System Monitor to replace idiot lights ...

Ok so after a lot of pondering and research on this. I have decided to just go all NMEA 2000. N2K supports all of the PGN's that the system monitor monitors and with the right setup you can have them go off as alarms as well. With this in mind, I might just keep the "Idiot" lights as a quick reference point. The cost of a digital system monitor and work needed to convert over, totally out weighs it's benefit to me when a properly setup N2K system will do that same exact thing and go a few steps further. What I mean by that is if I add wifi converter to the N2K setup I could even get alarms and texts on my phone, or just check status of things like fuel levels and such.

The cost of switching over to N2K is about the same as a Sea-Ray system monitor (complete system) but N2K is endless in its expansion, all displays can be used for just about anything including the stereo with the right upgrade path. The conversion units analog and digital inputs for a dual engine application is around $500 and then you need compatible display, which I have. So thats a great place to get started.
 
Skybolt,

Now you've got me curious. My old Sea Ray LED light monitor is defunct and irreplaceable. So I'm curious as to what sort of sensors are you getting to set up your network? Do you have to replace existing sensors scattered around the boat or? I dream of a plug and play solution but I bet that's not the case.

What are you getting for your $500?
 
Blkbird said:
... What are you getting for your $500?
Click to expand...

So there are many analog to N2K products out there most for right around the $500 mark. One of these modules I am looking at will take the signals right from the old system monitor board. If setup right the signals are just on/off and with their software can be configured with NMEA 2000 PGN's (monitoring signals). These PGN's can be used to set alerts and alarms or anything you want, or that is supported by that PGN group.

The $500 price tag is for the dual modules, pricing for two Noland R11's at $590. I currently have two Garmin MFD's so I don't really need anything else, but I plan on getting their GMI20's to replace my analog gauges. They fit right in where the 3.5" gauges are so no drilling new holes.

I just ordered a Maretron DSM150 to go with and act as the system monitor display. This unit also allows configuration of alarms and N2K devices. I am also switching my fuel tank senders over and need that display to configure the sensors. Since it's also an MFD, I can use that to monitor my genset too.

The rest of the conversion is going to take a while, probably not until this fall. Just not enough time to both use the boat and do upgrades. I do all of my own work, so sometimes it takes longer then it should.

http://www.nolandeng.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=37

EDIT: Here is another unit I am looking at as well. http://www.albacombi.com/
 
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When you say "right from the old system monitor board." are you referring to the plug under the front dash that goes to the circuit board with the LEDs? If so that would be a very straightforward solution. BTW I have the Garmin 7212 as my display.
 
SKybolt said:
So there are many analog to N2K products out there most for right around the $500 mark. One of these modules I am looking at will take the signals right from the old system monitor board. If setup right the signals are just on/off and with their software can be configured with NMEA 2000 PGN's (monitoring signals). These PGN's can be used to set alerts and alarms or anything you want, or that is supported by that PGN group.

The $500 price tag is for the dual modules, pricing for two Noland R11's at $590. I currently have two Garmin MFD's so I don't really need anything else, but I plan on getting their GMI20's to replace my analog gauges. They fit right in where the 3.5" gauges are so no drilling new holes.

I just ordered a Maretron DSM150 to go with and act as the system monitor display. This unit also allows configuration of alarms and N2K devices. I am also switching my fuel tank senders over and need that display to configure the sensors. Since it's also an MFD, I can use that to monitor my genset too.

The rest of the conversion is going to take a while, probably not until this fall. Just not enough time to both use the boat and do upgrades. I do all of my own work, so sometimes it takes longer then it should.

http://www.nolandeng.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=37

EDIT: Here is another unit I am looking at as well. http://www.albacombi.com/
Click to expand...
Well, since you're on long Island feel like doing another boat? ; )

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Blkbird said:
When you say "right from the old system monitor board." are you referring to the plug under the front dash that goes to the circuit board with the LEDs? If so that would be a very straightforward solution. BTW I have the Garmin 7212 as my display.
Click to expand...

Those are perfect display's, I have two 4212's. They have so much NMEA 2000 support in them.

There are two ways this could be approached. One is keeping the existing board and soldier wires to it (literally from the inputs of the led's) and run them to the N2K inputs. The other is to take the wires supplied to the board and figure out what is what and then supply that to the N2K unit. it all depends on what you have to work with and what you want to do.

