A bunch of electronics questions

Xplicitlnck

Xplicitlnck

Well-Known Member
Jan 2, 2012
4,030
Long island ny
Boat Info
330ec
Engines
Twin 7.4 straight drive
Ok we'll again I'm new to marine electronics. Basically know nothing. I have all original electronics from 98. Ray autopilot, GPS, tri data, 10xx radar, and VHF. I also have a newer garmin GPS with a GPS receiver. Now the original GPS receiver that is hooked up to the original ray GPS system is no good. ( GPS reads bad sensor on startup) can I hook up the Garmin GPS to the nmea or seatalk system and have the ray GPS work off the garmin sensor?

Now I know everything is outdated but while I save up to refit everything I would like them to work properly.

autopilot
if I remember correctly its a 182 series?
It always reads between 12 and 14 degrees but occasionally reads in sync with my garmin heading ( garmin is a stand alone system) . I've gone through the manual twice already and followed the directions for setting a coarse but every time I hit the auto button it veers off coarse. Sometimes making a hard right other times just doing whatever it wants.
All I want it to do is go straight and hold a heading. How do you achieve this? And why is it always reading 14degrees. (Heading sensor is also connected to the radar system and that reads the proper heading so the sensor is good I'm assuming)

now for knowledge to upgrade. (I know it's a while away but I want to get somewhat of a handle on what I want and how much I will be spending)
I had a recent post about my fusion stereo and the topic of radars came up and I think I decided to go with a simrad/Lawrence system. I will also be replacing my auto pilot system, plotter, tri data (if necessary) and every other electronic on the dash.
Obviously I'm trying to spend as little as possible but I will spend what I have to.
Closed or open array? Plotter with radar overlay or two separate screens?
In a nut shell I'm asking you to put a system together for me so I can figure out what I want to do because I have no idea what I need to look for or what I need to buy.
I know I'm all over the place and that's why I'm asking for help and guidance..

thanks
 
You might want to check your gyro compass and make sure that you don't have anything near it that is metal that can be throwing it off kilter. As for vearing off to the right, could you be asking the autopilot to follow a course? If your cursor is somewhere on the screen and you ask it to "go to the cursor" for example, it will vear toward it. I am not familiar with your equipment but these are 2 things that pop in my mind. Sorry I can't help you with the other questions.

Dan
 
Jonathan

I am not familiar with your generation of equipment either, but.....14 degrees is the auto correction for your magnetic vs. true position. Sounds to me like your AP is only seeing the correction and not your actual position as it changes, which leads me to believe your AP is not getting a GPS signal. The AP is probably taking off for a heading of 14 degrees every time you put it on Auto, regardles of your heading. If you're seriously thinking of upgrading I'd call Roger at CMI and have him put together a system best suited to your needs.
 
Ive herd of the metal objects throwing it off so I checked that already. As for the go to courser im honestly not sure... how would I figure this out. All I want the auto pilot to do is go straight. I will point my boat at the heading I want using the wheel and hit auto. But it will not keep the heading. One other thing I forgot to mention is that if I turn to port all the way to stop the rudder indicator reads 42dgrs if I turn to starboard until stop it only reads 32dgrs. Why?
 
Usually there's 2 modes the autopilot can be in, one follows instructions from the GPS, the other operates independent of the GPS and just maintains a heading. I don't have your unit so I can't tell you how to switch between the two though. It also needs a speed input either from a paddle wheel or GPS. This tells the unit how aggressive it tweaks the rudders depending on you speed. Sometimes you have to calibrate the unit and the rudders so it knows where the rudders. Next you need to make sure your compass is working properly and in the right location and that nothing is interfering with it. Make sure there's a feed from you GPS to the autopilot and try setting a waypoint to see if it will track to it.
 
I probably have a similar level of knowledge and have been reading up trying to get better acquainted with my electronics and how they work. While it is not an answer to all your questions I did come across a video on radars that I found informative (it was from Garmin) - despite which mfg you purchase, it may help in determining the type you want. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDVq6XGNmgk Good luck ... will be following the thread with interest.
 
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Finally got to watch the video. Very informative. Thank you. I think I have a much better understanding between open and closed array. Im learning. Keep it coming
 
Ok heres a question worth asking. I have a stand alone garmin plotter with an external gps reciever on top of the arch. Now. I also have an external gps reciever for the raymarine gps that is tied into my autopilot radar and all other electronics. This gps reciever does not work. Can I tie my garmin gps into the raymarine system and use the garmin gps reciever for all the electronics via sea talk or nmea?
 
Xplicitlnck said:
Ok heres a question worth asking. I have a stand alone garmin plotter with an external gps reciever on top of the arch. Now. I also have an external gps reciever for the raymarine gps that is tied into my autopilot radar and all other electronics. This gps reciever does not work. Can I tie my garmin gps into the raymarine system and use the garmin gps reciever for all the electronics via sea talk or nmea?
Click to expand...

I have an older Garmin CP tied into an older Ray Auto pilot, so I'm going to say yes. But there is ALOT of wires and blinking lights and expensive networking-looking stuff under my dash from the previous owner so I have no clue how easy it is to accomplish.
 
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