Options to replace a raymarine c series plotter

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Leslie frank

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Hi .
We have a c series raymarine plotter. It is fed by our sea talk instruments and by nmea ais and a raymarine radar. The guys at Raymarine tell me the radar will work with the axiom series but I wondered if there was anything else... not necessarily a raymarine thing that I could consider?
The alternative is to buy a second hand c series plotter as a like for like replacement but they are still going for £700 for the C140W which i have.
 
Leslie frank said:
I didn't know that. It is a C140W from about 13 years ago.
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So I would say that the guys you spoke to at Raymarine think you have a 'c' series, which is not that old and likely compatible with a modern digital radome.
Unfortunately you have an older 'C' series which I think will only work with an analogue radome.

I'm not an expert but I've just been through this myself this year, sourcing and fitting secondhand 'e' series MFD and a digital radome to go with it.

Hopefully @PaulRainbow on another clued up person will along shortly to confirm.

The good news would be that if you're lucky you might be able to pick up an older MFD for peanuts, and keep your current radome.
 
Hi. I'm not sure how to see if I have a c or a C series. I can see that my radar is a digital E92129 which is why Raymarine think I can use Axiom. I wondered if that dome would only work with a Raymarine plotter or if I could use something else.
Cheers
 
Ah ok you may have a 'c' then. Is it old fashioned and grey and boxy, or newer with a black surround?
If you have a digital radome then it should be compatible with an Axiom. I don't recognise that part number- mine is a RD418D.
I'm pretty certain that you cannot mix and match different brands of radome and MFD.
 
I will trawl through my mountains of manuals and find which one I have. I guess if I get an axiom then my existing instruments won't talk to it without more converter boxes? Did you go to a new axiom or stay with older kit?
 
The C140W is a C series, but not the C series classic which has an analogue radome. Your radome is digital and will work with an Axiom. You cannot use another brand of Radome.
 
Leslie frank said:
I will trawl through my mountains of manuals and find which one I have. I guess if I get an axiom then my existing instruments won't talk to it without more converter boxes? Did you go to a new axiom or stay with older kit?
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I paired up on older e97 MFD with an RD218D, both secondhand. Both are forward compatible with current equipment so if anything dies I can buy a brand new device.
One of the things that swung the e97 for me (other than an attractive price!) was that it comes as standard with both touchscreen and physical buttons, and has both NMEA 0183 and STNG. I have friends who have to have the latest gear, but for me it represented a big upgrade.
Unfortunately I haven't actually finished the installation because I think I damaged the radar cable somewhere, so that's still on the jobs list. It all worked perfectly on a bench test but by the time I'd wrestled the cable through the boat and up the mast, something went wrong.
 
Leslie frank said:
Hi. I'm not sure how to see if I have a c or a C series. I can see that my radar is a digital E92129 which is why Raymarine think I can use Axiom. I wondered if that dome would only work with a Raymarine plotter or if I could use something else.
Cheers
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You have the older Capital C series Wide model from the model number you quoted. Probably with the larger CF chart cards.
Like Sea Change I had a similar generation E90W and it was not compatible with modern Quantum radar.
I now have two LowerCase e-series plotters interconnected, an e7 and an e127, the latter bought second hand via eBay to match the e7. These run Lighthouse 2 software and use charts on small microSD cards.

The second hand kit is expensive precisely because of these radar / plotter compatibility issues. You either buy another old C or E Series Wide plotter, or bite the bullet and get a new radar and plotter package with current generation.
 
I am still confused. I know i have a digital radar and Raymarine tell me it works with Axiom
. My real question is will it work with any none Raymarine product. If not then if I fit axiom will it work with my st60 instruments and Nmea ais?
Cheers
 
Leslie frank said:
I am still confused. I know i have a digital radar and Raymarine tell me it works with Axiom
. My real question is will it work with any none Raymarine product. If not then if I fit axiom will it work with my st60 instruments and Nmea ais?
Cheers
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Might be worth telling folks the precise model of radar then - as my early Quantumn digital radar would not work with an E90W plotter.
 
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Leslie frank said:
I am still confused. I know i have a digital radar and Raymarine tell me it works with Axiom
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Leslie frank said:
. My real question is will it work with any none Raymarine product.
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No, radomes are not compatible across brands - there is no standard protocols for the data.

Leslie frank said:
If not then if I fit axiom will it work with my st60 instruments and Nmea ais?
Cheers
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Yes, but you will need the Raymarine Seatalk1 to SeatalkNG convertor and possibly a NMEA0183 to SeatalkNG/NMEA2000 convertor*.

* Unless you already have some other equipment that can do this i.e. some AIS transponders.


dunedin said:
Might be worth telling folks the precise model of radar then - as my early Quantumn digital radar would not work with an E90W plotter.
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He has already said he has an E92129 which is a HD418D digital radome.
 
Leslie frank said:
I am still confused. I know i have a digital radar and Raymarine tell me it works with Axiom
. My real question is will it work with any none Raymarine product.
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Answered this in post #8, no it will absolutely not.
Leslie frank said:
If not then if I fit axiom will it work with my st60 instruments and Nmea ais?
Cheers
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If you fit a Seatalk to Seatalk NG converter your ST instruments will integrate just fine.

Your AIS will depend on whether it's NMEA 0183 or NMEA 2000
 
dunedin said:
You have the older Capital C series Wide model from the model number you quoted. Probably with the larger CF chart cards.
Like Sea Change I had a similar generation E90W and it was not compatible with modern Quantum radar.
I now have two LowerCase e-series plotters interconnected, an e7 and an e127, the latter bought second hand via eBay to match the e7. These run Lighthouse 2 software and use charts on small microSD cards.

The second hand kit is expensive precisely because of these radar / plotter compatibility issues. You either buy another old C or E Series Wide plotter, or bite the bullet and get a new radar and plotter package with current generation.
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Again, this is incorrect. His radome will work with an Axiom.
 
Leslie frank said:
Thanks all. I am now crystal clear. If I can get a second hand c140W I will probably go with that. If not then it will be a smaller axiom and buy all the connectors
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I was in a similar predicament but part Raymarine and a separate, dated Lowrance system.
As the Raymarine network work was in place and could be integrated with newer (STNG) MFDs and radome, I did just that.

I know a lot of people don't rate Raymarine because of customer service issues but if you have time to shop around for second hand/used equipment, you will be surprised what is available. I got an unused, Hybrid Touch 16" plotter, brand new, still boxed for £700, an e97 for £400 and virtually new Quantum 1 radome for £500.

Preloved provided most of the above.

I was surprised at how much I got on Ebay for the non-working Lowrance radome with working plotter.
 
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