New to me boat. Chartplotter Woe.

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oldgit

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Downstairs is a posh Raymarine E series with some fancy hybrid touchscreen.
Nothing upstairs.
Stop me if am getting too technical. :)
Does one ..................
Buy a secondhand Raymarine display at some outrageous price that will talk to the existing equipment and then have to run the required cabling from saloon the flybridge , betcha its not plug and play either !
or
Buy a new basic cheapo plotter and merely have to find 12volts on the flybridge.
 
oldgit said:
Downstairs is a posh Raymarine E series with some fancy hybrid touchscreen.
Nothing upstairs.
Stop me if am getting too technical. :)
Does one ..................
Buy a secondhand Raymarine display at some outrageous price that will talk to the existing equipment and then have to run the required cabling from saloon the flybridge , betcha its not plug and play either !
or
Buy a new basic cheapo plotter and merely have to find 12volts on the flybridge.
Click to expand...
Cheapest solution:

Move the plotter upstairs. Buy an iPad for downstairs. Wifi connectivity and almost full functionality. (Only thing you can’t do is change autopilot settings via iPad)

Best solution:

Buy a second hand e or C series of the same generation on eBay and connect them with a cable.

Once you’ve declared 1 as a master it is plug and play.

One way or another you’re going to need to find a cable route but you’re bound to find other things that will need a cable route.
 
It all depends how much you will use the lower helm.
On my 390 (F43) I only did about 50 miles from the lower helm in 6 years. I had an iPad downstairs.

With my T46 I’ve done hundreds of miles from below in 18 months. The helm and visibility is so much better.
If the weather is bad I don’t even take the flybridge cover off.

So I’ve fitted a 12’ plotter downstairs.
Upstairs I’ve got a 12’ in the dash at knee level and a 7” up where the gauges are in my eye line. They all talk to each other seamlessly.
The iPad is used for route planning in bed or on the sofa.

An iPad upstairs will get you through the summer as a zero effort bodge. But they’re not waterproof and not great in bright sunlight so it is a temporary solution.
 
Elessar said:
Cheapest solution:

Move the plotter upstairs. Buy an iPad for downstairs. Wifi connectivity and almost full functionality. (Only thing you can’t do is change autopilot settings via iPad)

Best solution:

Buy a second hand e or C series of the same generation on eBay and connect them with a cable.

Once you’ve declared 1 as a master it is plug and play.

One way or another you’re going to need to find a cable route but you’re bound to find other things that will need a cable route.
Click to expand...

Basically what we do, except with a more affordable android tablet at lower helm wifi streaming the master flybridge display. As noted you cannotcontrolautopilot onthe tablet but in our case have an inherited autopilot control top and bottom anyway which is too ancient to talk to the newer N2K stuff without spending serious money on yet more nmea blackbox interfaces
 
The iPad solution is good, BUT ………. it depends a lot on what the existing plotter is.
- If it is an e-Series, lower case e, then it has a WiFi connect option - though for how much longer I don’t know as Raymarine has not updated the app for 5-6 years, if I recall correctly.
- If it is an E-Series, upper case E, then it is an older model and doesn’t, as far as I know have a WiFi option.
The compatibility between the plotters and Radar generations is also a potential challenge.
We have a E90-Wide at the helm and added a newer (at the time) e7 below decks. The two are not fully compatible, yes for basic stuff but not for charts so need to buy, and upgrade, separate charts for each (expensive).
Also the Quantum radar only works with the e7, but there we use the iPad to view on deck.

So OP needs to be clear on precise model numbers of existing plotter, and any radar fitted.
If plotter is old, and no old radar fitted, buying a modern plotter to enable WiFi options could be a good investment, but not if need to bin the radar.
 
Robin said:
Basically what we do, except with a more affordable android tablet at lower helm wifi streaming the master flybridge display. As noted you cannotcontrolautopilot onthe tablet but in our case have an inherited autopilot control top and bottom anyway which is too ancient to talk to the newer N2K stuff without spending serious money on yet more nmea blackbox interfaces
Click to expand...
Yes good idea I have an iPad anyway which is why I said that but cheaper tablets are a better idea if buying specifically.
 
dunedin said:
The iPad solution is good, BUT ………. it depends a lot on what the existing plotter is.
- If it is an e-Series, lower case e, then it has a WiFi connect option - though for how much longer I don’t know as Raymarine has not updated the app for 5-6 years, if I recall correctly.
- If it is an E-Series, upper case E, then it is an older model and doesn’t, as far as I know have a WiFi option.
The compatibility between the plotters and Radar generations is also a potential challenge.
We have a E90-Wide at the helm and added a newer (at the time) e7 below decks. The two are not fully compatible, yes for basic stuff but not for charts so need to buy, and upgrade, separate charts for each (expensive).
Also the Quantum radar only works with the e7, but there we use the iPad to view on deck.

