jfm
Well-Known Member
I thought the same Q when I saw it, and guessed it's a navtex
Successful survey - delivery Thursday (photos)
- Thread starter kcrane
- Start date
I thought the same Q when I saw it, and guessed it's a navtex
kcrane
Well-Known Member
What a wonderful and enthusiastic set of comments, thanks to you all.
Yes, we are excited about getting the keys, it feels like it has been a long time coming.
The boat is a 2007 model, so has had 3 seasons and 300hrs, with Princess confirming the owner has been more than diligent in keeping her in top condition. We looked at V48's built from the early ones in 2004 to the last in 2008 and all were in very good condition.
jfm eagled eyed as usual answered MapisM's question, the screen is a McMurdo Nav6. We had one on the last boat. I suspect it has been overtaken by being able to get weather on the internet, but it is standalone and reliable.
Other Princess owners will now get PM'd with questions, like if you have Furuno gear, which is the best AIS to get?
Yes, we are excited about getting the keys, it feels like it has been a long time coming.
The boat is a 2007 model, so has had 3 seasons and 300hrs, with Princess confirming the owner has been more than diligent in keeping her in top condition. We looked at V48's built from the early ones in 2004 to the last in 2008 and all were in very good condition.
jfm eagled eyed as usual answered MapisM's question, the screen is a McMurdo Nav6. We had one on the last boat. I suspect it has been overtaken by being able to get weather on the internet, but it is standalone and reliable.
Other Princess owners will now get PM'd with questions, like if you have Furuno gear, which is the best AIS to get?
Nick_H
Well-Known Member
Can't answer the AIS question, but I do have the same radar/plotter. Generally it's OK, and re-draw is quite fast, but I hate the trackball. Any salt or muck in the air gets behind it and you get a jerky action, so it's often difficult to put the cursor where you want it. It's easy to take the ball out and clean it, but doesn't take long to go jerky again. It's a **** design, and I see Furuno have changed back to a 4 way rocker on the new kit. It's a small price to pay for such a fab boat though 
Hurricane
Well-Known Member
Both jfm and I have the Comar AIS transponder - that means that it transmits and receives AIS data.
Your boat, being certainly large enough to cross the channel might benefit from an AIS transmitter. Its just one more safety thing helping you being seen by shipping etc.
Dont be put off by all thos saying that it isnt any good in the Solent - thats not what its for.
I believe that AIS transponders are about £500/£800 ish but need an extra GPS input to get all their timing information. This means another GPS mushroom which you should get in the price but you will need to find space on the radar arch.
Alternatively, a receive only AIS unit ought to be picked up from £100 / 300 ish. Both will need a VHF antenna but with the appropriate switch box could share the existing VHF antenna.
I've no experience with Furuno but there shouldnt be a problem integrating with your plotter. I'm afraid that I'm a Raymarine fan so cant help much here.
If you want to upgrade and are not into doing it yourself, give Maricom a call - they are local to the Hamble and are very experienced at all brands of kit. They do most of the work for PMYS at Swanwick as well. A really enthuiastic bunch of guys - they fitted my G Series.
If, however, you have any experience with this kind of thing, you could easily fit it yourself.
Your boat, being certainly large enough to cross the channel might benefit from an AIS transmitter. Its just one more safety thing helping you being seen by shipping etc.
Dont be put off by all thos saying that it isnt any good in the Solent - thats not what its for.
I believe that AIS transponders are about £500/£800 ish but need an extra GPS input to get all their timing information. This means another GPS mushroom which you should get in the price but you will need to find space on the radar arch.
Alternatively, a receive only AIS unit ought to be picked up from £100 / 300 ish. Both will need a VHF antenna but with the appropriate switch box could share the existing VHF antenna.
I've no experience with Furuno but there shouldnt be a problem integrating with your plotter. I'm afraid that I'm a Raymarine fan so cant help much here.
If you want to upgrade and are not into doing it yourself, give Maricom a call - they are local to the Hamble and are very experienced at all brands of kit. They do most of the work for PMYS at Swanwick as well. A really enthuiastic bunch of guys - they fitted my G Series.
If, however, you have any experience with this kind of thing, you could easily fit it yourself.
mjf
Well-Known Member
The navnet 2 Furuno can show AIS once an Rx 'engine' is connected. MEI in port solent will price it for you.
Standalone AIS displays are £200ish.
The type B (i think they are refered to) can Tx too so a nice idea for cross channel and night , even rough Wx passages as show you up on others receivers. These standalone displays are £600ish and up.
MapisM
Well-Known Member
Do you mean ANY engine? I thought that screen overlay with the full targets details is only available with a Furuno engine connected via Ethernet? Anyway, in reply to kcrane question, there are three alternatives:
1) the FA30, which is the plain receiver, "black box" style, but with the ethernet interface;
2) the FA50, identical but capable also of transmit (comparable to the Comar mentioned by Hurric, ethernet aside);
3) the FA150, which is the full-fledged unit for Solas vessels: A class and internal display.
Between those, for your application the FA50 is probably the best bet.
