Raymarine RS232 PC interface

Slipstream 34

Slipstream 34

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I am looking for a way to get the information on the cockpit instruments, ST60 wind/log etc, repeated on a PC at the chart table. Has any one fitted this piece of kit ? Does it graphically repeat the information like the original instrument or is it purely numbers in a box ?

I have read the pdf manual online but there was not much info.

Any advice gratefully received.
 
The box only converts information from sea talk to nmea sentences. You then read the sentences using software and display the information. Think FullCircle has some software that will display the information in a readable format. The interface you need is SeaTalk to RS232. The RS232 bit is the port on your computer. If you only have usb ports then you need a usb to serial converter.

You can see the sentences being sent using Windows Hyper Terminal but unless you do some research you will be hard pressed to know what they mean. Data is sent as a long string. You then split it up into the bits you want and display it.

$GPGGA,123519,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08,0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47

Where:
GGA Global Positioning System Fix Data
123519 Fix taken at 12:35:19 UTC
4807.038,N Latitude 48 deg 07.038' N
01131.000,E Longitude 11 deg 31.000' E
1 Fix quality: 0 = invalid
1 = GPS fix (SPS)
2 = DGPS fix
3 = PPS fix
4 = Real Time Kinematic
5 = Float RTK
6 = estimated (dead reckoning) (2.3 feature)
7 = Manual input mode
8 = Simulation mode
08 Number of satellites being tracked
0.9 Horizontal dilution of position
545.4,M Altitude, Meters, above mean sea level
46.9,M Height of geoid (mean sea level) above WGS84
ellipsoid
(empty field) time in seconds since last DGPS update
(empty field) DGPS station ID number
*47 the checksum data, always begins with *

Hope that helps ;)

This is just one of many strings of data being sent. Windspeed,Heading,SOG,COG,Temp etc.etc

Have a look at this Software

..
 
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That Seatalk <-->NMEA <--> RS232 interface box simply outputs a continuous feed of the data from the ST60 (or other Seatalk sources) in NMEA format (RS422) and PC RS232. There is no display software, you read the data in raw form with a Terminal application or something written to make a user readable display.
There are software utilities which can display the data. Search for words like "NMEA Dashboard".
There is also free chart software, OpenCPN, which accepts NMEA data and has its own "Dashboard" plugin.
The key function of the Raymarine box is to convert from Seatalk which is a proprietary format, to NMEA which is an industry standard and supported widely by pros and amateurs.
Try http://www.navmonpc.com/index.html
 
I have been using a small utility Navmonpc available here >>www.NavMonPc.com in conjunction with the Raymarine multiplexor. I use the RS232 for PC and the NMEA to feed position data to my DSC radio as well as the teamsurv data logger. Works fine but quite expensive for such a small item.

The hardest part was finding a USB to serial cable that worked and get it set up under Win7 correctly. The one that seemed to work OK was from Maplins which used the Prolific chip PL2303 (as do many others) and latest drivers are readily available online to download together with documentation from http://www.prolific.com.tw.
 
Akela..

What extra kit you need also depends on what Raymarine kit you already have interlinked.

You say that you have ST60 Wind / log etc... If your etc. includes a Raymarine chartplotter or a Raymarine Autohelm then they will be probably be connected via Seatalk to the wind/log but will also have NMEA inputs and outputs. Actually - if you have a Seatalk connected Radar it will also possiby have NMEA so you might get away without an additional NMEA/Seatalk box.

As others have said - NMEA is directly connectable to your laptop serial port (via a USB<->serial cable if your laptop is lacking a serial port).
 
akela said:
I am looking for a way to get the information on the cockpit instruments, ST60 wind/log etc, repeated on a PC at the chart table. Has any one fitted this piece of kit ? Does it graphically repeat the information like the original instrument or is it purely numbers in a box ?

I have read the pdf manual online but there was not much info.

Any advice gratefully received.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you need a YAPP...

YAPP
 
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