Ray marine C80 gps

The Evermore SA320 is often recommended, about £75. This will send GPS data via NMEA to your plotter. If you need the NMEA input for something else, there's the option of using a Raymarine GPS receiver and inputting the data via SeaTalk.
 
If you're thinking about adding an AIS transceiver to your system you could do what I've done and feed the NMEA output from the AIS GPS into the C80. The AIS GPS then does both jobs and you can put the money you were going to spend on a new GPS receiver towards the AIS transceiver.

Richard
 
Thanks for the input gents, I have to have a better look at the back of the plotter as when I installed the replacement it only had wired connections to the following:

radar
NMEA
power
sea talk

seatalk2 and DSM had nothing connected.

Am unsure if the other ray marine instruments (wind, speed, depth and auto helm) are all connected to the C80 as it was already in the boat but I can have a play around with it tomorrow.

Therefore am unsure what the current NMEA connection is used for.

Bloody boats!

However, today I did see another ray marine box in with wires in a locker, so I need to have a closer look at that to see what it is as it may be for a DSM (fish finder).

All I am after at present is the C80 to display the GPS data and chart, as well as the radar functionality.

In due course, a few years, I am going to update all the systems anyway.

Regards
 
davethedog said:
However, today I did see another ray marine box in with wires in a locker, so I need to have a closer look at that to see what it is as it may be for a DSM (fish finder).
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If DSM isn't connected on the plotter, the box isn't likely to be DSM. It may be a Smart Heading Sensor, which gives a faster frequency of heading data, in order to stabilise the radar image and allow MARPA to work properly.
 
pvb said:
Very easy, but you need to buy the ordinary bare-wire NMEA version, not a USB version.
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Ok, but when you say very easy...what wires to what etc?

Am confused as to what the existing NMEA connection on the C80 is for.
 
davethedog said:
Am confused as to what the existing NMEA connection on the C80 is for.
Click to expand...

Do you have a DSC VHF? If so, the NMEA c onnection will almost certainly be giving a GPS position to the VHF and receiving a position in the event of a DSC distress call ... although In my boat the input was not connected. The VHF will probably bleep after a few minutes if it does not get a position.

Richard
 
davethedog said:
Ok, but when you say very easy...what wires to what etc?

Am confused as to what the existing NMEA connection on the C80 is for.
Click to expand...

The manuals for the different bits of kit will explain which wires to connect (essentially, you connect NMEA Out from the GPS to NMEA In on the plotter). However, you can't simply connect multiple NMEA sources, as the messages get garbled. If you need to input more than one message source, you'll probably need to use a multiplexer. As a starting point, you need to discover which bits of kit are connected. If you don't know where to start, it would be worth paying a marine electronic guy to advise you.
 
davethedog said:
How about I purchase something like this, as this will then also give us AIS, and then output the GPS via NMEA to the C80 plotter?
http://www.marinesuperstore.com/mar...4AM-T-Zh0yBf1jDbXo1kuu-2DVF92TsLYehoCYR3w_wcB

What will the GPS signal be like on that when mounted below deck?
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The GPS signal will be fine below decks unless you have a steel boat when it might be a bit tricky I guess.

That radio looks as if it will output GPS and AIS data over NMEA into the C80 so will work fine. If you only want to use the GPS data you can set both ports (VHF and C80) to 4800. If you want to display the AIS data on the C80 as well as the GPS you will need to set both to 38400 I believe.

However, I would confirm the above with the seller or with SH before you buy.

Richard
 
Thanks for the replies as may well get one of these radios then as seem a tidy way to get GPS to the C80 and update the current old VHF radio. An added bonus would be getting AIS as well on the C80, but the GPS data is the priority.

Can anyone confirm if you can get both the GPS and AIS data to the C80 using the 38,400 baud rate and will the C80 display them both?
 
davethedog said:
Can anyone confirm if you can get both the GPS and AIS data to the C80 using the 38,400 baud rate and will the C80 display them both?
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I think it needs a certain amount of setting up in the radio menu, but it should do it. However, you said in another thread that you already have an NMEA connection on your C80, so you need to find out what that is for. If it's still needed, you'll need to add a multiplexer to connect the radio as well.

The C80 will display AIS data if you have reasonably up-to-date software. The minimum software level is v3.16 I think, but it will work much better if you update to v5.16.
 
pvb said:
I think it needs a certain amount of setting up in the radio menu, but it should do it. However, you said in another thread that you already have an NMEA connection on your C80, so you need to find out what that is for. If it's still needed, you'll need to add a multiplexer to connect the radio as well.

The C80 will display AIS data if you have reasonably up-to-date software. The minimum software level is v3.16 I think, but it will work much better if you update to v5.16.
Click to expand...

I think the existing NMEA is for a fast heading sensor, can I remove that OK, as my priorities are:
GPS and chart plotter
Radar
AIS

Regards
 
A "limitation" with the SH GX2200 is that there is a limited range for receiving AIS (10 miles), whereas my Garmin AIS will display up to the limits of AIS reception (sometimes 35 miles away). It may not be an issue for you, but when a container ship is doing 20 knots, and only pops up 30 minutes away... An example is crossing the shipping channel at Sea Reach No 1 in the Thames. Last year, I was returning from a rally with other boats, including one towing another with a defunct engine. I spotted a Container vessel leaving Thames Gateway , running at 19 knots headed for Rotterdam, which gave the tug and tow a lot more time to consider what to do...

Don't get me wrong, I love the SH radio kit, and have just fitted a 2100, to provide some of the additional functionality not in the older kit
 
Gladys said:
A "limitation" with the SH GX2200 is that there is a limited range for receiving AIS (10 miles), whereas my Garmin AIS will display up to the limits of AIS reception (sometimes 35 miles away). It may not be an issue for you, but when a container ship is doing 20 knots, and only pops up 30 minutes away... An example is crossing the shipping channel at Sea Reach No 1 in the Thames. Last year, I was returning from a rally with other boats, including one towing another with a defunct engine. I spotted a Container vessel leaving Thames Gateway , running at 19 knots headed for Rotterdam, which gave the tug and tow a lot more time to consider what to do...

Don't get me wrong, I love the SH radio kit, and have just fitted a 2100, to provide some of the additional functionality not in the older kit
Click to expand...

That's untrue. The radio can be set to receive AIS data from targets up to 30 miles away. The manual doesn't say how many targets it can process, although the little display on the radio can show no more than 15 targets. It could be that there's a limit on the number of targets passed to a plotter, in which case I'd expect priority to be given to the nearest ones.
 
The Standard Horizon GX2200E requires two NMEA ports at the chart plotter. GPS data is output on one port, AIS on another.

NMEA wiring on the Evermore antenna is only two wires.
If you are using radar i would not disconnect the fast heading sensor or you will lose some stability, some display options and MARPA.

I'd consider either the new VHF or the Evermore GPS, but add a multiplexor to keep the heading sensor.
 
PaulRainbow said:
The Standard Horizon GX2200E requires two NMEA ports at the chart plotter. GPS data is output on one port, AIS on another.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure whether that's correct, and the radio's manual isn't clear. Normally, AIS data is transmitted at 38400baud, and DSC data is transmitted at 4800baud. By default, GPS data output is turned off. However, it's possible to set the radio to transmit both AIS and DSC data at 38400 (this is the functionality SH introduced with the 2150 to solve the problem of interfacing with single-port plotters). So it's quite likely that if GPS output is turned on, it might also be transmitted on the 38400 connection. I think a phone call to Standard Horizon might resolve the question.
 
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