Question about NMEA

[Bob Baldwin]

I have just wired a new Humminbird GPS to my old Raymarine RL70c
radar, and everything is fine, so far. I also have on order a fluxgate
compass that I plan to wire to the second NMEA input of the radar. The
radar is designed to handle two NMEA data inputs, but will there be any
kind of conflict between the two inputs as it applies to MARPA? I want
the radar to be able to track thunderstorm direction while I'm fishing
at anchor. Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

bob baldwin
bryan, texas

 

[Larry]

I have just wired a new Humminbird GPS to my old Raymarine RL70c
radar, and everything is fine, so far. I also have on order a fluxgate
compass that I plan to wire to the second NMEA input of the radar. The
radar is designed to handle two NMEA data inputs, but will there be any
kind of conflict between the two inputs as it applies to MARPA? I want
the radar to be able to track thunderstorm direction while I'm fishing
at anchor. Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

bob baldwin
bryan, texas

Nope. They work fine......as long as you don't input TWO instruments
putting out the SAME data...slightly ajar...which makes everything jump
around like crazy...(c;

The fluxgate statements are completely different than the GPS statements.
MARPA will use what it wants and ignore the rest. The RL70's display WILL
respond to the nice fluxgate's DIRECTION information when the damned boat
is still and no GPS direction data is valid. It's smart enough to know
when....near zero speed...to use the difference.

By the way, GPS output to anything else from here will have BOTH GPS and
fluxgate data statements on it IF YOU TURN THEM ON from the GPS menu tree.

Lionheart has an RL70CRC with the same inputs. Our GPSes (2) are switched
so only one can be on the line at any one time....just a little mini toggle
switch.

 

[Bob Baldwin]

Nope. They work fine......as long as you don't input TWO instruments
putting out the SAME data...slightly ajar...which makes everything jump
around like crazy...(c;

The fluxgate statements are completely different than the GPS statements.
MARPA will use what it wants and ignore the rest. The RL70's display WILL
respond to the nice fluxgate's DIRECTION information when the damned boat
is still and no GPS direction data is valid. It's smart enough to know
when....near zero speed...to use the difference.

By the way, GPS output to anything else from here will have BOTH GPS and
fluxgate data statements on it IF YOU TURN THEM ON from the GPS menu tree.

Lionheart has an RL70CRC with the same inputs. Our GPSes (2) are switched
so only one can be on the line at any one time....just a little mini toggle
switch.

Thanks for the answer - good info! I have searched for NMEA problems and
solutions, but have never found this particular question asked. The GPS
will come from an aux output from the Humminbird 997c fish finder. If
necessary, I can easily disable GPS out from it's menu, leaving the
compass to talk to the radar while checking for storms in the area.
Thanks again - most appreciated!

bob baldwin
bryan, texas

 

[Larry]

Thanks for the answer - good info! I have searched for NMEA problems and
solutions, but have never found this particular question asked. The GPS
will come from an aux output from the Humminbird 997c fish finder. If
necessary, I can easily disable GPS out from it's menu, leaving the
compass to talk to the radar while checking for storms in the area.
Thanks again - most appreciated!

Leave both the GPS statements and compass statements streaming. Not only
will the chartplotter/radar know WHERE you are, but when you slow it will
show which way the bow is headed (or if you have it set for "course up"
instead of North up, it will point the boat in the right direction no
matter what the speed is.) GPS doesn't know which way the boat's headed,
that's calculated after two GPS fixes by the electronics which THEN points
the boat the way it's going. At rest, GPS has no idea which way you're
pointing....(c;]

Keep an eye on everyone's GPS, especially when they are installing it.
Watch them try to get the antenna in perfect alignment with centerline on
the keel. It's too funny. Which way the stupid antenna is pointing has
nothing to do with the GPS' directions....

....turn it sideways and it reads the same.

 

[Bob Baldwin]

Thanks for the answer - good info! I have searched for NMEA problems and
solutions, but have never found this particular question asked. The GPS
will come from an aux output from the Humminbird 997c fish finder. If
necessary, I can easily disable GPS out from it's menu, leaving the
compass to talk to the radar while checking for storms in the area.
Thanks again - most appreciated!