Mind, it's probably a tad more expensive than the Comar, but generally speaking Furuno is still one of not many boat components builders where you get what you pay for.
jfm
Well-Known Member
I don't know furuno in detail (being a non fan of the UI, having tried it a lot) but I'd be v surprised if you need ethernet to get overlay. Raymaine screens take a 38400 baud nmea input and give full overlay.
I think you just need an ais engine like the comar then connect that directly to plotter (2 wires, nmea, simple) if u have an unused nmea in with 38400 baud capability. That's unlikely in which case you need a multiplexer. If you do need a multiplexer K tell me as I will post you one brand new foc. I had one for the e120s but no longer need it as the new e140s have several nmea in ports so no multiplexers neededyou also need to connect vhf as hurric said, plus on/off sw etc. With the comar you can use you own switches so use carling contura II to match princess
Hurric you don't need to put gps antenna up the mast. Grp is transparent so it can go lots of places. Mine is under foredeck above ceiling liner, just in front of bottom of wscreen. Imho this is better as the connections are guaranteed dry
I think you just need an ais engine like the comar then connect that directly to plotter (2 wires, nmea, simple) if u have an unused nmea in with 38400 baud capability. That's unlikely in which case you need a multiplexer. If you do need a multiplexer K tell me as I will post you one brand new foc. I had one for the e120s but no longer need it as the new e140s have several nmea in ports so no multiplexers neededyou also need to connect vhf as hurric said, plus on/off sw etc. With the comar you can use you own switches so use carling contura II to match princess
Hurric you don't need to put gps antenna up the mast. Grp is transparent so it can go lots of places. Mine is under foredeck above ceiling liner, just in front of bottom of wscreen. Imho this is better as the connections are guaranteed dry
Last edited:
JamesTT
Well-Known Member
Beautiful boat, good luck.
MapisM
Well-Known Member
Yup, I'm not sure about that either, hence the question mark in my previous post. But as I recall, there's at least some restriction with NMEA connections - an interface required maybe, don't remember exactly. Worth checking, anyway.
Though frankly I'd rather use a cat6 cable over NMEA wires anytime, if I had a choice.
Mind, if NMEA is fine, that thingie has 4 of them, so probably no need for a multiplexer (which I also don't fancy, btw).
U4
Well-Known Member
Wow what an awsome boat - enjoy!!
volvopaul
Well-Known Member
Yes Kevin I was very impressed well done shes a beauty, a credit to Terry the previous owner thoroughly nice chap. Wish they were all like that to survey, could have gone in the engine room with my best gear on.
Email also sent, not the invoice yet though!!!
kcrane
Well-Known Member
Again, thanks all for the positive comments, I'm glad of the support from the forum.
I'll check out whether there is an advantage to sticking to Furuno branded AIS, but would quite enjoy doing a few things myself so happy to take up jfm's offer of the multiplexer if needed.
jfm - did you mean the carling contura II are the type of main switch on the dash?
I'll check out whether there is an advantage to sticking to Furuno branded AIS, but would quite enjoy doing a few things myself so happy to take up jfm's offer of the multiplexer if needed.
jfm - did you mean the carling contura II are the type of main switch on the dash?
Hurricane
Well-Known Member
My Comar AIS powers up with the Plotters so there isnt a need for a switch.
I do have a discrete toggle switch tucked away to switch the tansmitter off - i.e "covert mode" - but we always leave it switched on. I know some on here think it is a good idea to keep your transmissions to a minimum but if you havent got anything to hide why not leave it on.
As far as a multiplexer is concerned, IMO I dont think you will need one to change the baud rate - the AIS you choose should be able to match the baud rate of the Furuno. But this does assume that you have a spare NMEA input available to connect to. Extra electronics (multiplexers etc) are more use if you need to connect more than one transmitting device (NMEA talker) into the same connection. It seems to me that the key for you is to have a good look at the plotter and see what it has available.
Another good alternative would be to insert the AIS data into the autopilot's course computer. Princess usually fit Raymarine instruments and Autopilots so you may have something like this - which should conveniently have a spare NMEA input. All you would then need to do is connect the AIS output to the course computer's input and set the baud rate (data speed) accordingly.
The Autopilot may (need to check with Raymarine though) then transfer the data to the plotter through the existing connections - Depth, water speed etc must get to the plotter somehow.
A lot depends upon what is installed though.
This is a pic of my course computer so you know what your looking for.
I do have a discrete toggle switch tucked away to switch the tansmitter off - i.e "covert mode" - but we always leave it switched on. I know some on here think it is a good idea to keep your transmissions to a minimum but if you havent got anything to hide why not leave it on.
As far as a multiplexer is concerned, IMO I dont think you will need one to change the baud rate - the AIS you choose should be able to match the baud rate of the Furuno. But this does assume that you have a spare NMEA input available to connect to. Extra electronics (multiplexers etc) are more use if you need to connect more than one transmitting device (NMEA talker) into the same connection. It seems to me that the key for you is to have a good look at the plotter and see what it has available.
Another good alternative would be to insert the AIS data into the autopilot's course computer. Princess usually fit Raymarine instruments and Autopilots so you may have something like this - which should conveniently have a spare NMEA input. All you would then need to do is connect the AIS output to the course computer's input and set the baud rate (data speed) accordingly.