The Alba-combi device and this one a Maretron RIM100 will take voltages and turn them into signals. The Alba-Combi supports twelve devices with voltage outputs. So you would have to trigger each out and measure the voltage then configure it as needed, but yes that should be all it takes. So for instance the aft bilge pump signal could be ran right to one of the N2k inputs, in the Alba-Combi manual they show circuit hook ups, some signals should have a diode to protect the input. But simple to hook up none the less.
 
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Blkbird said:
Skybolt,

Now you've got me curious. My old Sea Ray LED light monitor is defunct and irreplaceable.
Click to expand...
I have the old one off my boat that is sitting in my garage. I have the display panel that's shaped like a boat and has all the LED lights plus two circuit boards. If you want 'em just PM me and they're yours.
 
Gofirstclass said:
I have the old one off my boat that is sitting in my garage. I have the display panel that's shaped like a boat and has all the LED lights plus two circuit boards. If you want 'em just PM me and they're yours.
Click to expand...

If you still have them I will take them. 978-745-7299
 
So I just got my Alba-Combi analog to NMEA 2000 converter and have already installed my Maretron DSM 150. I am going to install the Abli-Combi this weekend. I did look at the analog system monitor currently in place and you can definitely use the inputs going into that monitor for the N2K install and remove the old electronics completely if so desired. doesn't get much easier then that.

The total cost of this setup was just under $1K and will completely replace the old system monitor and also allow for a few new inputs as well along with alarm hook up's both digital and analog. The best part is this will not only let me replace my idiot light based system monitor with a completely digital multi purpose one, but if (when) I add another Alba-Combi I can also replace the rest of my analog gauges as well. I would need to add in more displays to be used in place of the old four quadrant gauges though.

I have already replaced my fuel gauges with Maretron (TLM100) ultra sonic ones and have been using the DSM 150 to display fuel tank readings, but because there also N2K, I also have the fuel red out on my Garmin displays as well. Pretty cool stuff.

I decided on going with the Alba-Combi because you don't need a laptop or a PC to set it up. Anything with a web browser can do it. So my tablet that stays on the boat is all I need to access this with. But a real nice thing about the web browser is that it also lets you see a digital gauge panel straight from the unit. Nice for trouble shooting or even using along side the analog gauges until your comfortable with removing the analog ones.

Anyway I have only played around with it at home so far, so I will post some pic's when I get this completed.
 
Skybolt,

Any chance of getting your full shopping list? This would be an interesting and useful addition on the Garmin 712.
 
From what point are you interested in? I bridged my Raytheon autopilot into the NMEA 2000 as well.

But for the System monitor replacement piece you would need the following:
1 - Maretron DSM150 or 250 display.
1 - Alba-Combi
1 - Garmin NMEA 2000 T-connector
1 - Garmin NMEA 2000 Starter Kit
1 - Role of red or yellow 18ga wire for signal connections to Alba-Combi
1 - Role of black 18ga wire for ground connections to Alba-Combi

I used the DSM150, which is a 3.5" color display. I found on the navstore.com for $400 and the Alba-Combi there as well for the same price. The connectors I got off of Amazon of all places for a nice price as well. I went with Maretron for a display because I already had bought there TLM100 fuel guage senders and you need there display to configure them. You might want to go with a Garmin GMI20 MFD. It's 4" color, but is $150 more.
 
Thank-you!

Why did you purchase the Maretron DSM150 when you have a pair of Garmin displays? Were you looking for a display dedicated to your gauges (as opposed to navigation/radar/sonar)? Does the Maretron DSM150 have enough surface area to give you displays on both engines simultaneously?

I'd want to run the NMEA network in parallel to my existing analog gauges. So I suspect I'd piggy back signals from my existing analog gauges, feel to the AlbaCombi to convert to digital and then run through the network to a display (either the Garmin 7212 or dedicated GMI 20 display(s)). Correct?
 
So the bigger picture for me is total switch over to NMEA 2000, but still have the same functionality as my analog setup does from a viewing stand point.

I had to shuffle things about a bit. I removed my Ritchie compass and put my ST70 autopilot head where the compass was, which in 2d mode displays a color compass form the flux-gate. And I put the DSM150 where the ST70 was. I had to stretch too far to read and change the autopilot, which made dodging a little difficult. I had to go with the smaller display of the dsm 150 because of what it was replacing and I didn't want to cut a bigger hole just yet. I went with a Maretron display because of the fuel tank senders, that display is needed to configure the senders. And the DSM150 was big enough for what I am going to use it for.

