splitter for years , worked well

Yes my vhf radio is nmea 2000 and relays DSC details to my plotter and it still works after the lightening ( bless you standard horizon )

Agree separate AIS. This will be the SRT OEM SOTDMA engine which contains an integrated splitter and Nmea 2000 and that works with all modern plotters. Important as my on board mob devices are AIS based. This will be the cheapest of RAY , Garmin or em-trak , all are essentially identical. Garmin is in the lead “ slightly “ as it’s the cheapest.

Going back to the wind sensor, the Raymarine is great but only works with Raymarine. If you want to take the wind data out of the Raymarine system (i.e. to feed to Open CPN) that would be impossible (Raymarine restricts that). This was one of the reasons I went to NASA marine originally. But then, you can only feed nmea wind data to Raymarine via 0183 (you need the input) or you can use an older Seatalk head that has nmea input. But then the update rate is slow and not always compatible. So, make a choice - if you want the best performance and integration, go Raymarine wind. If you want OpenCPN go with NASA but it will give you a headache.

Pizzazz

Not sure you are correct here. My previous raymarine exported everything onto the nmea 2000 including all wind data as the Seatalk to Seatalk ng converted it to NMEA 2000

Hence any other device that reads NMEA 2000 data can access it. I would never consider open cpn until it has native NMEA 2000 functionality.


If I go Ray wind , I have to use a i60 head ( or an itc-5 ) if I go nasa 0183 wind I have to use a 0183 to nmea 2000 converter or a non ray marine MFD that still has 0183 inputs ( garmin )

What you do make me think is I should sell the new I 50 display , and feed everything into an itc -5. Then I could collapse the i60 and I50 into one i70 display plus an mfd. ( or even two plotters as you suggest )

Again I’m not sure the specifics of the NASA 0183 “ headache “ but it’s nearly half the price of the raymarine and nasa isn’t bad stuff.

Thx is for the feedback

[Pizzazz]

My point is, the NASA wind sensor is 10 Hz (correct) but it is output via nmea 0183 at 4800 bps. If you convert this to Seatalk 1, then the Seatalk bus will only output wind at 1 Hz. If you convert it to nmea 2000 then it will depend on the particular converter you use. If you feed it direct into a chart plotter, then it will depend on the chartplotter, some only pass heading at 10 Hz, slowing down everything else, others pass everything at speed. With the iTC-5 and Raymarine you do not have this problem. I do agree that once you get it onto nmea 2000, it is good for all devices.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Pizzazz

My point is, the NASA wind sensor is 10 Hz (correct) but it is output via nmea 0183 at 4800 bps. If you convert this to Seatalk 1, then the Seatalk bus will only output wind at 1 Hz. If you convert it to nmea 2000 then it will depend on the particular converter you use. If you feed it direct into a chart plotter, then it will depend on the chartplotter, some only pass heading at 10 Hz, slowing down everything else, others pass everything at speed. With the iTC-5 and Raymarine you do not have this problem. I do agree that once you get it onto nmea 2000, it is good for all devices.

Yes whatever I use will convert to nmea 2000 directly. I do know Garmin will convert any 0183 data at the rate it’s presents, into nmea 2000 pgns that includes heading.

The only drawback with the itc-5 is you must
Have an i70 in the system. The MFDs ( even Rays) can’t calibrate the itc-5 connected sensors. This kinda kills the two mfd idea