B&G Vulcan 7

[SteveA]

I'm considering upgrading to one of these and would like peoples opinion of how easy it is to use and the usefulness of the lay line screens. Also can anyone tell me if I will be able to interface it (it uses NMEA 2000) with my existing ST2000 autopilot, Navman 7200 VHF and TackTick speed and depth instruments which use NMEA 0183?

 

[pvb]

It might be a lot easier to upgrade to a Zeus2, which does have NMEA0183 connectivity, as well as similar layline capability.

 

[bitbaltic]

Also can anyone tell me if I will be able to interface it (it uses NMEA 2000) with my existing ST2000 autopilot, Navman 7200 VHF and TackTick speed and depth instruments which use NMEA 0183?

You've answered the question- it uses N2K and does not have an 0183 port. Therefore it will not interface directly with the rest of your instruments. you will need an 0183 to N2K converter. Actisense make them and the Simrad AT10 will also be an option. However this will all add additional cost. It's the prime reason why I didn't buy a vulcan or the identical Simrad Go7 a couple of years ago- the lack of an 0183 port is becoming more and more a feature of MFDs.

 

[Norman_E]

Actisense make NMEA2000 to NMEA0183 gateways, and you will need one if you want to communicate between the two systems. The big issue however is whether just one single gateway will handle it because NMEA0183 is a single talker, multiple listener protocol, which makes it easy to send an NMEA0183 signal via a gateway to an NMEA2000 instrument, but harder to set up the other way round. You may also need an NMEA0183 multiplexer. It is much easier if you use a plotter that has NMEA 0183 receive and transmit built in. I am assuming you want to send nav information to the autopilot and receive DSC polling from the VHF as a minimum. and possibly receive depth information for display on the plotter. NMEA0183 can be pretty difficult when it comes to getting two makes of instrument to communicate due to different connection systems. There is some handy information here http://boatprojects.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/beginners-guide-to-nmea-2000-nmea-0183.html and Actisense publish a guide to NMEA0183, though I cannot now find it on their website.

 

[ex-Gladys]

I don't have B&G, but have Garmin 751 with laylines, and Tacktick instruments, all linked together it works a treat, particularly as the plotter can use SOG to calculate true wind as opposed to speed thru water