125 GPS Receiver not connecting after E80 Factory Reset

[kwkisiel]

My E80 started rebooting itself after being turned on for a few minutes and ultimately ended in the white screen of death. Noticed that the internal data store was 99% full. Decided to do a Settings and Data Reset (Factory Reset). Also did a software update while I was at it and now sitting at version 5.69. All went well and the system is no longer rebooting itself. However, after the reset, the E80 is no longer connecting to the Raystar 125 GPS Receiver. The status light on the 125 is flashing red (unable to boot) so I know that it is physically connected and receiving power. I suspect that there is a setting that needs to be turned on but cannot find any option that that would allow that. Could someone point me in the right direction? Thanks.

System Components:
E80 MFD (s/w version: 5.69)
DSM 300
SmartPilot ST6001
Radome Scanner

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum kwkisiel,

While an incorrectly configured NMEA 0183 Port BAUD rate setting may prohibit the MFD from receiving GPS data from a Raystar 125 GPS Sensor which had been interfaced to the MFD via NMEA 0183 communications protocol rather than SeaTalk communications protocol, no configuration setting of the MFD would be responsible for the Raystar 125 GPS Sensor's LED to be red. Should the Raystar 125 GPS Sensor's LED be red, then it is indicating that the sensor has failed. Before replacing the GPS sensor, you may want to consider replacing the CR2032 battery within the sensor to possibly correct the sensor's problem.

Should the MFD be interfaced via NMEA 0183 to the GPS sensor and the system not feature an AIS receiver/transceiver, then the MFD's NMEA 0183 port should be configured to "NMEA 4800". However, should the MFD be interfaced via NMEA 0183 to the GPS sensor and the system feature an AIS receiver/transceiver, then the MFD's NMEA 0183 port should be configured to "AIS 38400".

[kwkisiel]

Chuck

Thanks for your reply and after doing some additional troubleshooting, I believe it's the GPS Receiver that is bad but please correct me if I'm wrong. Summary of problem:

1. E80 MFD would constantly reboot.
2. 125 GP Receiver stayed in the flashing red mode.

Here's what I did:

1. Noticed that when the MFD went into the reboot mode, the Drive Capacity in Use was at 99-100%. A Factory Reset would bring this down to zero and the system would work as normal. However, I've noticed that the used capacity would slowly creep back up.

2. Disconnected all the cables on the MFD except power and after a factory reset everything worked as normal (i.e., no random reboots).

3. Added back all the cables except for the SeaTalk and the system worked as normal.

4. Checked the connection for the SeaTalk and all was tight and secure. Only the GPS receiver and SmartPilot are on the SeaTalk line.

5. Replaced the battery in the GPS (I didn't know there was a battery in there) but had no effect on getting a successful boot (flashing green status).

6. Disconnected the (yellow) SeaTalk input/output wire to the GPS receiver. This supplied power to the GPS without the MFD knowing it was there. The MFD is working as normal (except for the slow increase of the drive capacity usage). The GPS is still blinking red.

Conclusion: I'm assuming that the GPS receiver should boot and lock onto the satellites with just power and not require hand-shaking with an MFD. If that's the case, then I have a bad GPS receiver. If the receiver is bad what would be a good replacement (and easy to install on the SeaTalk network)?

If the receiver does require a connection to the MFD, could upgrading the software from version 5.52 to 5.69 be causing the failure to boot?

Finally, what is causing the MFD data capacity usage to increase? Shouldn't the software periodically clean up the drive and keep it from getting full?

Again, thanks for your help.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Q1. 6. Disconnected the (yellow) SeaTalk input/output wire to the GPS receiver. This supplied power to the GPS without the MFD knowing it was there. The MFD is working as normal (except for the slow increase of the drive capacity usage). The GPS is still blinking red.

Conclusion: I'm assuming that the GPS receiver should boot and lock onto the satellites with just power and not require hand-shaking with an MFD. If that's the case, then I have a bad GPS receiver. If the receiver is bad what would be a good replacement (and easy to install on the SeaTalk network)?

A1. Based upon the actions taken, it appears that the Raystar 125 GPS Sensor has suffered a failure.

Q2. If the receiver does require a connection to the MFD, could upgrading the software from version 5.52 to 5.69 be causing the failure to boot?

A2. Upgrading the MFDs software would not cause the reported failure. See the response to Q1. It is recommended that the GPS sensor be replaced with a Raystar 150 GPS Sensor.

Q2. Finally, what is causing the MFD data capacity usage to increase? Shouldn't the software periodically clean up the drive and keep it from getting full?
A2. The reported behavior is normal for the E-Series Classic MFDs. Operating the MFD with tracks started and continuously saving track points for extended periods of time (days) can result in such reboots ... recommends switching this feature to OFF when not needed. E-Series Classic MFDs which have been interfaced to a SiriusXM Satellite Weather Receiver and are also operating with software earlier than v5.69 may periodically experience the reported issue when period of heavy weather are experienced within the US ... updating the MFD's software to v5.69 will resolve this problem.