"RayMarine Radar Extension Cable in Mast, How to route?

[PlumBob]

About 18 months ago, I installed a new Ray RD418HD radome, while the mast was down, and pulled the cable that came with the radome through the mast. I always intended to actually connect the radome to the chart plotter (new C95) "later" - and "later has finally arrived."

I also knew up front that I would need an extension cable, from the base of the mast to the helm. What I didn't realize, until yesterday, is that the extension cable has to connect to the radome. The extension has an 8-pin connector on each end - the same as the connector on the radome, and on the radome-end of the cable that came with the radome.

The connection for the radar on the C95 chart plotter, however, is a 10-pin connector - the same as the connector on the chart plotter-end of the cable that came with the radome.

It looks like I'm going to have to pull the cable up out of the mast, and drop the extension cable back down - or find an appropriate converter 8 pin-to-10 pin. Even with a converter, I don't know if the unit would actually operate with the extension cable at the chart plotter end.

Surely I'm not the only one that has ever run into this oddity. Any suggestions on a fix?

Thanks in Advance.

PB

[aluijten]

Originally Posted by PlumBob

The connection for the radar on the C95 chart plotter, however, is a 10-pin connector - the same as the connector on the chart plotter-end of the cable that came with the radome.

It looks like I'm going to have to pull the cable up out of the mast, and drop the extension cable back down - or find an appropriate converter 8 pin-to-10 pin. Even with a converter, I don't know if the unit would actually operate with the extension cable at the chart plotter end.

Surely I'm not the only one that has ever run into this oddity. Any suggestions on a fix?

Thanks in Advance.

PB

Typically for this radar you buy a single cable matching the required length. Raymarine has different lenghts available. From memory 10,15,20 meters.

This cable has the round chrome connector at the radome side and a RJ-45 connector together with two tails (red and black) on the other side. The two tails take the 12 volt supply to the radome. The RJ-45 is a Ethernet network cable that connects to the plotter. So there is no converter available from the 10 to 8 pin connector as the 2 additional ones are intended for powersupply.
I'm not sure how it works for the c95, but for older models you also need a link-box to connect the Ethernet cable from the plotter to the Ethernet connector of the radar. The connector on the back of the plotter is a special version of a RJ-45 connector as it's splashproof. So normally you use two cables, one from the plotter, one from the radome, coupled via a special box that mirrors the connections between the two cables.

The extension cable is only used when the distances are bigger then standard cables allow.

Hope that helps

[PlumBob]

Originally Posted by aluijten

This cable has the round chrome connector at the radome side and a RJ-45 connector together with two tails (red and black) on the other side.

aluiiten, thanks for the quick reply.

Actually, however, the RJ-45 cables are the generation of cabling before the present ones. If you visit the Raymarine page HERE you see the current cable sets. The first picture one on the page shows a cable - with the connection to the radome on the left (8-pin) and the connection to the chart plotter on the right (10-pin). This 8-pin / 10-pin cable is what I have, and is what came with my radome. ((They do show the RJ-45 cables, and tell you up front that they are ". . .the older "RJ45" radar cables, for those who need to interface to an RJ45 network switch or crossover coupler (etc)" but these are not currently supplied with new equipment.))

Further down on the same Raymarine page, (the 5th - 7th pictures) you see the current generation of Extension Cables. This is the extension cable I have - but notice that both connectors are the 8-pin connector. The extension cable can fit only between the radome and the chart plotter cable, because the 8-pin connector will not fit into the 10-pin chart plotter socket.

So I'm really asking here if anyone has come up with a solution that will keep me from having to pull the chart plotter cable out of the mast (and replacing it with the extension cable.) I am/was hoping that someone here had run into this issue before, and had an innovative solution. It's hard to imagine that I'm the first one to deal with this - LOL

I wish I could edit the title of this thread to make it clear that my question has to do with the Extension Cable issue... Maybe "RayMarine Radar Extension Cable ?" Any mods out there willing to do that?

Again, Thanks in Advance

PB

[Redline452]

Yep, for my RD424HD I ran an "extension" cable in the mast, and the "standard" cable (radar connector one end, RJ45 and flying leads for power on the other) between the mast base and the nav station display.

Fortunately the extension wasn't crazy-longer than needed for the mast; it runs through a "CableClam" deck fitting with the excess coiled belowdecks.

I do think the RM instructions should make it clearer that an extension will be needed, unless you want to pull the cable out of the boat or mast whenever you unstep.



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[Redline452]

... So to answer your question, yes the radar cable will have to come out of the mast to be replaced by the extension. If you are lucky, maybe you can just plug in the extension and use the fits the cable to pull it through ( with some lashing / reinforcement to take the strain off the plugs).



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[PlumBob]

Boo, hisss. LOL

Actually my rigger says he's done this exact replacement before.
None too complimentary of RM.

Thx to all.

PlumBob

[smac999]

is it a cat 5 into the round raynet plug? I can't remember. if so I would just cut off, terminate with rj45, run cat 5 to plotter, and get an seatalkHS (rj45) to raynet converter cable. looks like A80247 is what you'd want http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=55...id=27&col=5597


also this way you retain the joint at the mast if you need to pull it again. instead of running a single cable all the way to the plotter

[dp1404]

Wow am I glad I saw this post.

I was intending to do exactly the same thing with my new Raymarine radar. That is run the radome cable down the mast this spring while the mast was down and then later the extension cable from the base of the mast to the nav station and hook it all together.

And like you I would have been scratching my head why the connections were not working together at the base of the mast and be faced with replacing the inside the mast cable in my slip.

I think I know the answer but one question, does the extension cable carry both the data and the power? So no need for a separate power line from the base of the mast to the radome, correct?

[Redline452]

Correct, it's a single cable that carries data and power.

[Redline452]

(hit post too quickly) ... it's single cable that carries data and power... basically the same as the cable regular "radome cable" (whatever its proper name), except that it has radar-end connectors at both ends (one M, one F), whereas the "inside" cable has a radome plug at one end, with the other end split for power and a data connector (RJ45 style or the new round network plug, depending which model).

[PlumBob]

dp1404 -

Redline is correct. The extension cable has NO connections for power. The power connections are at the chart-plotter end of the "chartplotter" cable.

Glad you saw this, too! ;-)

PB