[LW] [LW11] C120 does not communicate w AIS CTRX GRAPHENE

[Arcona 32]

I recently bought this boat so I have no real history of functionality but the C120 displays "NO AIS" and also "no antenna". It recieves satelite signals as it should and everything seems to be working fine exept fort the AIS - no other vessels. The 130 antenna LED flashes as it should.
The AIS also works as it should displaying satellite signals and other vessels. Both units have the latest updated software. The boat also appears on Marine Traffic.
I would appreciate some suggestions on how to fix this1

[Louise - Raymarine - Moderator]

Dear Arcona 32,

Thank you for your post.

When you refer to having 'no AIS' , is this a text alert you see on the screen or the AIS icon in the homescreen has a red cross through it?

Where are you seeing the message 'no antenna'? Could it be 'lost fix' or something similar you are seeing?

Your ships GPS will not be the GPS source for the AIS unit, the AIS unit will have its own independent GPS antenna.

To confirm your issue - you have 2 C120 displays on your boat. One is showing AIS targets in the chart screen and the other unit is not? Is that correct?

On the top right hand corner of the screen there is a blue box with 4 icons showing AIS, GPS, Pilot, Radar and the vessel. Have any got a red cross through them?

When the alarms go off, do you see the messages on both of the C120s?

How are the products networked? Can you send in a system diagram?

Many Thanks
Louise

[Arcona 32]

Hi Louise, thanks for your reply, please see my comments below by your questions!

When you refer to having 'no AIS' , is this a text alert you see on the screen or the AIS icon in the homescreen has a red cross through it? -Its an icon with a red cross (see attached picture)

Where are you seeing the message 'no antenna'? Could it be 'lost fix' or something similar you are seeing? - Its also on the attached picture in the upper left, in Swedish "Ingen Antenn". Fix is OK

Your ships GPS will not be the GPS source for the AIS unit, the AIS unit will have its own independent GPS antenna. - Yes, it has a separate antenna.

To confirm your issue - you have 2 C120 displays on your boat. One is showing AIS targets in the chart screen and the other unit is not? Is that correct? - No; just one C120. I can see the satellite status of the AIS if I connect a lap top to it. Sorry for the confusion

On the top right hand corner of the screen there is a blue box with 4 icons showing AIS, GPS, Pilot, Radar and the vessel. Have any got a red cross through them? - yes, please see picture. I think that the pilot was not turned on and I have no radar

When the alarms go off, do you see the messages on both of the C120s? - Just one C120

How are the products networked? Can you send in a system diagram? - I have just bought the boat so I have no real diagram. However I have detected fluctuating 3V on the NMEA connector (on the cable side) when not connected to the C120. I have barked the corresponding on the picture

It seems to me that the C120 cant read the input?

[Arcona 32]

Hi Louise, thanks for your reply. I have attached two pictures to explain better.
- NO AIS; its an icon on the screen see picture
- NO ANTENNA; (in Swedish "ingen antenn" see picture, its in the upper left corner, fix is OK
- Yes, the AIS has its own antenna
- There is only one C120. The AIS satellite bars and settings are availabel by connecting a computer.
- Crossed symbols in the box on the top right corner; yes, see picture
- SYSTEM DIAGRAM; as the boat is new to me I have no diagram.
But I have detected "fluctuating" 3V when testing the NMEA plug see "connection" picture

So it seems that the AIS sends data OK but the C120 does not read it?

Thanks
Tommy

[Tom - Raymarine - Moderator]

Hello Tommy,

Louise is on holiday so I will see if I can help.

The most common cause of problems connecting an NMEA0183 AIS to a C-series or E-Series is the incorrect NMEA port speed setup in the MFD. If you go to Menu > System Setup > System Integration > NMEA0183 / Port 1, is the port speed setting 'NMEA-4800', 'Navtex 9600' or 'NMEA-38400'? It should be on 'NMEA-38400'.

If this setting is on NMEA-38400, please could you go to Menu > System Diagnostics > External Interfaces > NMEA0183 / Port 1 > Buffer soft-key > Direction=Rx and then see whether you are receiving any messages. If you are getting messages that start with '!AIVDO' or '!AIVDM', your connection is working fine (the first two columns of information are the message direction, receive or transmit, and the message time-stamp.)

Regards,
Tom