Transferring Waypoints - Raymarine new e-Series to previous E-series Wide

[dunedin]

Beginning to think that recently Raymarine is getting a bit like old style IBM - the most difficult things to get to interface are now Raymarine to Raymarine things!

Trying to do a simple thing of transferring waypoints between the two Raymarine plotters on board - an e7 and an E90W.
(Something that was really simple and done via the Seatalk cable between plotters on the old system I had from 2000 build, but we seem to have moved backwards in capability)

NMEA Data Transfer - So the E90W (just 5 years old) can receive data by NMEA transfer - great, but as far as I can see the newer e7 no longer has this functionality. The Raymarine rep on the forum stated in 2013 that this was a feature that they recognised is needed, but nothing since then.
=> Anybody know if the NMEA bulk data transfer is now present (not listed in the online manual I have).

Manual transfer by data cards - The E90W needs CF cards and the e& uses MicroSD, but I have the cards and the PC adapters so that is not the issue.
However, the e7 saves the waypoints as a .GPX file, whereas the E90W uses a proprietary .FSH file. It looks like there may be a very convoluted route of downloading a combination of GPSbabel and Raymarine software which may get there eventually. but surely there must be a simpler route ?

Raymarine seems to have lost touch with customers as the support for hugely expensive and recent products like E90W/ E120W is cynically awful, whereas a tiny bit of work would allow software compatibility / interoperability if they chose to do so

 

[Redfox226]

However, the e7 saves the waypoints as a .GPX file, whereas the E90W uses a proprietary .FSH file. It looks like there may be a very convoluted route of downloading a combination of GPSbabel and Raymarine software which may get there eventually. but surely there must be a simpler route ?

You might try GPSUtility from www.gpsutility.co.uk can convert .fsh to .gpx and vice versa.....

 

[bitbaltic]

However, the e7 saves the waypoints as a .GPX file, whereas the E90W uses a proprietary .FSH file. It looks like there may be a very convoluted route of downloading a combination of GPSbabel and Raymarine software which may get there eventually. but surely there must be a simpler route ?

No real experience with the software but I would bet that GPSU http://www.gpsu.co.uk/ will be able to do a straight conversion between the two. Of course, this means intervening with a PC and the various card readers.*

I have a Simrad NSS7 in the cockpit- not a brand new plotter, but relatively so- which unequivocally does not either receive or tramsmit the WPL sentence on 0183, which is astonishing.

As it happens the N2K side of the plotter is actually coupled up to a PC below via a SImrad 0183 to N2k converter. The PC is more than capable of pumping out the WPL sentence from any number of bits of software, and although the converter says it can receive WPL and the plotter says it can receive the N2K PGN, nothing seems to come through. I haven't tried very hard as it's not critical but it seems to me that moving waypoints via NMEA is very poorly supported nowadays.

My two ancient Garmin 128s beam routes and waypoints to each other no problem at all.

 

[dunedin]

Great thanks.

Will give GPSUtility a try. The freeware version only appears to accept up to 100 waypoints, and the non-freeware is $60 - which seems a lot to fix something Raymarine should do automatically.
But have done a batch for one area and will see if this transfers in OK as a first test.

 

[bignick]

Don't raymarine advertise an iPad /iPhone / android utility that allows you to enter all your waypoints at home and then transfer them to the plotter when you get to the boat? If that is true then can't you also back up all your old waypoints onto your phone from your old plotter and then transfer directly to your new one?

Try googling "raymarine raycontrol"

# oops! looks like you can't do this with an E90W. Sorry

 

[bitbaltic]

Great thanks.

Will give GPSUtility a try. The freeware version only appears to accept up to 100 waypoints, and the non-freeware is $60 - which seems a lot to fix something Raymarine should do automatically.
But have done a batch for one area and will see if this transfers in OK as a first test.

I know the feeling. I just had to spend £90 on some PC virtual port software to fix something I expected PC Plotter to do automatically....

 

[dunedin]

Will give GPSUtility a try. The freeware version only appears to accept up to 100 waypoints, and the non-freeware is $60 - which seems a lot to fix something Raymarine should do automatically.
But have done a batch for one area and will see if this transfers in OK as a first test.

OK so yesterday I tried on the boat. Confirmed that the mean Raymarine have not reinstated the NMEA transfer option on their current e-series software - so no easy options for Raymarine to Raymarine data transfer.

The GPSUtility and manual card transfer was a partial success - but only partial.
As well as the 100 waypoints limit on the freeware version, the transferred waypoints:
- lost the correct symbols - and most defaulted to some hideous symbol
- lost their Waypoint Group - not a big issue if use one area, but more of an issue when we have Waypoints from Atlantic France to Skye so far which want to keep separate
Can manually edit symbol and Group but a bit of a lengthy process for each batch

So a workable cludge if anybody needs for a small number of waypoints but not a clean solution