Raymarine i70 AIS Display

[lpdsn]

Hi All,

I'm looking to compare notes on the AIS display of the Raymarine i70. I tried connecting it up and am not getting the results I expected.

The AIS information is coming from a Standard Horizon Gx2100 and is being converted to NMEA 2000 by an Actisense convertor. Then it is over a Seatalk ng bus. At a basic level it must be working as some meaningful information is getting to the i70 display, so I can rule out things like baud rate or wiring.

The i70 can be set to display targets as far away as 8 miles away. When I tested it, the only vessels within that range according to the VHF were a few fishing vessels tied up about 5 miles away. There were several ships about ten miles away, including some underway.

Anyway, none were displayed (I obviously wouldn't expect those over 8 miles away to be displayed). When I tried scrolling through the list of contacts very quickly, ships outside the 8 mile range briefly showed up but not long enough to select them for further info.

My first suspicion is to suspect the i70 display, but it would be very handy to get feedback on what others see using the same display in the same circumstances. I would guess it has to filter out targets in some way to be a practical display at its size.

In the medium term, I am going to be connecting up OpenCPN so then I'll have two AIS displays to compare against each other, which should help narrow down the problem, but that's a few weeks away. I can also take the boat out so that both she and the other vessels are moving so I can see whether that affects the behaviour. And obviously I can contact Raymarine support when I have enough information to pin things down.

So handy to get your experiences.

 

[robmcg]

Could it be due to the Actisense converter is supplying NMEA 2000 to the Seatalk NG bus. Although v. Similar, NMEA 2000 is not directly compatible with Seatalk ng as the Seatalk ng is Raymarine's proprietary version of NMEA 2000. Should it not be being fed to the seatalk ng bus through a NMEA to Seatalk ng converter?


Edit: I presume you are using the Actisense NMEA to seatalk Ng bridge which renders my suggestion not useful!

 

[lpdsn]

Could it be due to the Actisense converter is supplying NMEA 2000 to the Seatalk NG bus. Although v. Similar, NMEA 2000 is not directly compatible with Seatalk ng as the Seatalk ng is Raymarine's proprietary version of NMEA 2000. Should it not be being fed to the seatalk ng bus through a NMEA to Seatalk ng converter?

Raymarine recommend the Actisense convertors. There's simply a DeviceNet to Seatalk ng cable to connect the output to the ng bus, so I presume no software conversion is required. Everything else I've been told is that it is only teh physical connectors that are non-standard with Seatalk ng.

The messages are clearly being received by the i70 as it definitely has info that can only have come from the AIS messages. Of course I'm not ruling out that there is some issue with some of the messages. NMEA2000 seems to have separate messages for Class A and Class B and for position and static data, so that fact that it has some data getting through doesn't mean everything is working. Do you have any information on which NMEA 2000 PGNs are non-standard over Seatalk ng? Looks like it is using 129038, 129039, 129040, 129793, 129794, 129798 & 129809.

However, it really is the i70 behaviour that seems obviously strange to me. Which is why I'm trying to get others' experiences to compare notes. I'm not expecting my attempt to feed AIS info from a Standard Horizon radio into an i70 to be at all unique.

 

[knuterikt]

I have two i70 displays that get AIS data from a em-trak b100 NMEA 2000 directly into the SeatalkNG network.
I don't know where the idea that SeatalkNG is not N2K compatible comes from - still not heard any hard evidence.

I'm not sure I understand your problem description, don't have the display here and it's more than two months since I last used it..

Link to manual http://hudsonmarine.co.uk/resources/index.php/2013/11/raymarine-i70-instrument-manuals/

From memory
To display AIS targets properly you need COG input to the display (if no own ship icon in the middle you don't have COG)
You can set the range for the "radar plot"
You can select the targets that is displayed in the "radar plot" using the arrow keys.
When a target is selected you can get details by pressing the menu button.
You must go back to the "radar plot" to select next target.

What version is SW on the i70, check if you need an update.

 

[lpdsn]

I have two i70 displays that get AIS data from a em-trak b100 NMEA 2000 directly into the SeatalkNG network.
I don't know where the idea that SeatalkNG is not N2K compatible comes from - still not heard any hard evidence.

I'm not sure I understand your problem description, don't have the display here and it's more than two months since I last used it..

Link to manual http://hudsonmarine.co.uk/resources/index.php/2013/11/raymarine-i70-instrument-manuals/

From memory
To display AIS targets properly you need COG input to the display (if no own ship icon in the middle you don't have COG)
You can set the range for the "radar plot"
You can select the targets that is displayed in the "radar plot" using the arrow keys.
When a target is selected you can get details by pressing the menu button.
You must go back to the "radar plot" to select next target.

What version is SW on the i70, check if you need an update.

Thanks. I was tied up in the marina, so there was no COG at the time of the test.

There were no targets on the radar plot, but I could use the arrow keys to scroll through a list of vessels (in the top left, not icons on the 'radar' display), but the list didn't hold to allow me to select one using the menu key.

Sounds like the next test is to go to sea and get moving vessels within 8 miles.

I didn't note the software version (I can the next time I visit the boat). It was purchased a few weeks ago from Hudson marine.

 

[Lucky Duck]

I will going down to the boat this weekend, I could take some photos of what my displays show if that would help?

 

[knuterikt]

Thanks. I was tied up in the marina, so there was no COG at the time of the test.

There were no targets on the radar plot, but I could use the arrow keys to scroll through a list of vessels (in the top left, not icons on the 'radar' display), but the list didn't hold to allow me to select one using the menu key.