So OP needs to be clear on precise model numbers of existing plotter, and any radar fitted.
If plotter is old, and no old radar fitted, buying a modern plotter to enable WiFi options could be a good investment, but not if need to bin the radar.
Click to expand...
He said hybrid touch therefore it has wifi.
 
Fred
Is the Quantum radome wifi only or hard wired as there were various options. If both, as mine is, you can download RayViewer, (which will replicate the current plotter screen), and Ray Remote ( which will allow you to control the plotter from 'upstairs') apps for phone or tablet and pair with M.F.D. I have an E7s and Quantum radome, wifi connected (3rd one, previous 2 filled with water for some strange reason!) If using touchscreen a 'dibbler' is brilliant for setting waypoints etc as it is more accurate than ones finger. The operators manual is within the plotter, which is a pain and the paper version amounts to over 400 pages. hope this is of some help, Don't profess to be an expert but if I can help give us a shout across t'river
 
Thanks all.
Did use the Ipad on the fly on trip back fom Brighton. It did the job perfectly after the chart on the E series hybrid touch screen ran out just as we approached the Goodwins :(
Suspect the Quantum is hard wired. but going to check.
The radar mast is going to be hinged in the next day or two in order to access the upper Thames. Hoping not to cut any cables in the process.
Will probably stick with the Ipad and get a chart covering my bit of the world for the E series.
Think it is a mini SD ?
 
Last edited:
oldgit said:
Thanks all.
Did use the Ipad on the fly on trip back fom Brighton. It did the job perfectly after the chart on the E series hybrid touch screen ran out just as we approached the Goodwins :(
Suspect the Quantum is hard wired. but going to check.
The radar mast is going to be hinged in the next day or two in order to access the upper Thames.
Will probably stick with the Ipad and get a chart covering my bit of the world for the E series.
Think it is a mini SD ?
Click to expand...

Sorry pressed wrong buttons!
 
Last edited:
I guess this isn’t what you want to do but another option would be to upgrade to Axioms upstairs and down. We didn’t have anything on the flybridge when we bought the boat and there was a C120 classic in the wheelhouse. Having messed about with Navionics on the phone and the iPad on the flybridge during our first season I decided it was a bit of a phaff so installed a 9” Axiom touchscreen only on the fly and a 12” Axiom touchscreen with the remote controls mounted on the helm (the plotter is visible but on the chart table side of the wheelhouse). All I can say is excellent kit and all interfaced so worth the money in my view.
 
oldgit said:
Downstairs is a posh Raymarine E series with some fancy hybrid touchscreen.
Nothing upstairs.
Stop me if am getting too technical. :)
Does one ..................
Buy a secondhand Raymarine display at some outrageous price that will talk to the existing equipment and then have to run the required cabling from saloon the flybridge , betcha its not plug and play either !
or
Buy a new basic cheapo plotter and merely have to find 12volts on the flybridge.
Click to expand...
You can repeat the E series do talk to Steve Day in Hull he has many good used Raymarine products at good prices , you can find him on eBay. stevie d
 
dunedin said:
But he also said E Series, which has both touch button (ie hybrid) usage. So some if the data is / was wrong, hence my suggestion to be more specific.
Click to expand...
No. All the hybrid E series have wifi. So your nonsense about upper and lower case E or whatever you were spouting was pointless. No need to be more specific.
 
Greg2 said:
I guess this isn’t what you want to do but another option would be to upgrade to Axioms upstairs and down. We didn’t have anything on the flybridge when we bought the boat and there was a C120 classic in the wheelhouse. Having messed about with Navionics on the phone and the iPad on the flybridge during our first season I decided it was a bit of a phaff so installed a 9” Axiom touchscreen only on the fly and a 12” Axiom touchscreen with the remote controls mounted on the helm (the plotter is visible but on the chart table side of the wheelhouse). All I can say is excellent kit and all interfaced so worth the money in my view.
Click to expand...
Missing the point. The C classic is a standalone unit so your iPad messing was standalone.
The wi fi enabled C and E series allow you to mirror the plotter on the iPad. So depth, speed, your charts - everything - works on the iPad.
 
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