Remote for Raymarine autopilot ?

stu9000

stu9000

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Hi,

I have this Raymarine autopilot control display.
It would be great to have a remote for the course change + - buttons. Wired or unwired. Has anyone done this?

Also, an a75 plotter at the helm which allegedly has a WiFi hotspot that allows phone to connect using the Ray android app. This is a dead end though as I cannot get the app to work and, reading the comments in the play store, neither can anyone else.

Im wondering if the wires in the back of the control unit can be spliced to a simple relay box similar to one I made for the anchor windlass.20220811_095836_copy_800x600.jpg
 
The controller in your photo is a Raymarine P70 (the corresponding generation of instrument displays are model i70), and the wires at the back of the controller are SeatalkNG - this is basically NMEA 2000 with one extra wire and also different connectors.

You can't just spice into NMEA 2000 - cables are joined to form a network "backbone" that runs from one end of the boat to the other, and additional devices are added via drop cables and T-connectors. If you need to add another device, you just add another T next to an existing one. The backbone requires a terminator at each end (may be an inline terminator).

You can mix SeatalkNG and NMEA 2000 either by cutting and splicing cables, or using an adaptor (middle in this pic), but you must comply with the backbone and terminators topology.

HOWEVER, the extra cable in the SeatalkNG cable is to allow it to be compatible with Raymarine's old Seatalk1 too - this was to allow more seamless compatibility if you have solely Raymarine electronics on your boat. I assume there is some degree of device compatibility required - presumably some devices must talk both Seatalk1 and SeatalkNG, and detect if they're connected to a SeatalkNG network or another Seatalk1 device.

I believe Seatalk1 is similar to NMEA 0183, in that it's basically a serial communication protocol, but it's not the same as it and not compatible with it. Link: Understanding different protocols - SeaTalk1 & SeaTalkNG

My concern is that I think your P70 could be talking either SeatalkNG or Seatalk1, depending on the age / model of the autopilot below decks.

Raymarine make some Seatalk remotes, but they need an adapter if your autopilot requires SeatalkNG.

I'd assume (but I'm not certain) that you can just add a second P70 head nearer to the helm if your network is SeatalkNG / NMEA 2000.

A B&G or Simrad remote won't work even if it's NMEA 2000 talking to a SeatalkNG autopilot, because Simrad (which owns B&G) and Raymarine decided to implement different NMEA 2000 sentences for their autopilots. This is the only NMEA 2000 incompatibility between the manufacturers I'm aware of (aside from the aforementioned connectors, of course). I've heard of people writing programs to translate from one to the other, but it requires a PC (perhaps running OpenCPN) or an microcontroller.

Sorry for being verbose, but I hope my comment is helpful.
 
I have missed out the neworking issues by identifying the circuit board tracks for the port/sbd buttons on my stone age Simrad wheelpilot.
Turned out they just contact to earth/neg when pressed so took three wires outside the unit to a £15 12v garage door wireless
controller. I can steer manually or adjust the auto heading from anywhere on the boat using the fob.

New video by Nick Rob
 
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I thought it went without saying that anything can be hotwired if you get close enough to the circuitboard, but the P70 is quite modern - I would guess it features surface mount components, so would require quite delicate soldering to do this, not to mention violating the unit's IPX6 waterproofing. These units are about £600 to replace, so rather you than me hacking one apart.

It would be lovely it if was as simple as just hot-wiring a couple of leads that protrude from the back of the unit but, in OP's case, it's not.
 
Thanks for the replies. Very helpful. Two options then. The hack to have a wireless remote or another head unit at the helm. I did a similar wireless switch thingy hack for the anchor windlass so tempted to start with that. Especially as having a wireless plus minus steering option is useful when on foredeck solo. However previous owner graciously fitted good kit so the ram looks fairly new and i don't want to bugger it up. my soldering skills cannot be described as delicate so will eyeball it before making a decision. Having a head unit at the helm would go a long way to addressing the regular reach forward to the control unit issue so this might well be the way to go.
 
You'll probably find best option to be the Raymarine S100 Wireless Autopilot Remote Complete with Base Station and ST1 to STNG Adaptor Kit on the Hudson Marine page I linked before then. Cheaper than a second P70 (or P70s now) and also does the wireless for you.
 
I have the s100 remote, it's pretty poorly made, I have to open it up to reposition the power cables so it works on a regular basis.

You can access the pilot control on your a75 by pressing the power key once and then tapping pilot controls.

Theres also a signal k plugin that can control a raymarine autopilot via a software keypad.

I guess it all depends on how much money and effort your willing to spend on not moving to the unit to push the button
 
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