Raymarine electronics rewiring

[AgusRod]

Hi there!

I just bought a 2007 Dufour 34 Performance which had Raymarine electronics installed. My coworkers just sent me as a gift a brand new Axiom+ 7 to install on it.

I have a master degree in electrical and electronic engineer and I own an electronic's product design company, so I decided to do it myself.

The boat has a S400 Course Computer with a ST6002+ head that sometimes slips from AUTO to stand-by automatically without displaying any error message. I suspect that it has something to do with the wiring since the local Raymarine technician swapped the course computer and the head for new ones before I bought the sailboat. I'm planning to do again all the wiring on the diagram partly to solve this issue and also to have the new MFD next to the tiller wheel.

I wanted to validate the wiring I'm planning to do, but discovered that the Raymarine forum is now closed to new entries. Maybe someone here could take a look at the diagram? I surely will keep it updated for future users to have some validated info for their boats!

Thanks!

[bstreep]

The Raymarine forum is closed, but their technical support is excellent. You just have to get to Level 2. The Level 1 folks are phone answerers.

However. Your RM stuff is now 14 years old, and troublesome. I'd consider starting from scratch. Otherwise, you might find yourself spending way too much of your free time on this, rather than enjoying the boat.

We have installed our RM equipment twice. Hurricane claim on the second one. This will also give you the opportunity to rewire - and remove the all of the old wiring. It's a great feeling!
Also consider what your old equipment is worth on fleabay. We recouped about 1/3 of our replacement equipment that way.

[shimari]

Originally Posted by bstreep

Also consider what your old equipment is worth on fleabay. We recouped about 1/3 of our replacement equipment that way.

You'd be surprised what you can get for your used equipment. Given that, I'd consider updating everything as well if you can. You can use an ITC-5 to keep your sensors and update your displays.

I replaced everything except the sensors and hydraulic ram on my previous boat. It was pretty straight forward. The new displays drop into the same space as the old ST60 displays so no need for glass or gelcoat work.

[George_SD]

I would recommend replacing with newer versions of the gear and selling the old ones. That's what I've done and now have a brand new SeatalkNG setup that is clean, well put together, works reliably and all devices are fully compatible.

[AgusRod]

Hi!

Thanks for your answers but I just bought the D34 after having a J/24 for about ten years. It was quite a step up for me so I plan to try to keep things on a reasonable budget for now.

If anyone feels capable of doing a quick view at the schematics it would be great just to avoid connecting anything wrong.

Thanks!

[Frankly]

Some of your equipment I am not familiar with. Seatalk NG and I suspect NMEA 2000 require termination resistors on the ends of the bus. I have a ST to STNG converter in my system and there are 4 NG ports plus the ST connector (yellow IIRC). Might get by without the extra block or locate it at a different point (I put mine below decks at nav station for future). A Garmin man when it comes to chartplotters.

12 V power needs to feed in close to or at the autopilot power unit. AP the only device in this setup drawing significant power (VHF excepted). Not familiar with 4000 unit. I have the newer EVO system and RM did not power the STNG at the power unit, so I ran the 12V to the AP and then added a 3 amp fuse jumper over to the NG connection. I like Raymarine but they can sometimes go out of their way trying to force you to buy something more expensive. On the old X5 they even had the printed circuit pads for the STNG power just did not provide the fuse mount (that is what I call cheap bast####).

My system has ST, STNG, NMEA 0183, NMEA 0183HS, probably RS232 in there somewhere. It all plays together without a hitch. I really like the STNG connector setup. Obviously designed by somebody that spent time pulling wires on a yacht.

Good luck with the upgrade


Frankly

[Frankly]

One additional item. I have two GPS units below decks (Garmin 94SV and Standard VHF) with built in GPS. Both work fine without external antennas. Might want to run a test, sure simplify things.

[Pizzazz]

I would only replace the autopilot computer. The S400 is too old to be useful and newer autopilots are significantly better. You can either go to a used X series pilot or an evolution pilot, check the prices on eBay and decide what suits you best. I would go for a new evolution pilot.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by AgusRod

Hi!



