Garmin GPSMAP 520 Q
- Thread starter vas
- Start date
rafiki_
Well-Known Member
Paul, Lewci looks great, and you have presented a really nice web site. How are enquiries going? I am contemplating putting Raf on the market, and in the broker v self help quandary.
PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
Thanks.
Enquiries have been very slow to be honest. I recently spoke to a friend who's a broker (too far from me to sell Lewci) and he feels the asking price is spot on. He has suggested trying her with a local broker, which i think i'll do after Christmas. I also had a chat with another forumite who said whist selling his people seemed to feel more comfortable buying through a broker. Then again, several have been sold on here privately.
rafiki_
Well-Known Member
Yes, this is the dilemma we are in. There are some very poor brokers around, however, if you get a good one, they can be more re-assuring than a private sale.
PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
Agreed. We've been looking around for the next boat and the differences in brokers is night and day. One local-ish broker has shone above others, so will see what they want to hep with a sale.
rafiki_
Well-Known Member
Vas, apologies for Fred Drift. Paul, we are being quoted 6% above £50k, 8% below. I think 5% is the going rate on the Sarf coast as there is much more competition. NYA are the best IMHO in your area.
PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the figures. Funnily enough, it was NYA that i was thinking of.
rafiki_
Well-Known Member
Sorry Vas, as Paul said earlier, no flush mounting kit with my 520
vas
Well-Known Member
no worries with the OT, hope the sales do happen and you end up with a larger, nicer, more expensive and more fuel drinking vessel soon 
Paul, can you plz confirm that the 500series screen cover WONT snap/fit on the flush mount kit if you decide to remove the bugger for the winter storage?
And just to warn others that may come across that, tried updating the s/w on the 520 (was rather old ver), so downloaded the s/w built a SD card on my notebook, tried it nada. Plotter didn't seem to bother with me sticking in/out cards!
After a day of frustration I came across some v.helpful info:
Old s/w ver. plotters are often limited to 2GB SD cards, after the update go up to 8GB.
You guessed, I was using a 4 and an 8gig card
Nicked the 1GB card from daughter's camera and all worked fine, so size does matter
Now according to Paul's suggestion I'm trying to find a fishfinder that outputs NMEA to plug it to the 520.
Further I'm thinking of getting an AIS that does USB and NMEA, or even a dual station VHF with AIS (but it gets expensive and I'm not so sure I want to spend all that money on that sort of thing right now...)
cheers
V.
Paul, can you plz confirm that the 500series screen cover WONT snap/fit on the flush mount kit if you decide to remove the bugger for the winter storage?
And just to warn others that may come across that, tried updating the s/w on the 520 (was rather old ver), so downloaded the s/w built a SD card on my notebook, tried it nada. Plotter didn't seem to bother with me sticking in/out cards!
After a day of frustration I came across some v.helpful info:
Old s/w ver. plotters are often limited to 2GB SD cards, after the update go up to 8GB.
You guessed, I was using a 4 and an 8gig card
Nicked the 1GB card from daughter's camera and all worked fine, so size does matter
Now according to Paul's suggestion I'm trying to find a fishfinder that outputs NMEA to plug it to the 520.
Further I'm thinking of getting an AIS that does USB and NMEA, or even a dual station VHF with AIS (but it gets expensive and I'm not so sure I want to spend all that money on that sort of thing right now...)
cheers
V.
PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
no worries with the OT, hope the sales do happen and you end up with a larger, nicer, more expensive and more fuel drinking vessel soon
Thanks
Assuming it's the same as the 551, which it looks to be, the cover fit the plotter the same is it would if it was bracket mounted. If you took the plotter out, the cover would not go over the flush mount kit.
Pretty sure Comar do a USB and NMEA AIS.
Garmin do a black box VHF with built in AIS, which is a very nice bit of kit, but circa £800, plus about £120 for the second station handset. It's very nice and works very well, but as you say, expensive. Also wouldn't give you USB AIS.
I'm guessing that you want USB AIS for a laptop ? If that's the case, it may be a better option to go for a standard AIS and a multiplexor. You could feed data from a fishfinder, AIS and the plotter to the multiplexor and output that data as a single stream to the plotter and a laptop. The laptop could be loaded with something like OpenCPN and you can then have everything on one screen. See the pic below, a screenshot from a Toshiba M400 Laptop/Tablet, all data sent to the laptop from a Bluetooth multiplexor.
