Standard Horizon chart plotter keeps re-booting itself

[Babylon]

Too true! I took this view when I fitted a Furuno radar with monochrome LCD screen as a standalone unit, and only later bought the chart-plotter as a combo with the AIS DSC radio.

I still have the old Garmin GPS which I can easily re-fit to feed the DSC part of the VHF, and buy a cheap AIS receiver for the plotter, but I suspect the problem lies with the plotter itself whatever the source of the AIS feed.

It'll be a while until I can get back down to the boat, when the order of events will be:
(i) open the back and check the physical integrity of all the connections,
(ii) full system re-set

Will report back...

 

[KevO]

My CP180 started doing the same thing last season. Random rebooting up to maybe a dozen times a day then fine for a few then off it goes again. A PITA. Will have a crack at the reset thingy :encouragement:

 

[Babylon]

Is your CP180 connected to an AIS feed, or does it randomly re-boot on its own?

 

[SimonP85]

Reassured to see this thread. Our CP300i has also been re-booting itself for around 18 months now.

I’ve also checked and re-checked all the connections and run the unit with no map card (suggested by Standard Horizon) but still no change.

Overload of AIS data does sound like a distinct possibility and doing a full reset also sounds like a good idea.

Will be interested to see how this thread develops!

 

[MikeCC]

May have been alluded to earlier, but
before opening it up, can'tt you just try running the plotter disconnected from VHF? Simply isolates the data overload vs internals question.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Can't help, but if it is your plotter being overwhelmed by signals from the AIS, you're in good company - the Apollo 11 moon landing nearly had to be aborted because of a similar condition! Look up error 1202 for more details - this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Garman is quite good!t

 

[Babylon]

May have been alluded to earlier, but before opening it up, can't you just try running the plotter disconnected from VHF? Simply isolates the data overload vs internals question.

I have and it does indeed (appear over several tests to) isolate the data overload question, but there are two downsides to just accepting this:
(i) The VHF would lose its GPS feed so would need a separate one wired in to maintain its DSC emergency functionality;
(ii) The plotter would lose its AIS functionality, which I rather like, especially when transiting areas of heavy shipping.

Also, given the fact that it first happened in bouncy conditions, plus the experience of connectors falling off from the sea-fishing guys a few years ago, it would be prudent to at least open the back to check the full integrity of all connections to the PCB etc.

Can't help, but if it is your plotter being overwhelmed by signals from the AIS, you're in good company - the Apollo 11 moon landing nearly had to be aborted because of a similar condition! Look up error 1202 for more details - this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Garman is quite good!

Fortunately C-Map's coverage doesn't extend that far...!

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Fortunately C-Map's coverage doesn't extend that far...!

But OS cover does

 

[Babylon]

Best get my walkie-boots on then!

 

[MikeCC]

I have and it does indeed (appear over several tests to) isolate the data overload question, but there are two downsides to just accepting this:
(i) The VHF would lose its GPS feed so would need a separate one wired in to maintain its DSC emergency functionality;
(ii) The plotter would lose its AIS functionality, which I rather like, especially when transiting areas of heavy shipping.

So the plotter doesn't do the reboot thing when detached from VHF? How about if you just send GPS to VHF? Or just send AIS to plotter?
But agreed, the ribbon cables are probably worth a look at.

 

[Babylon]

So got down to the boat yesterday to dig deeper...

Opening the back revealed nothing amiss with connections etc. Not to rule this out completely (especially as the problem first manifested itself in bouncy seas, although they do now happen randomly even when moored in calm conditions) but nothing obvious to the naked eye and didn't want to start unscrewing the PCB itself.



Then did a full system re-set. The relevant default port allocation was for a fish-finder (don't have) but, with the VHF on and the feed plugged in, as soon as I re-allocated this to AIS data the problem started up again. When I de-allocated it, the problem disappeared and did not recur.



(A chum raised possibility of a conflict in NMEA baud rates between the plotter and the VHF - GPS one way and AIS the other - which as I understand it need to be the same. Although I didn't check this as I'd left the boat by then, I can't see how the plotter could have autonomously changed this variable mid-cruise, as the whole thing had worked seamlessly for the first few years.)

Knowing how to de-allocate the AIS feed in a trice via the menu is in fact partially useful: it means that I can continue to use the plotter and VHF together almost normally, with the plotter providing the radio with its GPS position but without randomly re-booting itself half way along a route. The bit I can't have is the AIS targets displayed on the plotter (although they do remain available on the tiny monochrome screen on the VHF itself, albeit hard to see and use). I can always switch AIS back on momentarily via the menu, say when approaching mid-Channel when I'm not concerned with waypoints but am with lots of fast-moving ships, but at the risk of the thing going on the blink at a critical moment!

