Wireless Wind Systems

[James W]

I'm going to struggle to find the time to climb the mast and mouse a cable down it right now, so I'm looking at some of the wireless offerings. I was hoping they're more reliable than they used to be and a quick evening's research showed this was pretty much the case.

I'm running an almost complete Garmin system on the boat, including plotter and autopilot, but I can't use their wireless Gwind set up because the mast is a touch over their max height of 50 feet (this might be a blessing as the Gwind is not considered the most reliable). The B&G WS320 has some rave reviews and can be used on masts up to 98 feet according to B&G. The signal is sent via bluetooth to a base station that plugs into the N2K network.....perfect in theory!

The only thing holding me back is the fear that it might struggle to work with the Garmin autopilot........does anyone have any thoughts or experiences?

Thanks loads!

James

 

[Shanty]

Shanty has a N2K network that connects a B&G plotter, a Furuno wind instrument, and Garmin displays. It was plug & play to set up, and the brands involved all talk faultlessly to one another. Hopefully, that bodes well for your proposed B&G / Garmin setup.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Wind data is wind data James. My Simrad auto pilot is quite happy with the wind data from the Garmin wind sensor, for instance.

I still think wireless is a mistake though. You have to climb the mast and fit the sensor, whatever you decide, but i'd run a cable and fit an off the shelf sensor of whatever make you fancy. Otherwise, it's a trip up the mast every time the batteries fail.

 

[pvb]

A wired transducer is virtually fit-and-forget. A wireless transducer is fine until, as PaulRainbow commented, the rechargeable battery fails.

 

[James W]

Wind data is wind data James. My Simrad auto pilot is quite happy with the wind data from the Garmin wind sensor, for instance.

I still think wireless is a mistake though. You have to climb the mast and fit the sensor, whatever you decide, but i'd run a cable and fit an off the shelf sensor of whatever make you fancy. Otherwise, it's a trip up the mast every time the batteries fail.

Thanks everyone,

I know that wireless is a bit of a risk, but there’s a lot of people very happy with the B&G WS320 and so I thought it might solve my problem.

I’ll see what alternative wired N2K transducers are out there before I decide.

Thanks again! ??

 

[PaulRainbow]

Thanks everyone,

I know that wireless is a bit of a risk, but there’s a lot of people very happy with the B&G WS320 and so I thought it might solve my problem.

I’ll see what alternative wired N2K transducers are out there before I decide.

Thanks again! ??

You're welcome James. You're choice at the end of the day, of course. I have the Garmin gWind wireless system and as much as i like Garmin kit, it's a clunky installation. The masthead sensor talks to a Nexus wifi box, which translates date to N2K and sends it to another box of tricks, which puts the data on the N2K network. It's not totally rubbish, but it does stop working occasionally, a power off and on usually sorts it, OK, it's not life threatening data, so not the end of the World, just annoying. I'll live with it for now, but if/when it gives up the ghost, i won't replace it. If it died tomorrow i'd fit one of the Autonic sensors (no connection) Wind Sensor NMEA2000 | Autonnic

My experience with these is limited, but nonetheless, for the money, they look good and seem to work well.

Good luck with whatever you go for

 

[James W]

You're welcome James. You're choice at the end of the day, of course. I have the Garmin gWind wireless system and as much as i like Garmin kit, it's a clunky installation. The masthead sensor talks to a Nexus wifi box, which translates date to N2K and sends it to another box of tricks, which puts the data on the N2K network. It's not totally rubbish, but it does stop working occasionally, a power off and on usually sorts it, OK, it's not life threatening data, so not the end of the World, just annoying. I'll live with it for now, but if/when it gives up the ghost, i won't replace it. If it died tomorrow i'd fit one of the Autonic sensors (no connection) Wind Sensor NMEA2000 | Autonnic

My experience with these is limited, but nonetheless, for the money, they look good and seem to work well.

Good luck with whatever you go for

Thanks Paul,

I think I'd have gone with the Garmin wireless to be honest, as the new one is a much simpler system with just transducer and mfd connected by ANT.....and the price is good. Unfortunately, the 50 foot range is no good for the new boat.

**Climbs back into wind instrument wormhole**

 

[tjbrace]

Not wireless but LJC Capteurs make a solid state offering with n2k connection. No moving parts but I don’t know if it’s affected by bird poo.

 

[James W]

Not wireless but LJC Capteurs make a solid state offering with n2k connection. No moving parts but I don’t know if it’s affected by bird poo.

I've heard good things about them....but the bird poo is certainly an issue in our neck of the woods! More research needed......

 

[mrangry]

I have the B&G wireless wind unit and cannot get it to pair with the base station. This is required to be done prior to fitting. I sent the unit to B&G who tested it and said it worked fine. I am going to try once more when allowed to visit the boat and will ask for a refund if unsuccessful.

 

[James W]

I have the B&G wireless wind unit and cannot get it to pair with the base station. This is required to be done prior to fitting. I sent the unit to B&G who tested it and said it worked fine. I am going to try once more when allowed to visit the boat and will ask for a refund if unsuccessful.

Thanks for that, it’ll be wired for sure for me now