Tim_B
New Member
Vas, you may also consider using WIFI instead of Bluetooth/hard wiring a USB lead for the multiplexor side of things. the one in the link has 2 NMEA inputs, but you can also get them with 4+ (more money though of course).
http://www.amazon.com/Comar-NMEA-2-WIFI-NMEA-WIFI-Converter/dp/B0087HHJIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353002584&sr=8-1&keywords=comar+nmea
http://www.amazon.com/Comar-NMEA-2-WIFI-NMEA-WIFI-Converter/dp/B0087HHJIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353002584&sr=8-1&keywords=comar+nmea
vas
Well-Known Member
Paul and Tim,
the idea of going wireless in the boat is not bad, however it's a tad difficult to justify it as I only have my laptop with opencpn to work with.
If you suggest a freebie prog that would utilise android mobiles and my android lenovo tablet, I'd probably bite, but as far as I can see a 200euro worth dual AIS with NMEA and USB output is all I need to get me going.
Mind that down here AIS and definitely DSC are not common don't think anyone bothers registering DSC etc so not so keen for now. Don't forget I got a massive list of must/should dos that will leave me with empty pockets...
Paul, seen the garmin black box, noway I can persuade myself that I "must have" that
An el-cheapo VHF with a second control for the f/b would be nice though as the Sailor classic VHF will remain in the chart table (but of limited use as it's only got 8-10chanels ) and the polaris VHF that is currently on the lower helm is awful and would happily scrap it!
cheers
V.
the idea of going wireless in the boat is not bad, however it's a tad difficult to justify it as I only have my laptop with opencpn to work with.
If you suggest a freebie prog that would utilise android mobiles and my android lenovo tablet, I'd probably bite, but as far as I can see a 200euro worth dual AIS with NMEA and USB output is all I need to get me going.
Mind that down here AIS and definitely DSC are not common don't think anyone bothers registering DSC etc so not so keen for now. Don't forget I got a massive list of must/should dos that will leave me with empty pockets...
Paul, seen the garmin black box, noway I can persuade myself that I "must have" that
An el-cheapo VHF with a second control for the f/b would be nice though as the Sailor classic VHF will remain in the chart table (but of limited use as it's only got 8-10chanels
) and the polaris VHF that is currently on the lower helm is awful and would happily scrap it!cheers
V.
vas
Well-Known Member
hm, an update on nav hardware and a few more NMEA Qs
so it seems that I'll be getting yoda's old NASA AIS black box (NMEA only!) connected to the Garmin.
I'm also getting a stanalone non DSC dual station VHF, so sorted there.
However, got a couple of things in mind re radar and fishfinder/depth.
First Q is for the Garmin:
Will the Garmin output a few things on its NMEA out?
I mean can I get it to send the GGA or RMC or RMA or GLL strings from its own internal GPS?
Can it ALSO send the AIS info that will be getting from the NASA?
These are for using on another laptop and save my own GPS inside VAIO...
Also, same thing with the intelligent transducer I'm thinking of getting (found one new relisted at 100usd, so I'm probably going to get it)
in effect, will ONE set of NMEA wires OUT from the 520 be able to send so many sentences? Are they all sent in the same baud rate? how does that thing work anyway? Any pointers accepted!
cheers
V.
so it seems that I'll be getting yoda's old NASA AIS black box (NMEA only!) connected to the Garmin.
I'm also getting a stanalone non DSC dual station VHF, so sorted there.
However, got a couple of things in mind re radar and fishfinder/depth.
First Q is for the Garmin:
Will the Garmin output a few things on its NMEA out?
I mean can I get it to send the GGA or RMC or RMA or GLL strings from its own internal GPS?
Can it ALSO send the AIS info that will be getting from the NASA?
These are for using on another laptop and save my own GPS inside VAIO...
Also, same thing with the intelligent transducer I'm thinking of getting (found one new relisted at 100usd, so I'm probably going to get it)
in effect, will ONE set of NMEA wires OUT from the 520 be able to send so many sentences? Are they all sent in the same baud rate? how does that thing work anyway? Any pointers accepted!
cheers
V.
PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
Looking at the manual, the plotter has two ports. Each port has IN and OUT. You could set one port to standard and use it for depth input, with the other set to high speed for AIS input. That would mean the port you use for depth would also transmit at standard speed, with the AIS port transmitting at high speed.
I'm pretty sure that both ports will transmit all available NMEA sentances.
vas
Well-Known Member
Paul,
that's the thing I wanted to hear
Wasn't clear if you only configure the speed of the ports or also WHAT is transmitted, but I assume the GPSMAP works as a multiplexer sort of thing so all NMEA strings are outputed on the relevant ports and listens to all input that makes sense...