Thanks for your answers but I just bought the D34 after having a J/24 for about ten years. It was quite a step up for me so I plan to try to keep things on a reasonable budget for now.



If anyone feels capable of doing a quick view at the schematics it would be great just to avoid connecting anything wrong.



Thanks!

There’s no need to have a device net to Seatalk ng converter cable to the Axiom

and the gps antenna typically does not support feeding the signal to two devices. Usually each has its own antenna

[ilCigno]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

There’s no need to have a device net to Seatalk ng converter cable to the Axiom

Yes, you do. The Axioms are NMEA2000 certified and therefore have devicenet connectors only. The devicenet<>SeatalkNG cable is supplied with the plotter however.
I concur with the opinion that your S400 AP computer is really outdated. The EVO AP's are beneficial on installation, use, performance and integrate very well with your Axiom. Also, your AIS cpa calculations will be more accurate due to the heading information from the EV-1. But there is an investment to make, we can't deny that either.

On your schematic, why isn't the A65 plotter connected to SeatalkNG? Not only can it show all the data available on the SeatalkNG/NMEA2000 bus, but also it can draw the GPS position data from it, provided by the Axiom. No need for an extra GPS antenna.

[Frankly]

One other note: NMEA 0183, 0183HS, and Seatalk are all pretty forgiving about wiring and connections. Twisted shielded cable is best but duplex will work in a pinch. Also daisy chain works but so does star type arrangements.

[AgusRod]

Originally Posted by ilCigno

Yes, you do. The Axioms are NMEA2000 certified and therefore have devicenet connectors only. The devicenet<>SeatalkNG cable is supplied with the plotter however.
I concur with the opinion that your S400 AP computer is really outdated. The EVO AP's are beneficial on installation, use, performance and integrate very well with your Axiom. Also, your AIS cpa calculations will be more accurate due to the heading information from the EV-1. But there is an investment to make, we can't deny that either.

On your schematic, why isn't the A65 plotter connected to SeatalkNG? Not only can it show all the data available on the SeatalkNG/NMEA2000 bus, but also it can draw the GPS position data from it, provided by the Axiom. No need for an extra GPS antenna.

Actually the A65 is mounted inside the boat and the only reason of not removing it is to avoid having a large hole on the breaker's board panel. The GPS is shared with the VHF so I wouldn't be able to remove it I think, but it seems reasonable to add a second SeatalkNG-NMEA1803 converter to get all the data on the A65.

Do you think this one would be a good fit?
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?id=2383570

Do you have any suggestion for a new AP? Is it mandatory to change the head also or just swapping the control unit would be enough for now?

Thanks for your time on reviewing this!

[AgusRod]

Originally Posted by AgusRod

Actually the A65 is mounted inside the boat and the only reason of not removing it is to avoid having a large hole on the breaker's board panel. The GPS is shared with the VHF so I wouldn't be able to remove it I think, but it seems reasonable to add a second SeatalkNG-NMEA1803 converter to get all the data on the A65.

Do you think this one would be a good fit?
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?id=2383570

Do you have any suggestion for a new AP? Is it mandatory to change the head also or just swapping the control unit would be enough for now?

Thanks for your time on reviewing this!

Just if it helps on suggestion a new AP Processor, I have this constellation driver installed:

https://www.lewmar.shop/89300086-con...brktchain.html

I tried choosing one on the Raymarine website but failed to understand which ACU- XXX would be bests for that one.

Thanks!!

[Frankly]

The big improvement in AP performance came with the introduction/ addition of heading rate sensors. In the RM line they were optional in the S line, included with the X versions, and I think all the Evo heads are the same and have a multiple axis rate and acceleration sensor (the acceleration is typically to determine which way down is).

You will need a APU version that provides 12V for your clutch and the power to drive your motor. Motor current is a coat of many colors. Might want to hook up your multimeter (most measure directly up to 10 amps) and go for a sail to get some idea of the current draw.

I have tried most of the Raymarine offerings over the years. Much impressed with the new Evo system (except the display push buttons kind of finicky)


Frankly