The Autopilot may (need to check with Raymarine though) then transfer the data to the plotter through the existing connections - Depth, water speed etc must get to the plotter somehow.
A lot depends upon what is installed though.
This is a pic of my course computer so you know what your looking for.
Last edited:
jfm
Well-Known Member
MapisM, when you say "that thingie has 4 of them, so probably no need for a multiplexer (which I also don't fancy, btw)" do you mean KCrane's furuno has 4x NMEA ins? In which case yes indeed he doesn't need a multiplexer. As for "don't fancy" yup it's another bit of kit but one only fits these if one has no choice!
Hurricane, the switches is personal choice obviously but I preferred to have 2 switches with the Comar using carlings to match the dash. One to turn it off/on and another to put it in silent mode (non transmit). In the SofF the coast guard bugs you constnatly if you leave it transmitting, so I only transmit on longer passages. Kevin, you need Carling V series Contura II switches to match the dash. Full catalog at carling technologies website. Various 'net suppliers ( including car suppliers but beware their illumination LEDs are often 12 not 24v) eg www.dun-bri.com (select switches at the left, then carling at the top)
Hurric I'm slightly guessing here so will happily be corrected if you know better but I would have thought your NMEA wiring will work but it wont be as fast. If you put the Comar into the a/pilot as you have done, the AIS data will be heard by the a/pilot in 38400 baud then transmitted to the plotters in 4800 or 9600. There is a lot of data from the AIS if things are busy so that risks a bottleneck in the transmssion, which I expect manifests itself in slow/jerky screen updates of AIS positions. I would have thought it's much better to connect the Comar to the plotter directly using a 38400 listening port on the plotter, or via a multiplexer that will output to the plotter in 38400
Hurricane, the switches is personal choice obviously but I preferred to have 2 switches with the Comar using carlings to match the dash. One to turn it off/on and another to put it in silent mode (non transmit). In the SofF the coast guard bugs you constnatly if you leave it transmitting, so I only transmit on longer passages. Kevin, you need Carling V series Contura II switches to match the dash. Full catalog at carling technologies website. Various 'net suppliers ( including car suppliers but beware their illumination LEDs are often 12 not 24v) eg www.dun-bri.com (select switches at the left, then carling at the top)
Hurric I'm slightly guessing here so will happily be corrected if you know better but I would have thought your NMEA wiring will work but it wont be as fast. If you put the Comar into the a/pilot as you have done, the AIS data will be heard by the a/pilot in 38400 baud then transmitted to the plotters in 4800 or 9600. There is a lot of data from the AIS if things are busy so that risks a bottleneck in the transmssion, which I expect manifests itself in slow/jerky screen updates of AIS positions. I would have thought it's much better to connect the Comar to the plotter directly using a 38400 listening port on the plotter, or via a multiplexer that will output to the plotter in 38400
MapisM
Well-Known Member
Nope, 4 ports overall, but they're fully configurable via menu. In fact, Furuno doesn't even label them as NMEA IN/OUT, just as DATA ports. Though as I recall some are recommended for a specific usage, like the 1st for the mushroom, frinstance.
Anyway, at a guess kcrane should have just a couple of ports already taken: one for the gps receiver and one for the a/p.
Plus maybe one for the heading sensor, if he has the optional ARPA board installed (btw, if not, it might be worth a thought).
So, there should be at least one free port left, I reckon.
Otoh, also the navnet port should be free, since I don't see any other networked equipment. Which means that he could use that one to connect the FA50 AIS as I previously suggested, running at mega rather than kilo speed, and without a ethernet hub - which I would trust more than the multiplexer, but it's still nice to avoid it if unnecessary.
PS: on 2nd thought, he might have also one port used to feed the DSC...
Aarumph, enough of guesswork for the moment, surely kc will know better as soon as he can play with the new toy a bit!
Last edited:
jfm
Well-Known Member
Ah, ok, all understood. He'll also be using one port to talk NMEA to the navtex, if it's installed well.
kcrane
Well-Known Member
I will check it out over the weekend, see if I can make sense of what I have and then ask for advice based on the facts, though obviously that won't be half as much fun as MapisM, Hurricane and jfm outguessing each other!
Hurricane
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure that there's very much data transmitted when receiving AIS.
I've got a Nasa PC AIS engine connected to my PC at home and, in diagnoctic mode, you can see the NMEA sentences arriving - quite slow really - I dont think the baud rate would make much difference.
I'm sure its best to run it as fast as you can though.
On our boat, the Comar is connected (like yours) to a spare 38400 baud port on one of the GPMs.
Reading the above, if the Furuno has spare ports this must be the best place to connect the AIS.
jfm
Well-Known Member
Ah, thanks, ok understood. KCrane will no doubt make a new thread on it when he's checked his wiring (which I'm sure wont be his first priority when he gets the keys to his lovely new machine tomorrow!
)
strakeryrius
Well-Known Member
Nice pics btw - if the day job gets boring you could be a boat brochure photographer
Ahem, most of the pics seem to be from the broker's web site.
It is a fantastic looking boat - hope you have blue skies and happy times in her.