Stowe Dataline to Seatalk ng

[lpdsn]

Has anyone tried integrating Stowe Dataline to Seatalk ng?

The original instruments that came with the boat are all Stowe Dataline. It partially works and I like to slowly upgrade some of the kit over the next two or three years, but three displays looks as though they've a good few years left in them so I'd like to keep them in teh system for the time being.

I've also got a Seatalk ng system for the autopilot. I'll get one of the Actisense systems to integrate the GPS (NMEA0183) into the Seatalk ng bus so at least I have a form of speed information for the autopilot, but I'd really like to integrate the Dataline system, so I can slowly replace transducers and some displays and have two way communication whilst doing it.

Although the Dataline looks like NMEA0183, it's obviously a bus system (it has to be for the lighting levels to be communicated two way between the various displays) so it doesn't seem quite so simple as an NMEA 0183 to Seatalk ng convertor.

So I'm interested to hear the experiences of anyone whose tried to get them working together.

 

[pvb]

Have you asked Tinley (www.stowemarine.com) - they're the experts.

 

[lpdsn]

Have you asked Tinley (www.stowemarine.com) - they're the experts.

Thanks for the reply. I looked at their website, but they don't have much information on supporting a strategy of gradually removing their kit from my boat.

I'll contact Actisense in due course as they seem to specialise in this area, but I was curious to see if anyone on the forum had any practical experience of doing something similar to what I want to do.

 

[pvb]

I had Stowe instruments on my last boat, with some limited integration with a Raymarine C120 plotter. The dataline system uses 5 wires, and only 2 are needed for NMEA, so the instrument lighting issue may not be relevant.

 

[lpdsn]

I had Stowe instruments on my last boat, with some limited integration with a Raymarine C120 plotter. The dataline system uses 5 wires, and only 2 are needed for NMEA, so the instrument lighting issue may not be relevant.

It looks like the instruments are using those two wires to send lighting information between themselves. I can set a level at the chart table that is obeyed by the instruments in the cockpit then go up into the cockpit and change the lighting level and the chart table display follows suit. That's why I think it is more than just NMEA0183. It's behaving as though the Dataline is a bus.

Ultimately, I plan just to retain the displays so I can accept a situation where a convertor is putting NMEA0183 out to the displays and treat them just as receivers of NMEA0183. Any collisions on the bus that happen when I change the lighting level shouldn't be significant and I'll just accept that circumstance.

However, if I move gradually to that there will be an interim situation where there are still instruments on the Dataline, so I will have to have two way communication between it and the Seatalk bus. Looks like that is going to be the difficult bit.

 

[roblpm]

Has anyone tried integrating Stowe Dataline to Seatalk ng?

The original instruments that came with the boat are all Stowe Dataline. It partially works and I like to slowly upgrade some of the kit over the next two or three years, but three displays looks as though they've a good few years left in them so I'd like to keep them in teh system for the time being.

I've also got a Seatalk ng system for the autopilot. I'll get one of the Actisense systems to integrate the GPS (NMEA0183) into the Seatalk ng bus so at least I have a form of speed information for the autopilot, but I'd really like to integrate the Dataline system, so I can slowly replace transducers and some displays and have two way communication whilst doing it.

Although the Dataline looks like NMEA0183, it's obviously a bus system (it has to be for the lighting levels to be communicated two way between the various displays) so it doesn't seem quite so simple as an NMEA 0183 to Seatalk ng convertor.

So I'm interested to hear the experiences of anyone whose tried to get them working together.

Trouble is I don't think it is really nmea as they sell am nmea box to convert it.
http://www.stowemarine.com/nmea.htm
Gives you Bluetooth output which means this evening while we were racing had it on i regatta on my phone. So all good and as you can add the gps in to the box means you can have the log and sog on your phone.

But............

I have a Sh vhf which outputs ais at a higher speed, i don't think i can add that in to their box. So i am going to end up adding another nmea multiplexor (raspberry pi).

The nmea box costs 245+vat and then you are talking about the actisense on top of that.

I think i would have been better starting again especially as my displays are knackered.

Have you priced up a whole new system??

 

[lpdsn]

Have you priced up a whole new system??

Yep, looking at getting on for £400 per display for new Raymarine displays, so approaching £1,200 to replace the three Stowe displays that are in good condition. Plus a decidedly non-trivial task to replace the two in the cockpit - one in the chart table would be easier.

I'm going to have to buy one of the Actisense thingies to get the GPS (NMEA0183) talking to the Autopilot for phase 1 of the project anyway - that would provide the reverse Seatalk to NMEA0183 conversion for free. So it would be a matter of experimenting at a later stage to see if they can talk to the Stowe displays. The messages are most likely NMEA 0183 but maybe the physical layer is different.

I'm not necessarily convinced that a vendor selling a box for £245+VAT (£294) is necessarily proof that it is essential. Everyone knows boat owners are mugs. It would be hard to justify that size of investment to support old displays - I'm happy I'll get a few more years out of them, but they're not going to last for ever.

I might well have to go the whole hog and replace all the transducers at once, so that might mean a delayed phase 2 until the end of next year.

 

[rogerthebodger]

I also have the same instruments but named Simrad.

The 5 wires are
+12
-ve
NMEA +
NMEA -
lighting level

Not in that order and I cannot remember the colours

I have connected the NMEA + and - directly to a RS232 to USB converter into a PC running NavMonPC and OpenCPN and all works OK. I even have an old Simrad chart plotter connected to the Dataline X and the GPS location also can be displayed using the simrad GPS display.

I have used raymarine transducer with my dataline once I worked out the different wiring colour codes so don't be too quick to get rid of the transducers which are mostly from the same manufacturer.

I think Alex McDoon of the fora did a converter seatark to NMEA but don't know which way round if converted.

 

[lpdsn]

Thanks for the replies. I think I at least have a plan now. I suspect two way communication between Dataline & Seatalk ng is probably optimistic, so I'll probably go for replacing all the sensors (transducers) in one go - prob next year now - and just feed one way into the Dataline so I can use the displays. If the lighting level is a separate wire that'll be brilliant as they can still talk to each other.