Leave both the GPS statements and compass statements streaming. Not only
will the chartplotter/radar know WHERE you are, but when you slow it will
show which way the bow is headed (or if you have it set for "course up"
instead of North up, it will point the boat in the right direction no
matter what the speed is.) GPS doesn't know which way the boat's headed,
that's calculated after two GPS fixes by the electronics which THEN points
the boat the way it's going. At rest, GPS has no idea which way you're
pointing....(c;]

Keep an eye on everyone's GPS, especially when they are installing it.
Watch them try to get the antenna in perfect alignment with centerline on
the keel. It's too funny. Which way the stupid antenna is pointing has
nothing to do with the GPS' directions....

...turn it sideways and it reads the same.

I agree completely. I have been using a handheld GPS to feed the radar,
and have been wanting proper heading input for MARPA for years now. With
the new GPS antenna mounted well above the T top, I figured it would be
a good time to wire it and a new compass to the radar at the same time.
The 997c will serve as the chartplotter, and the radar will help me
watch for weather, etc. I only fish fresh water lakes now, but I still
like to be as safe as possible while on the water. Plus, electronic toys
are always fun, too.

Thanks again,

bob baldwin
bryan, texas

 

[Larry]

Plus, electronic toys
are always fun, too.

By the way, in case you're having a weak moment while looking at
Raymarine's "Smart Heading Sensor" in some catalog or webpage, I'll let
you in on a secret....we have one.....IT SUCKS.

The Raymarine Compass sensor that feeds it is just as bad.

The OTHER compass sensor on Lionheart is the B&G Network Compass sensor
that's part of the B&G Network PILOT autopilot. It's much more
responsive and accurate as the Raymarine one that feeds the stupid Smart
Heading Sensor. Cap'n regrets buying it.....and it was expensive.

Just in case you spot it looking at electronic toys....(c;

Our GPSes are one old Garmin GPS182 with the chartplotter/charting
sonar, which is now our backup unit, and the Raymarine Raystar 120 GPS
receiver that's built right into the little radome, itself. You feed it
12VDC and it feeds you GPS information back down the same cable. It's
the best piece of Raymarine stuff on the boat.





I assume your using the 2KW Raymarine radar unit, right? The one in the
plastic case with the rubber tit drain in the bottom of it held together
with only 4 screws that doesn't seal?

Just for fun, unscrew the 4 screws and take the cover off it being
careful not to lose the rubber ring it sticks to......

Look very closely at the grey pot metal box the radar unit is mounted
in. Is it corroded up with lots of white powder (pot metal oxide?)? Is
any of the white powder getting on the horizontal circuit boards inside
the box you can see through the holes in it where the wires go into
their clips? Is there any rust, at all, on the little magnetron's soft
iron core, which will eventually short out its magnetics and screw it up
when the core shorts?

Most importantly - Is there any MOISTURE in the bottom of the box in
those little channels in the casting?

We're on radar unit number 4 and it's still working, but I'm afraid to
look inside..... The other ones ROTTED when it rained inside from
condensation.....

 

[Bob Baldwin]

By the way, in case you're having a weak moment while looking at
Raymarine's "Smart Heading Sensor" in some catalog or webpage, I'll let
you in on a secret....we have one.....IT SUCKS.

The Raymarine Compass sensor that feeds it is just as bad.

The OTHER compass sensor on Lionheart is the B&G Network Compass sensor
that's part of the B&G Network PILOT autopilot. It's much more
responsive and accurate as the Raymarine one that feeds the stupid Smart
Heading Sensor. Cap'n regrets buying it.....and it was expensive.

Just in case you spot it looking at electronic toys....(c;

Our GPSes are one old Garmin GPS182 with the chartplotter/charting
sonar, which is now our backup unit, and the Raymarine Raystar 120 GPS
receiver that's built right into the little radome, itself. You feed it
12VDC and it feeds you GPS information back down the same cable. It's
the best piece of Raymarine stuff on the boat.





I assume your using the 2KW Raymarine radar unit, right? The one in the
plastic case with the rubber tit drain in the bottom of it held together
with only 4 screws that doesn't seal?

