LJCapteurs in place of Raymarine ST60?

[Dockhead]

Contemplating what I may have to do at the top of the mast.


Does this unit fit on the mounting holes from a Raymarine ST60 wind instrument? Or do I need to bring a drill to the top of the mast?


Not actually looking forward to this.

[a64pilot]

I thought you had an ultrasonic wind instrument?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I thought you had an ultrasonic wind instrument?

I have a Maretron WSO100 which is carp and which has failed for the second time, and which has an upcoming date with the rubbish tip.


The LJCapteurs Model 7 is apparently nearly an order of magnitude more accurate, and is supposed to be bulletproof.


I'm either doing that, or will just adapt the old Ray ST60, which is still up there, but definitely LJCapteurs if there is no insurmountable installation problem.

[a64pilot]

I ask, because it means most likely that you already have NMEA 2000 at the top of the mast, and it appears that the sensor you have selected will also mount on the threaded pole, like the Maretron.
So I think maybe it’s a case of disconnecting the cable and unscrewing the old, and screwing on the new?
Of course have a way to fix it forward, just screwing it on isn’t likely to work well.
https://lcjcapteurs.com/en/girouette...-vent/cv7-c-2/

[a64pilot]

I see it’s only NMEA 0183, and is that price correct?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I see it’s only NMEA 0183, and is that price correct?

Yes, you buy it with the "windy plug", which adapts to N2K and adds barometric pressure, and it's 0183 down the mast rather than N2K. It costs €629 without the windy plug: https://www.svb24.com/en/lcj-capteur...nd-sensor.html


One problem with it is that it doesn't do air temperature, a measurement which I highly value. Seems kind of silly to live the WSO100 up there just for that purpose.

[a64pilot]

Why do you value air temp?
Why not get a different ultrasonic sensor that is native NMEA 2000?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Why do you value air temp?
Why not get a different ultrasonic sensor that is native NMEA 2000?

Well, I have a Maretron DSM250 at my nav table, and highly value the weather display, which gives ground wind direction, speed, barograph, humidity, sunrise, sunset, outside temperature, dew point. It's a really great tool and I refer to it constantly.


Temperature might not matter much to you down there in the tropics, but up here it's vital information.


As it turns out, the LJ Capteurs unit does give temperature, just not humidity. I'll lose dew point (really helpful for fog prediction) but I guess I can live without that, or else just leave the Maretron up there providing that data.


There is no native N2K wind instrument with acceptable performance. The Airmar ones are worse than Maretron -- +/- more than 10 degrees of wind direction in some cases.



So I'm going to have to bite the bullet, which means all the expense and trouble of getting that fat N2K cable up the mast is wasted


But that's the price of my mistake -- not researching this adequately before choosing the Maretron

[a64pilot]

The mechanical B&G isn’t a good instrument?
I was wondering if you were correcting for density altitude or something, less dense air even if wind speed is the same has way less effect as does more dense air.
The effect of air density from temp makes a huge difference in aircraft performance, and I’m sure with sailboats too.
But yes when outside temp and dew point get within about 2 degrees, fog is real likely especially with just a little wind

My Maretron is still hanging in there, and my Vesper will display everything except humidity, but my barometer displays that.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

The mechanical B&G isn’t a good instrument?
I was wondering if you were correcting for density altitude or something, less dense air even if wind speed is the same has way less effect as does more dense air.
The effect of air density from temp makes a huge difference in aircraft performance, and I’m sure with sailboats too.
But yes when outside temp and dew point get within about 2 degrees, fog is real likely especially with just a little wind

My Maretron is still hanging in there, and my Vesper will display everything except humidity, but my barometer displays that.Attachment 188725

You should check out the weather screen on the Maretron DSM displays:





The DSM250 was expensive when I bought it, but there is a smaller much cheaper version availabl now with the same screens.

[a64pilot]

It doesn’t tell me anything that I don’t already have with my barometer, plus it’s calibrated to NIST standards and came with a cal card.
Neither gives me sun rise and sun set, but my plotter I think does.

My boat isn’t near as complex as yours, but complex enough for what I want.
I understand that more data is interesting, just I don’t think I have a need.
When my wind sensor bites the dust, I assume I’ll replace it with a B&G 608 because it’s native NMEA 2000, however I don’t like mechanical sensors because of birds, and of course I would lose a lot of data too.
Currently my Maretron is good enough.
I leave it powered 24/7 and hope that maybe why it hasn’t died yet, cause it has seen some serious driving rain, Irma was probably the worst it’s seen.

[JayH]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Contemplating what I may have to do at the top of the mast.


Does this unit fit on the mounting holes from a Raymarine ST60 wind instrument? Or do I need to bring a drill to the top of the mast?


Not actually looking forward to this.

No, it isn't the same hole pattern. I opted for a combination of VHB tape and 5200. Its been up there for over a year now.

[s/v Jedi]

check out Yacht Devices for barometer, temperature N2K sensors:
https://yachtdevicesus.com/collections/all

My WSO100 is still okay, but Maretron replaced it twice. IKt's on my stern arch, see pic. I saw they discontinued it now.

I'm still eying the Airmar 120WX as a possible replacement... seems good enough for me.

[SCarns]

I have the original CV7 and I love it. Had an old standard horizon at the masthead I replaced. I had to send the bucket up with the drill in it, but am happy I did.

Yes it does air temp.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

check out Yacht Devices for barometer, temperature N2K sensors:
https://yachtdevicesus.com/collections/all

My WSO100 is still okay, but Maretron replaced it twice. IKt's on my stern arch, see pic. I saw they discontinued it now.

I'm still eying the Airmar 120WX as a possible replacement... seems good enough for me.

Before you buy the Airmar, have a look at the specifications -- even worse than the WSO100. +/- something like 15 degrees of wind direction under some circumstances, IIRC!


Racers don't use these devices, and I don't think that's an accident.



I liked the stability of my two WSO100's, which gave a false impression of accuracy, but I eventually realized that they were not telling me within single digit degrees what I needed to know when sailing upwind, so, surprisingly, much less accurate than the old Raymarine ST60 wind instrument which it replaced.


The LJCapteurs wind instrument is accurate to about 2 degrees, similar to quality mechanical ones.


You don't need a great deal of accuracy EXCEPT when sailing deep downwind, or beating upwind. I do a lot of long upwind passages because of where I sail, and for really good sail trim you need to know. I use wind steering on the pilot when sailing hard on the wind for long passages, and the stability of the WSO100 was a significant advantage, but the lack of accuracy was a big minus.