The zero-cost option is to just live with this. I'm used to the plotter's menu etc and like the appearance of the C-Map chart on it, and can continue to use it for WPT nav and routes without it randomly re-setting. (The chart is however seven years old and an upgrade at a cost of about £125 might now be wise.)

The next option (avoiding the completely false economy of fitting an addition of e.g. the NASA stand-alone display etc) is to spend big money on a new plotter of a similar size: the Raymarine Axiom 7" touchscreen is £700 plus £125 chart upgrade, plus £200 for some back-room gubbins to ensure the VHF's NMEA 183 feed works with the Axiom's 2000 (or £300 for a B&G VHF with 2000 as standard), all less what I can get on eBay for the old plotter etc.

I'm inclined - having obviously failed to future-proof in the past! - to replace the whole lot with current tech. This will also give me the opportunity to add modern SS radar, if I choose to fully combine systems.

 

[Daverw]

Does your vhf allow different baud settings on send and receive ports, many don’t. My mate has just added AIS and now cannot feed his vhf with GPS so is having to add a separate GPS receiver.

 

[Babylon]

... but before spending a single penny more, I will re-check the PCB again: this time I'll physically pull each of the ribbon-connectors out completely and re-insert them back firmly, then re-test. Should have been more thorough when down yesterday - just because they looked like they were in place doesn't mean there isn't a dodgy connection somewhere!

The reason being that small voice in my head keeps saying "it never happened before it started in fairly rough water off Alderney, so why do I think its anything mysteriously electronic rather than obviously physical?!"

 

[Babylon]

Does your vhf allow different baud settings on send and receive ports, many don’t. My mate has just added AIS and now cannot feed his vhf with GPS so is having to add a separate GPS receiver.

That is apparently a common issue (hence why I'd have to add back-room gubbins if I bought a new Raymarine plotter but kept my existing SH radio) but, as per my latest post, I have to logically completely rule out any conflict of this sort - as there wasn't any in the first few years of operation and I didn't change anything on either the plotter or the VHF before it started.

 

[KevO]

Is your CP180 connected to an AIS feed, or does it randomly re-boot on its own?

It is connected to my SH GX2100 that has AIS. It has been fine for 3 years or so and now plays up occasionally.

 

[Babylon]

It is connected to my SH GX2100 that has AIS. It has been fine for 3 years or so and now plays up occasionally.

Same VHF as mine, and roughly the same length of time mine was fine until the problem first started! Might be worth testing it with the VHF switched off or with the port temporarily de-activated, as I did.

The increasing rate at which my plotter now goes on the blink makes me doubly suspicious of a ribbon-connection inside, either related directly to the AIS feed or some other aspect of the processing which reduces its capacity to keep functioning when data such as AIS comes in on top of the basic chart stuff? If a connection was slightly loosened at the time of the first big bump, maybe successive bumps or engine vibrations (or some degree of corrosion as a result of slightly open contacts?) have degraded the connection further?

 

[Alan S]

Probably a different issue but my Standard Horizon CP180i frequently re-boots if the boat is not moving. Never had any problem with AIS. Anyone else experienced this?

 

[LadyInBed]

I see the other ports are allocated to NMEA . . .
What is on them?
If nothing, why not disable them?
Is the speed correct for the AIS?
What happens if you put the AIS on a different port?

 

[Babylon]

Probably a different issue but my Standard Horizon CP180i frequently re-boots if the boat is not moving. Never had any problem with AIS. Anyone else experienced this?

The first isolation test is to remove just the chart card and see if it still happens.
The second test (with the card back in) is to switch off just the AIS source and see if it still happens.

The more people who have this problem with their CP180 or CP300 (essentially the same thing except for screen size, and the 'i' in either case just refers to an internal rather than external GPS antenna) who can isolate the variable that triggers the fault, the better chance we'll all have of finding a solution.

 

[markhomer]

The first isolation test is to remove just the chart card and see if it still happens.
The second test (with the card back in) is to switch off just the AIS source and see if it still happens.

The more people who have this problem with their CP180 or CP300 (essentially the same thing except for screen size, and the 'i' in either case just refers to an internal rather than external GPS antenna) who can isolate the variable that triggers the fault, the better chance we'll all have of finding a solution.

I can reiterate whats been said above ,on previous boat we had same problem as some , ie cp180 restarting its self , it got worse and worse over time , untill engine wouldnt start ,


Turned out it was the main battery isolation switch breaking down internally once replaced never a problem again .


Interestingly also had similar symptoms with a band g vulcan , this turned out to be supply wire too small and when power demand upped gps reset , this was resolved with larger lower resistance supply .