So, yes, I could have all data send to my old netbook and wont need a gps receiver on it (ok, for redundancy I do have a bluetooth gps thing from an old setup, so I could use it if/when the garmin fails completely
Also toying with the idea of getting a sounder blackbox for the 520 if I get one reasonably cheap... Maybe a GSD-20 or 21 for 100euro, anyone???
Else, I'll go for an AIRMAR DT800 NMEA0183 smartsensor for 140euro and be done with depth only and use a handheld fishfinder at the tender when going fishing with the son...
cheers
V.
PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
Paul,
that's the thing I wanted to hear
Wasn't clear if you only configure the speed of the ports or also WHAT is transmitted, but I assume the GPSMAP works as a multiplexer sort of thing so all NMEA strings are outputed on the relevant ports and listens to all input that makes sense...
So, yes, I could have all data send to my old netbook and wont need a gps receiver on it (ok, for redundancy I do have a bluetooth gps thing from an old setup, so I could use it if/when the garmin fails completely
Also toying with the idea of getting a sounder blackbox for the 520 if I get one reasonably cheap... Maybe a GSD-20 or 21 for 100euro, anyone???
Else, I'll go for an AIRMAR DT800 NMEA0183 smartsensor for 140euro and be done with depth only and use a handheld fishfinder at the tender when going fishing with the son...
cheers
V.
You can set the port speed, the TX and RX speed for each port s the same on the 500 series. You can also configure what is transmitted. My 551 (slightly updated version of your 520) receives depth data from the fishfinder, which it displays digitally. It also transmits depth, GPS, speed, course etc to a MUX, which then broadcasts the data to my laptop via Bluetooth.
When choosing a depth transducer, remember your plotter only has NMEA 0183 and Canet inputs. You cannot use the GSD20/21
vas
Well-Known Member
OK, thanks for the pointer, I did search around garmin website on the discontinued range and came up with:
GSD20 wont work
GSD21 will work, check here
GSD22 will work, check here
There's also a GSD24 and GSD26 but these wont work.
Anyway, that's a long shot as I have to find one dirt cheap, but good to know what to look for!
sorry, added that obviously I wont buy the NMEA0183 smart sensor if I go the GSD22 route!
cheers
V.
Last edited:
PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
The GSD20/21/22/24/26 will not work with your plotter. These are all fishfinder black boxes and although a couple do connect using Canet, they are not compatible with the 520. There is no way to get a fishfinder display on the 520, you can only get digital depth and that's only possible with NMEA0183, unless a Canet transducer exists, which i don't think is the case.
vas
Well-Known Member
Paul,
sorry but not according to my interpretation of the GPS500 series owner's manual that is my bedtime reading these days
p32. first NOTE reads (it's on setting sonar alarms btw) :
You must have a transducer connected. If your unit does not have a built-in sounder, then you must install a GSD 21 or GSD 22 sounder module to receive sonar information.
further down on p.35 Using Sonar:
When connected to a transducer your unit becomes a powerful fishfinder/flasher. If your unit does not have a built-in sounder, you can connect a Garmin GSD 21 or GSD 22 sounder module to your unit to use the sonar features.
finally on p.50 (Installing the unit to a Garmin CANet):
The unit is a CANet-compatible Garmin device, and can send or receive sonar information from another CANet compatible Garmin device. Using the CANet optimizes the performance of CANet compatible units (????) allowing sonar information from a Sounder or Fishfinder to be shared with up to two CANet compatible Garmin GPS units. A standard NMEA connection only allows depth, temperature and speed information to be sent to a single GPS device, whereas a CANet connection provides full sonar readings, including Ultrascrolltm, so you can view and control the same information on your compatible Garmin GPS unit(s) as you can on your compatible Garmin Sounder or Fishfinder.
a slight catch that I don't quite get is that the note below this text reads:
To use the Garmin CANet with your unit, you must obtain a CANet Kit. Contact your Garmin dealer, or visit www.garmin.com
I'm familiar with CAN buses (I guess that's what Garmin CANet is...) so I'm not at all considering forking out 50usd or euro for a 10K resistor to terminate a fcking bus, ffs!
your views plz!
cheers
V.
PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
The compatibility lists for the GSD units don't include your plotter, so conflict a bit with the manual. I'd double check with Garmin. But, as you'd still need to buy a transducer to use with the black box, i'm not sure there would be a saving, although you would have fishfinder display, if it works.