Just for fun, unscrew the 4 screws and take the cover off it being
careful not to lose the rubber ring it sticks to......

Look very closely at the grey pot metal box the radar unit is mounted
in. Is it corroded up with lots of white powder (pot metal oxide?)? Is
any of the white powder getting on the horizontal circuit boards inside
the box you can see through the holes in it where the wires go into
their clips? Is there any rust, at all, on the little magnetron's soft
iron core, which will eventually short out its magnetics and screw it up
when the core shorts?

Most importantly - Is there any MOISTURE in the bottom of the box in
those little channels in the casting?

We're on radar unit number 4 and it's still working, but I'm afraid to
look inside..... The other ones ROTTED when it rained inside from
condensation.....

Larry,
I had seen various Raymarine heading sensors while searching for a
compass, but I don't know anything about them. I have never even seen a
fluxgate compass for that matter, but have a KVH Azimuth 1000 on order.
I'm hoping it's all I need for MARPA. My boat is a very small 19' center
console with a custom Tops N Towers "T" top. The boat is used only for
recreational fishing.
The radar scanner is Raymarine's 4kw radome with 7 screws that hold
the top down. It seems to seal very well, but I _have_ seen references
to moisture buildup inside the dome from condensation, and I removed
that rubber tit years ago. I have looked inside several times over the
years, and haven't seen any problems yet, but I do know the potential is
there. I have only been on fresh water lakes since installing the radar.
I may even drill a few holes in the bottom of the case to allow a little
air to move through.

Thanks, Larry

bob baldwin
bryan, texas

 

[Bob Baldwin]

That's just Larry beating the dead horse. The vast majority of users
have absolutely no trouble with their radomes. Larry just ceaselessly
whines about it.

I didn't know if I was just one of the lucky ones, but I've been happy
with the old Raymarine unit. That model (RL70C) was fairly new on the
market when I got it, and the radome (4kw) seal is actually so good that
the top is kind of hard to pry off. It's the condensation that I'm
concerned about, but the drain tit has been removed - that gives a
little larger hole for it to breathe. There is a newer model radome now,
if/when I do have problems with the old one. And an open array would be
nice to have too, but not at all necessary on a little recreational
boat, and a lot more expensive than the dome.

Thanks, Bill

bob baldwin
bryan, texas

 

[Larry]

That's just Larry beating the dead horse. The vast majority of users
have absolutely no trouble with their radomes. Larry just ceaselessly
whines about it.

Being in denial doesn't fix the pot metal and plastic Raymarine crap.

 

[Larry]

Is there something that can be done to prevent the moisture damage?
Holes? Dessicant? Spray?

I never found anything. You can't pressure seal it because the plastic top
just couldn't take the pressure differential and it only has 4 screws
holding the whole flimsy top on. The seal is not a pressure seal, anyways,
and would simply blow out or in opening a hole.

The hole is already in the bottom. It has a rubber drain tit so sea spray
can't just spray up into the hole that's about 3/8" the rubber tit fits
through.

There's way too much condensate formed for any dessicant. The dome
breathes out when it's in the sun in the day, then sucks in that wonderful
100% afternoon humidity present in any seaside marina as the dome cools
after the sun goes down. The thin dome gets colder than the guts inside,
so the water in the freshly breathed in air condensates in the now-colder
saturated internal air, condensing, finally, on the cheap pot metal
chassis/shield that SHOULD have been made of something non-corrosive for
the $2000 they want for it. The box the electronics is in SHOULD have been
sealed with waterproof connectors to hook the control/power cable to, but
it's wide open to this swamp with these cheap little PC board wire clips to
save Raymarine's profits so the whole swamp gets INSIDE where the decaying
pot metal drips onto the internal PC boards, destroying them. The nightly
internal rainstorm rots the magnetron's soft iron core destroying it.

The antenna, nothing but a piece of printed circuit board with stripline
elements etched into it isn't sealed against this rot, either, or is its
wide-open rotating connector the little cassette tape player motor turns
with a rubber belt.

Someone needs their ass kicked besides anyone who DARES talk about it.....

Look in one for yourself.......before you buy it, preferably.