Autopilot head - NMEA 2000 or NME 0183

[splashman237]

Looking at a Raymarine SPX 5 wheel autopilot, kit seems to come generally with a ST 6002 control head , but can take the 'Colour' ST70 and being a sucker for anything coloured I fancy that option . However the old and new seem to run on different NMEA versions ( NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000) that dont seem too compatible - anyone had any experience with having both on in the same system ? Do they work ok or would I be better with the older version an live with the 'grey' look ))

 

[David2452]

N2K will work alongside 0183 if the inputs / outputs are available and you don't do any funny bridging on the plotter. That said N2K is the way to go with any new kit, it is virtually plug and play and user installs are very straight forward, also future additions are very simple and will probably allow more functionality, especially with AIS / VHF / plotter functions.

 

[Cookee]

N2K will work alongside 0183 if the inputs / outputs are available and you don't do any funny bridging on the plotter. That said N2K is the way to go with any new kit, it is virtually plug and play and user installs are very straight forward, also future additions are very simple and will probably allow more functionality, especially with AIS / VHF / plotter functions.

What David said!

 

[aluijten]

Do bear in mind that the power consumption of the color units is significant higher. The display itself is much more power hungry.

 

[splashman237]

Power looks similar ST6002 200mA and the ST70 220mA so prob ok , think its more the motor drives that sooks up the power 5 amps cont and 10 amp peak.

So the Raymarine 7eD and the ST70 would seem to work ok together and I could use existing NMEA 0183 VHF and AIS to link in, sounds like it might all work. Just the wiring to sort - Raymarine backbone kit or DIY with barrier strips connects ? does the wiring need to meet any marine specs or will normal network cabling do ok ?

 

[ianj99]

Looking at a Raymarine SPX 5 wheel autopilot, kit seems to come generally with a ST 6002 control head , but can take the 'Colour' ST70 and being a sucker for anything coloured I fancy that option . However the old and new seem to run on different NMEA versions ( NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000) that dont seem too compatible - anyone had any experience with having both on in the same system ? Do they work ok or would I be better with the older version an live with the 'grey' look ))

The SPX5 has Seatalkng connectivity but might be worth checking with Raymarine that the ST70 can be used to access all the functions & setup of the SPX5.
N2k is not relevant.

Contact:
jason.sidaway@raymarine.com

 

[David2452]

Raymarine backbone kit or DIY with barrier strips connects ? does the wiring need to meet any marine specs or will normal network cabling do ok ?

The N2K (which seatalkng is in actuality though not necessarily certified) cable needs to have two different gauge twisted pairs as well as the shield, for the purposes of the usual out of the box stuff the power + & - twisted pair is heavier than the CAN hi & CAN lo pair and is rated at 4a. Good quality barrier strips are acceptable in protected areas so you could just use bulk cable which is available from here http://www.osukl.com/NMEA2000_product_map.htm

 

[aluijten]

Power looks similar ST6002 200mA and the ST70 220mA so prob ok

Nope, the ST6002 draws only 60 mA (background lighting off) and the ST70 is using 220 mA and you can't switch off the background light (as you will not see anything anymore on the display).

So the display draws 4 times more power.

I agree it's only 220 mA, but it is using it continuously as opposed to the drive unit.
Again not a huge deal but it does add up to all the rest that is living off the batteries when the engine is not running and you are sailing. This becomes even a bigger problem if you replace all the ST60 stuff with ST70 gizmos.