Added a DSM30 Sounder

[mlucitt]

I was running a P319 600W transducer straight to a Raymarine ST60+ Depth instrument with no problems. My chart plotter is a Raymarine C80 and I am using a Raymarine Smartpilot X30 autohelm, all on NMEA 0183 (I know, old school). I recently installed a Raymarine DSM 30 sounder to get a better picture of the bottom contour rather than just the depth in feet. I also bought a new B117 600W transducer. My question is how do I incorporate the DSM 30? Do I have to remove the transducer connections on the back of the ST60+ Depth instrument and re-connect them to the DSM 30? Should I scrap the P319 (no connector on the end of the cable) and just use the B117 with the connector plugged into the DSM 30? (Will this drive the ST60+ Depth instrument through the NMEA 0183 network?) Or, should I install the B117 as a second transducer straight to the DSM 30 and leave the P319 connected to the ST60+ Depth instrument?

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum mlucitt,

As equipment of this vintage did not support more than one source of any specific type of data (ex. GPS, depth, wind, etc.), it would be necessary to either
- disconnect the ST60+ Depth from the SeaTalk bus or
- disconnect the depth transducer from the ST60+ Depth instrument to permit the instrument to repeat depth data from the fishfinder product.

Note: Instrument depth transducer which have been directly mated to any of the following instruments/pods are designed to transmit at 200 kHz:
- i50 Depth/Tridata
- i40 Depth/Bidata
- iTC-5
- ST70/ST290 Depth Pod
- ST60/ST60+ Depth/Tridata
-ST40 Depth/Bidata
- ST50/ST50+ Depth/Tridata

As many fishfinders support transmitting at 200 kHz, should the fishfinder also be configured to transmit at 200 kHz, then the fishfinder may interfere with the above listed instruments to determine depth.

[mlucitt]

So, if I understand your response, I should disconnect the transducer leads from the back of my ST60+ depth instrument but leave the Seatalk bus connected. Then, run the (P319 or B117) transducer cable connection to the DSM 30 sensor input. This will transmit the 50kHz/200kHz depth Seatalk bus signal to the plotter to display the bottom profile and also to the ST60+ depth instrument (digits only). Sorry to ask for specifics but I am a very old man.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

mlucitt,

An instrument transducer cannot be used with a fishfinder and accordingly, the P319 should not be adapted for use with the DSM30. Instead and if opting to use a B117 transducers, the E66014 version of the B117 should be purchased and interfaced to the DSM30. The P319 would then be disconnected from the ST60+ Depth instrument to permit it to then repeat Depth data received from the SeaTalk bus.

[mlucitt]

Great, this was the information I was looking for.

I do have the P/N E66014, B117 transducer. I will remove the currently installed P319 transducer, install the new B117 transducer, and plug it into the DSM 30. This will give me "fishfinder" data on the chart plotter and allow my ST60+ to continue to display bottom depth figures in feet via the SeaTalk bus. I will not have any interference from multiple transducers on the same 200kHz frequency.

Thank you for making this clear to me.

Mark

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

You're welcome.