Interfacing a Furuno GP32 to Raymarine ST2000

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IanEdwards

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I'm trying to interface a Furuno GP32 to a Raymarine ST2000.
The GP32 is talking to the DSC VHF (Navman) and a very old Global Marine Multi. I can see bearing and distance, don't know about cross track because the boat out of the water, but the ST2000 won't lock. I've tried many combinations of NMEA and wiring, but just can't get the two to talk. The system worked well with my old Micrologic GPS .... but unfortunatly it gave up the goast at the end of last season.

Any one got a GP32 and a ST2000 to talk?

Cheers
Ian
 
Hi Ian,

I have a Furuno 1650 chartplotter and a Raymarine ST5000 autopilot that work fine.

Although I cannot give a definitive answer to your question, it may be that your autopilot needs to be adjusted to accept NMEA input rather than Seatalk. Seatalk is, as you probably know, Raymarine's protocol for linking their own products, and may be the default setting.

Hope this helps - Good luck!
 
Have you tried changing the different versions of NMEA on the Furuno? If that facility is available?
Commonly most will run 1.5,2.0 and later ones NMEA 2000.
You should be able to change these somewhere in the menu.
1.5 should run most things...but odd things have been known to happen when you try and feed an older product with later NMEA data mainly due to the extra digits on the position which some cant handle, and rather than truncating it they see it as a checksum error.

Steve.
 
Wasn't aware the older ST2000 did nmea. Thought it was only seatalk. Could be wrong, but I've got one and a Furuno gps 31/32 & I've never bothered trying to interface. I'll stand corrected on this, but thought only the st2000+ was nmea compliant.
 
On the GP31, when you GOTO then ROUTE, ENT, then cursor to your route, press ENT and a choice of Forward or Reverse comes up. Its under 'Navigation' in my 31 manual
 
If Twisterkai is right, then you need to add the Raymarine interface box (which was 120 squids a few years ago) but it does enable you to add onto your system easily. It converts Seatalk/NMEA to each other.
 
Hi,
Thanks for all the input, the ST2000's, I have 2 'cause they aren't very relaiable and I sail single handed most ofthe time, they are only 2 and 4 years old so they must be + or something and took NMEA from my old Micrologic GPS, no problem. I've also got a seatalk interface box, 85001, cost £100 'ish, they don't work through this either. So I can only conclude that the GP32 is putting out a different NMEA string which the Raymarine kit doesn't like.
I'm going to use a laptop today to see if I can read the NMEA strings .... might get to the bottom of the problem.
Cheers
Ian
 
I've got an ST3000(not +) (basically same electronic control as ST2000(not +)) being fed from a Navman 5500 via an interface box. When it was fed from an old AP Mk6, on track function, it would bleep when at the waypoint and await for a confirmation push on the buttons to go to the next waypoint. With the feed from the Navman, I get a bleep at the waypoint, but then have to reset it to go to the next waypoint - taking it out of track and then back in.

I also noticed that the output from the 5500 would not register on my older Furuno radar, but the AP Mk6 (that is installed as back up) does show LL.

So maybe, with my 5500 and with your GP32, the NMEA sentence is a bit different in newer GPS NMEA output.

The ST2000+ should operate with either NMEA or Seatalk input - I believe without an interface box.
 
As a general rule, most autopilots will require the APA or APB sentences, as well as some others like BWR (or BWC).
One other issue that I hadnt thought about...does the Furuno give out a proprietory
sentence header...these are the two digits at the start of the sentence...most commonly GP or EC (for electronic chartplotter).
If these are non standard, then it may confuse older equipment and software.

Steve
 
Ian,
Having looked at the Furuno NMEA spec now, it only sends out APB, not APA.
although there is no problem with the NMEA version which does upwards from 1.5.

If your Autopliot is quite old it may be that it is looking for APA only..and this may be the cause.
If it is then, sorry I dont know what the solution woud be other than change the autopilot.
You could go to the Raymarine website and dowload the manual from the retired products pages and see if that is the case.

Best of luck with it.

Steve.
 
Looked at the Raymarine manual...it doesnt give any NMEA specs for it, but it is definitely NMEA enabled..in either NMEA 0180 or 0183.
This definitely ages it...and it is even possible that it is looking for a version before 1.5.
One solution if you cant sort it....do you have a Laptop with a decent plotter program??
You could take the output from the Furuno, feed it into the Laptop Plotter and then output that to the Autopilot.
Generally the PC plotter will have all the sentences required and allow you to turn them on and off.
You will need something reasonable like Maxsea or Maptech Offshore Navigator....and definitely not a mickey mouse one like the RYA plotter.
At least that would be cheaper than buying a new autopilot...if that's what it ends up with.


Steve.
 
GO TO -> ROUTE -> SELECT ROUTE -> FORWARD-REVERSE?

That's pretty much it.
Don't waste time reading the manual; the system is so easy that you don't need to.
When I got the GP32 installed, I spent 30mins puching all buttons, going through every menu, and that was pretty much it.
 
when you put the power on to the autopilot what does it say ?, the st 1000 and 2000 do reset themselfs if the power is bad and then they dispay 800, if this is the case then pm me and i will explain how to reset.

steve
 
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