Sounds like the next test is to go to sea and get moving vessels within 8 miles.

I didn't note the software version (I can the next time I visit the boat). It was purchased a few weeks ago from Hudson marine.

I know that we have not updated sw since install (and none last year) so we are on v1.25
Two updates since, current is v2.18

List here http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=3813

 

[ianj99]

Could it be down to the type of AIS being received?

I had an issue with Belfield Chart Plotter's AIS display - it refused to show commercial vessels that I could see. It turned out it only displays Class B targets and not A. So yachts and fishing vessels were displayed, but not all Calmac ferries, although some were so they presumably must transmit both Class A and B ?

 

[lpdsn]

Could it be down to the type of AIS being received?

I had an issue with Belfield Chart Plotter's AIS display - it refused to show commercial vessels that I could see. It turned out it only displays Class B targets and not A. So yachts and fishing vessels were displayed, but not all Calmac ferries, although some were so they presumably must transmit both Class A and B ?

From what little I've gleaned about NMEA 2000, there are separate messages (PGNs) for Class A & Class B targets, so there may be something in what you say. I did see a couple of ferries pop-up on the list but couldn't select them, so some Class A info must be getting through. Both were outside the 8 mile range, so I wouldn't expect them to be displayed on the plot.

I'll try taking her out to get a bit closer to the targets the weekend after next.

 

[lpdsn]

I will going down to the boat this weekend, I could take some photos of what my displays show if that would help?

Thanks. It would be handy to see under what circumstances targets are displayed. Class A/B; moving/stationary.

I know that we have not updated sw since install (and none last year) so we are on v1.25
Two updates since, current is v2.18

List here http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=3813

Thanks. It was v2. something (I'll double check tomorrow).

 

[Talulah]

For the i70 to display the AIS targets it will also need the position of your boat.
So I would check that one of the i70 pages is also displaying your vessel position.

 

[lpdsn]

For the i70 to display the AIS targets it will also need the position of your boat.
So I would check that one of the i70 pages is also displaying your vessel position.

Thanks. The GPS position is coming through fine.

 

[knuterikt]

Checking the boat this evening, turned on the instruments just to check.

You don't need to sail the boat to get COG/SOG, but you need to have the data on your SeatalkNG network.

Not many AIS targets today, you can see the boat icon in the middle and two targets

Details - sorry for using Norwegian language.

 

[lpdsn]

Thanks.

Norwegian clear enough in context.

 

[Lucky Duck]

Thanks. It would be handy to see under what circumstances targets are displayed. Class A/B; moving.

Taken while moored up, the displayed target is a class B transceiver

 

[knuterikt]

Taken while moored up, the displayed target is a class B transceiver

Your display looks like mine - you COG even if the boat is not moving.
Think the OP should check that the i70 get COG from the network.

 

[lpdsn]

Your display looks like mine - you COG even if the boat is not moving.
Think the OP should check that the i70 get COG from the network.

Just got back from the boat today. It looks like the GPS doesn't output COG if the boat isn't moving. The VHF radio (which uses the same source defaults to 0 deg T) but it looks like the Seatalk ng bus doesn't have a populated COG when I'm moored up.

There are definitely targets there but they're not viewable in the normal way. By scrolling up quickly whilst pressing the menu button I even caught a couple (an RNLI lifeboat & a ferry - both moored). There's comprehensive data reaching the i70 and I even saw the Lat change by a thousandth of a minute, so dynamic data is getting through. Lat & Long were correct for where I expected those vessels to be.

Next weekend I'll try with the boat underway.

Bit disappointed though to find the software version is v1.25 for a new purchase, but at the moment that doesn't seem to be the problem.

 

[knuterikt]

Just got back from the boat today. It looks like the GPS doesn't output COG if the boat isn't moving. The VHF radio (which uses the same source defaults to 0 deg T) but it looks like the Seatalk ng bus doesn't have a populated COG when I'm moored up.

There are definitely targets there but they're not viewable in the normal way. By scrolling up quickly whilst pressing the menu button I even caught a couple (an RNLI lifeboat & a ferry - both moored). There's comprehensive data reaching the i70 and I even saw the Lat change by a thousandth of a minute, so dynamic data is getting through. Lat & Long were correct for where I expected those vessels to be.

Next weekend I'll try with the boat underway.

Bit disappointed though to find the software version is v1.25 for a new purchase, but at the moment that doesn't seem to be the problem.

You need a Raymarine MFD with SD card to update or the shop where you bought it might help?

 

[lpdsn]

You need a Raymarine MFD with SD card to update or the shop where you bought it might help?

Thanks. Bought it from a shop in the Hamble and I'm in Ireland. Still, might be over there to race on an OPB in the Summer, so might be able to get it sorted.

 

[lpdsn]

To display AIS targets properly you need COG input to the display.

Thanks for your help. And thanks to the other posters too.

I think you were right and COG was the issue. I tested it at sea at the weekend and all worked well. In fact it was working in the marina as soon as we got going. As I was faced with crossing a TSS in fog at one stage it was pretty handy having it on board & working (visibility turned out to be mod rather than poor so no issue anyway).

The alarm feature was a nuisance, of course, and will almost certainly be turned off most of the time. There's certainly a need for a more intelligent alarm algorithm that takes account of class A/B and whether a vessel is moored or not, but that's another thread.

If it is any help for anyone in the future (not that the useless search algorithm on this website will find this thread in any case but), it's an old Garmin GPS128 and a SH Gx2100E VHF that are providing the input with Actisense convertors.