So right now I have the DSM150 setup for the following:
Heading - a compass rose
Fuel tank information - one screen is total fuel remaining and P and S tank gauges, second screen is the same with separate tank remaining info.
Rudder angle
GPS info

Future:
All system monitoring including alarms - 1-2 screens
Generator running gauges, oil pressure, water temperature and AC output and current draw.

My four analog quad gauges will be removed and replaced by either Garmin GMI20's or Raytheon i70's depending on having enough room. The GMI20 is 1/2" wider with the cover then the i70.

EDIT: Yes to the gauges in parallel with the N2K, I am also going to do that for a bit at first as well. Then upgrade the display as described above.
 
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Skybolt

Are you using your Garmin 4212 at all with the NMEA 2000 network? It sounds like you are using the smaller 3.5" display for your fuel sensors and compass rose, but can all that fit on the small screen at one time or do you have that configured somehow?

I'm thinking that i'd like to piggyback back of the analog gauges but i am already using my 7212 display for sonar, navigation and the occasional radar image. So would i need two GMI 20 units (one for each diesel engine) to show temp, oil pressure, voltage and maybe fuel level?

Curious to see your complete rig once it is installed.
 
I am using the 4212's and they are hooked up to the N2K backbone. Right now they display fuel % for each tank while in the NAV screens. I also have an AIRMAR 800 N2K in the mix as well. The Raymarine autopilot also is hooked. Once any N2K device is attached to the backbone any N2K MFD can display it's information. But as you point out, the 4212's are already doing there job with nav and radar so why clutter up display even more with even more data. Can they display all that is being discussed, absolutely, but when do you say enough is enough? And who wants to constantly scroll through screens information to see what you want to or need to at any given moment.

I will be using the DSM150 to display many things, all of which are on separate pages that can be scrolled through when needed. It's primary use will be two fold, system monitor and fuel display. But I also configured a page to display water depth, temp and speed. That is wwhat makes N2K so versatile, display what you want where you want and in many places all at the same time if desired. You can also have N2K alarms set for them. i.e. low fuel or engine over temp etc. These alarms can be viewed and alarmed on all MFD's that support N2K alarms, some also support analog outputs for buzzers etc. So scrolling through a few different screens on the DSM150 is not an issue.

As to the engine data display, I currently have the quad gauges that I can glance at. So my thinking is to replace each quad gauge with an MFD like the GMI20 or i70. Those four MFD's would mostly stay on there designated purpose, RPM, Engine data etc. These displays can and will also display other N2K data on separate pages or screens as well. In my case, I have four 3.5" holes in my dash that would need to be replaced by something, so I am choosing to use MFD's when I go all digital. That doesn't mean I couldn't just use two displays and two block off plates either. But I want to have what I already have when I glance at the displays. RPM on one, Oil, Temp, and Voltage on the others. I might go in steps and only put one MFD for each engine at first and display RPM, oil and temp for each engine while still using the analog gauge for security until I trust the Abla-Combi for supplying data.

To give you a better idea, checkout the screen shots here:

http://www.maretron.com/products/dsm150.php

Keep in mind that most MFD's will display data this way and can be configured almost anyway you want.
 
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Skybolt,

Related topic: for measuring fuel consumption I understand we diesel users need two sensors per engine. One to measure fuel going to engine, and the other measuring fuel returning to tank. Is that what you had to do?
 
What you describe is correct and could or would be part of a fuel management system, like a Flo-Scan system which costs 2-3K per engine, not going to ever get that back in savings. What I am using is simply a very precise ultra sonic sensor, opposed to the a typical ones or resistance senders. The Maretron TLM100 senders have to be programmed before use. They support up to six points of "Calibration". I am only using two since I have rectangular tanks, capacity and depth. From that the sensor knows what even a MM change in level equates to. So they report very accurate fuel levels which allow them to report in gallons. So the DSM150 along with being able to display a fuel gauge it can also display gallons remaining. The Garmin also picks up this data and is display percent remaining for both tanks individually on one of my displays.

The Garmin also has a fuel management screen which needs to be fed by something like the Flo-Scan NMEA 2000 fuel interface. So only the tank levels are displayed and all other data is zeroed. Not very useful, the DSM is a little smarter and keeps track of it's reported data so adding or subtracting fuel is easy for it.
 
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Skybolt,

Now that's a clever idea. But being so sensitive, don't your readings fluctuate as the fuel sloshes around in the tank? So a wave or a change in speed might change the readings until the fuel "settles down"?
 
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