A few electronics questions...

[Iain C]

My boat has the following setup. With the exception of the Axiom, this was all fitted from new in 2004.

On deck:
Axiom 7 plotter
ST60 pilot
ST60 wind
ST60 depth
ST60 speed

Below:
Old Pathfinder B&W plotter/radar
Simrad DSC VHF
Yeoman Compact

Everthing seems to talk fairly happily (I did need to get a SeaTalk to SeaTalk NG converter for the Axiom), and when coming up on a waypoint both plotters bleep, however I have a few questions:

1-The Simrad VHF takes it's position fix (presumably over NMEA083) from the Pathfinder. This means I have to keep the Pathfinder running where to be honest it's not really used. How can I get it to get the GPS position from the Axiom?
2-The Pathfinder has no chart card/chip. It's obviously of limited use, especially as there's also RayRemote and Navionics running on iPads, but if the card was cheap it might be worth it. What's the cheapest card that will get it working?
3-What is the cheapest way of getting AIS data displayed on the Axiom? I'm not bothered about Tx, Rx only is fine.
4-Occasionally, without any warning or error message, the pilot just goes into standby mode which can obviously be a bit of a pain! Any ideas why this might be? Is there a fault code function at all?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[knuterikt]

To little info
What is the model off the VHF?
what model autopilot and what mode are you using when it stops working?
If VHF uses NMEA 2000, you can get position from Axiom that way.
Autopilots tends to misbehave when voltage is low.

 

[prv]

1-The Simrad VHF takes it's position fix (presumably over NMEA083) from the Pathfinder. This means I have to keep the Pathfinder running where to be honest it's not really used. How can I get it to get the GPS position from the Axiom?

You would need a converter from either Seatalk1 or NMEA2000/SeatalkNG; both are available. Personally though, I would fit a standalone GPS receiver (not an instrument with a display, just a "mushroom" with NMEA0183 coming out of it) just for the VHF and powered from the same supply, then it will work independently of everything else.

2-The Pathfinder has no chart card/chip. It's obviously of limited use, especially as there's also RayRemote and Navionics running on iPads, but if the card was cheap it might be worth it. What's the cheapest card that will get it working?

I'm not familiar with those displays, but this answer from Raymarine says they use C-Map on proprietary cards. Different versions of the device use different versions of the cards, and I suspect the older type are no longer available. Force 4 sell some cards that should work in the newer type.

3-What is the cheapest way of getting AIS data displayed on the Axiom? I'm not bothered about Tx, Rx only is fine.

Since you don't have an NMEA0183 input available for the cheapest receivers, and an adapter is likely to eat up more than the price difference, probably this. Plugs into the NMEA2000 bus on one side and an antenna on the other, done.

Pete

 

[Iain C]

PRV great advice, many thanks. I'll investigate the AIS receiver...do you have a recommended "mushroom"?

 

[prv]

PRV great advice, many thanks. I'll investigate the AIS receiver...do you have a recommended "mushroom"?

If you want something "marine" that will work out of the box, probably the Evermore SA320. I've not used it myself, but it's often recommended and looks like the right thing.

The budget alternative is something like the BR355, but it needs a 5v supply rather than 12v so you'd need to add a converter; butchering a car USB charger intended for phones is one approach, but dedicated modules are available on eBay for not much money.

The really cheap alternative is a bare GPS module (plus 12v converter as above) - I got one of these for £6 delivered, for a project a couple of years ago. Not really worth the effort of adding your own protective case for boat use though.

When I installed my DSC VHF some years ago I did option two with a home-made voltage converter on veroboard. Nowadays I'd probably go straight for option one.

Pete

 

[sailaboutvic]

Check your power connection on the autopilot If you have a bad connection it will go into standby .