Standard Horizon GPS Chart Plotter 300 QUESTION

[Gwylan]

I have a CP300 on board and find it useful and sufficient for my sailing needs.
These are now obsolete and appearing on ebay.

It is mounted at the helm, because that is where I spend most of the time. We have the GPS and AIS aerials installed and wired in. It all talks to the VHF and the NASA GPS repeaters.

The question is: Can I install another CP300 at the nav station with them in some sort of parallel?
Or even the CP180. Really a lazy repeater would do.

That way the planning and course stuff can be done below deck and so on. Also then log writing and noting position on charts can be easily done - well in the warm anyway.

I assume that only one will have the Chart Card installed and will be 'primus inter pares' for the purposes of the system

Look forward to answers.

 

[tillergirl]

It can only input and output NMEA. So both would need a chart card I think. The chart card boots up at the start but the inputs/outputs only listen and talk to NMEA so the second machine without the card wouldn't boot? The NMEA could handshake the live data 'inter pares' I suppose. I input depth for example from the Navman and the plotter integrates that. But it is not fighting other DPT/DBT strings. Would be interesting to try. I am just wondering what each machine would make sense of the identical data...… at the same time.

 

[jwilson]

At one point a few years ago I had one SH and one Raymarine C-series: Wanted to have one as master and one as repeater and was prepared to buy one more of either brand if needed. Both manufacturers told me it could not be done - probably correctly as if it had been possible they'd have sold another plotter.

At that time only Raymarine E-series would network. Don't think SH have ever sold plotters that networked. I just lived (and still do) with two plotters each with their own GPS and chart card. At least it gives me redundancy, and interestingly both GPS's regularly show .001 to .003 differences in position - the GPS pucks are about 12 ft apart, so both positions accurate to about 6 feet.

For lowest cost master and slave setup now put a Simrad or B&G at the helm and use their wifi output to mirror screen on a tablet below. Think Lowrance does the same.

 

[MikeCC]

As tillergirl says, no networking on these units. I recall they will boot without chart card but might have to press a button to continue. Could be useful as AIS repeater, plus whatever else you can feed in especially if you have any instruments with NMEA output. You can use the main unit to feed GPS to second so you could use an external antenna type without the antenna. Or get the 'i' version for internal GPS if price difference is not great.

You can transfer routes and waypoints on a blank data card. Also possible in theory to have route running on one and sending waypoints to other.

 

[Gwylan]

Sort of maybe no then. Might try talking to SH after the holiday.

Reluctant to end up needing 2 cards for what was really intended as a way to cover the big hole left by removing the Philips GPS, time has really overtaken it.
Leaves the challenge of getting the Yeoman and the SH to behave together.

The boat is for sale and realty thinking what I might do next.

Thinking will be a weatherproof tablet, navionics with an ais input and screen as second display.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

I have the SH CP300 networked with my SH GX2100E AIS Radio and old Raymarine Autopilot ST4000+

I can set a waypoint on the CP300 and the Raymarine will steer towards it based on Cross-Track-Error info from CP300 to autopilot. Wiring is as follows ....



NMEA has a Transmit, Receive and common ground, so networking 2 CP300s together would be difficult as they both transmit the same signals. You could send the GPS position from one to the other though if you enable external GPS input on the receiving CP300 - I am pretty certain you can't network 2xCP300s together and transfer map data or mirror screens - they are simply too old for this concept.

You can transfer routes etc. using a User C-CARD (see manual) but it's a pain. They will boot up without a map card inserted but will have a global base map which is totally useless for any kind of navigation.

I have now replaced my below-deck laptop with a stand-alone tablet running Navionics (Total cost for Tablet+Navionics approx €240 + data plan.) They are not networked and don't talk to each other but it all still does what I want it to - Transfer track from helm plotter to autopilot.

Chart table looks like this ...



Helm like this ...



PS - The tablet clips into an off-the-shelf tablet cover (front flap cut off and the back cover screwed and glued over the hole left by the previous defunkt black and white plotter.) Charged over a USB cable plugged into the USB charging sockets. It can also be removed to watch Netflix/Amazon Prime with the audio over BT to the boat speakers. Needless to say because it has internet it has weather, wind, news, messaging etc. all in it too. Tablets are the way to go IMHO for below decks navigation and versatility - still like a bright weatherproof plotter at the helm though.

 

[RAI]

I have fitted a 300 and later a 390 CP before I discovered that the cards and the plotters would become unavailable. I got the 390 because I was getting wary about having my plotter, GPS, AIS, DSC, flux compass and Sitex radar all dependent on one unit. So now the 300 is the radar screen and controller and the 390 does the rest.
Yes, two chart cards are needed but I had those anyway with overlaps.
It's ok to have the two CPs receive NMEA messages but only one of the two can send commands, for example to the radar.

 

[Gwylan]

Well, thanks to everyone for the shared wisdom. I love this site when you can get information and shared experience.

Would seem that SH does not have too much of a future. Or have I missed something?

Tablets are so cheap and Navionics relatively outperforms - seems that is the way to go.

Just need a creative way to cove the hole left by removing the ancient but fully functioning Philips GPS display.

A Yeoman unit may appear in the for sale area soon too.