Raymarine ST60 Log transducers

AntarcticPilot

AntarcticPilot

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I've got a suite of Raymarine St60 instruments, including the log. As most people have found, the log only works when clean, and in East Coast waters, I find it doesn't stay clean for very long, and is also blocked by beasties attaching around the transducer.

Is there a doppler (or other non-mechanical) transducer that is compatible with the Raymarine ST60+?
 
The Nasa doppler thingy has an NMEA output. I wonder if you have a Raymarine interface it will auto reverse engineering that into the Seatalk bus. Nasa sell it without the instrument head, obvious feeding it into a plotter.
 
tillergirl said:
The Nasa doppler thingy has an NMEA output. I wonder if you have a Raymarine interface it will auto reverse engineering that into the Seatalk bus. Nasa sell it without the instrument head, obvious feeding it into a plotter.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, it's all old school Seatalk, which is not compatible with NMEA. I specifically want to connect to my existing ST60 log instrument, which means Seatalk.
 
tillergirl said:
The Nasa doppler thingy has an NMEA output. I wonder if you have a Raymarine interface it will auto reverse engineering that into the Seatalk bus. Nasa sell it without the instrument head, obvious feeding it into a plotter.
Click to expand...
I think I need to clarify - I need a transducer that will connect to the transducer connections of the ST60 head, which will then broadcast the speed readings over the Seatalk backbone, making it available for the ST60 wind instrument and the C80 chart-plotter.

In other words, what I need is a transducer that is a replacement for the existing Raymarine paddle-wheel sensor, not something that broadcasts sensor readings over NMEA.
 
Little Grebe said:
When I kept a boat in the Orwell I resigned myself to having to put the blanking plug in at the end of the weekend and swap them back on my return
Click to expand...
That's a possibility - but it won't help when sea-squirts colonize the external flange of the through-hull fitting, which was what happened last time! I cleaned the paddlewheel, made sure it was spinning freely, but it still didn't give a reading.
 
I believe someone makes an interface which converts NMEA sentences to log pulses - the intended use is for faking a log with GPS, but if you can get an ultrasound log that emits NMEA then it might be part of the solution.

I suppose unless the pulse interface people have been very far-sighted you might need to add an Arduino in between to convert STW into (fake) SOG...

Pete
 
I am building a NMEA to pulse converter, similar to those that have been talked about on these forums, but using Arduino. At the present I am intending to use it to get GPS SOG to my ST60 instruments, but I am interested in later converting it to use the NASA electromagnetic log, if they prove reliable. The CruzePro commercial unit will not work as this converts GPS SOG, not water velocity messages that the NASA sends out.

Your ST60"+" (unlike my older ST60) can I believe use speed over Seatalk - not sure, but I think this is GPS SOG, not the water speed message as from the NASA unit. Also you need a temperature signal connected to make the ST60 work properly as a "master".
 
ithet said:
I am building a NMEA to pulse converter, similar to those that have been talked about on these forums, but using Arduino. At the present I am intending to use it to get GPS SOG to my ST60 instruments, but I am interested in later converting it to use the NASA electromagnetic log, if they prove reliable. The CruzePro commercial unit will not work as this converts GPS SOG, not water velocity messages that the NASA sends out.

Your ST60"+" (unlike my older ST60) can I believe use speed over Seatalk - not sure, but I think this is GPS SOG, not the water speed message as from the NASA unit. Also you need a temperature signal connected to make the ST60 work properly as a "master".
Click to expand...
Yes, the ST60+ can DISPLAY SOG, but the wind instrument won't use it to calculate true wind. You need the STW input for that. Yes, it's a design failure of the ST60 range, but it's insurmountable; I once asked on here about it! Also, GPS SOG is slow to react to changes in trim or conditions, making it less useful for sailing.
 
It's my understanding that the Raymarine part E85001 interface is a 2 way NMEA0183 to original Seatalk and the ST60 display can be either the master log or a log repeater.
If I'm right then your biggest challenge will be to get hold of an E85001 I expect.
This from the E85001 manual:
Chapter 1: Introduction
SeaTalk is the language used by Raymarine products to share
information. This is unique to Raymarine. The PC/SeaTalk/NMEA
Interface, by providing conversion between SeaTalk, RayTech PC
and NMEA 0183 data formats, allows operation with other
manufacturer's equipment and with PCs.
The PC/SeaTalk/NMEA Interface provides:
• Connection of SeaTalk to a PC running RayTech
• Conversion of NMEA 0183 data format to SeaTalk
• Conversion of SeaTalk to NMEA 0183 format
• Operation of the Raymarine Main Alarm when an alarm condi-
tion exists on the SeaTalk bus

The manual lists VLW and VHW sentences as Inputs to the interface so it all seems do-able.

Derek
 
I think that would work. There are also hobby-style NMEA to Seatalk gateways available to buy here and there. None from major manufacturers because Seatalk belongs to Raymarine.

Pete
 
Something like this or this will multiplex NMEA into SeaTalk. You then just need to get an NMEA ultra-sonic transducer. I can't imagine this to be the cheapest solution, but should work.
 
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