Vulcan or Axiom and other electronics questions...

[Iain C]

A question for the electronics experts out there!

I'm looking to buy a new 7" plotter to go up on the wheel binnacle. The rest of the boat's electronics are as all Raymarine, with ST60 wind, ST60 depth, ST60 speed, ST60 autopilot (the better one where it acts on the steering linkage, not the wheel) and what I think is an SL70 Pathfinder radar/plotter at the chart table. Obviously I want things as integrated as possible.

My options are essentially...

A "shop" new Axiom 7 at £634.95, plus Navionics chart at £219.95, total £854.90

or...

A second hand but never fitted Vulcan 7, at £350.00, plus obviously the same chart at £219.95, total £569.95. This saves £284.95

(Please note I have already bought the Seatalk to Seatalk NG adaptor, although this could be returned if not needed)

What would you do in my shoes? Is the Axiom £284 better than the Vulcan? Or will I forever be looking at little greyed out bits of functionality on the Vulcan because it does not totally get on with the Raymarine network? Or will it be a total pain to set up where the Raymarine is plug and play?

In a nutshell I don't mind spending the extra on the Axiom (and of course having a guarantee) if it's going to be easier/faster/better, however if they do exactly the same thing then clearly I'll happily keep the £284.

One other question...I have an old school NASA AIS "Radar" that in the absence of anything else is quite a handy bit of kit going cross-channel. However I think this needs a GPS position input of my boat...is this possible on either of those two plotters? Or is there a better way without spending mega bucks?

 

[prv]

Can't say for sure as I've never used the Vulcan, but I do like my Axiom (9" rather than 7").

The Seatalk adapter will convert the wind, speed, and depth data into N2k, and I'm sure those standard PGNs are so well-used and straightforward that any device will understand them. Autopilots are much less standardised and the Vulcan will not be able to control it (the pilot will still be usable, of course, and might be able to follow a course-to-waypoint emitted by the Axiom). If the Axiom will talk to your Raymarine pilot then I tend to think that's worth paying for; the autopilot controls on the latest version of Lighthouse 3 are really quite nice. However, I don't know how far back full compatibility goes - and in any case there's no such thing as an "ST60 autopilot". You probably have an ST6002 control head, but that will work with a huge range of pilots, some of which I know are not compatible with Lighthouse 3.4 (it's possible they might add more backwards compatibility in a future update...).

The Axiom is the latest in Raymarine's range and receiving regular substantial updates that add new features (the autopilot control was one such, and I've just received some radar improvements that have made MARPA work much better) whereas I believe the Vulcan is a few years old now?

Neither plotter has an NMEA0183 output needed to supply the NASA AIS. You'd need an N2k to NMEA0183 converter, which is probably more expensive than a basic standalone GPS module. However, personally I'd spend any money that might go towards the NASA on instead buying an AIS receiver that can supply the plotter. The usefulness of AIS depends a lot on how well it's processed and displayed, and the NASA is primitive in the extreme whereas the Axiom is rather good and I'm sure the Vulcan is at least competent too.

Pete

 

[pvb]

Neither plotter has an NMEA0183 output needed to supply the NASA AIS. You'd need an N2k to NMEA0183 converter, which is probably more expensive than a basic standalone GPS module. However, personally I'd spend any money that might go towards the NASA on instead buying an AIS receiver that can supply the plotter. The usefulness of AIS depends a lot on how well it's processed and displayed, and the NASA is primitive in the extreme whereas the Axiom is rather good and I'm sure the Vulcan is at least competent too.

I'd second that! Sell the Nasa AIS Radar on eBay and buy a decent AIS receiver so you can see the AIS data on the plotter.

 

[vyv_cox]

I don't have a Vulcan but I do have a Zeus2, not a million miles apart. Based upon my experience trying to set it up to do everything I want I suspect it would be a miracle if the two systems communicated flawlessly.

 

[westhinder]

I'd second that! Sell the Nasa AIS Radar on eBay and buy a decent AIS receiver so you can see the AIS data on the plotter.

I agree. But if you buy a new AIS, I’’d advise you to buy a transceiver. It is highly likely that once you appreciate the usefulness of receiving AIS on your plotter, your next step will be that you want to transmit your own position and you have to buy new again. Guess how I have come to this point of view ?

 

[Iain C]

Great input, thanks guys. I'll go for the Axiom then, and after having done a bit of digging I should be able to get the NASA AIS radar to talk to the NMEA0183 output that the Pathfinder has down below. I totally agree on the usefulness of having it on the plotter screen, but as linking those two will essentially be a freebie, it does at least as a stop gap measure enable me to call a ship mid-channel by it's name for example. However I will go for a proper transponder one day.

Thanks again!

 

[dk]

Good decision to go with the Axiom as the Vulcan won't communicate with the RM autopilot.