Upgrade to N2K

[danderer]

I have an old-school Ray network that is evolving. The primary components are a couple of E80-classic MFDs and an Evolution AP. The E80s drive the AP over STNG.

In looking to replaces the MFDs (likely with an Axiom variant) I see the need to also replace/adapt the existing NMEA 0183 data elements in my network (water depth/temp/speed and AIS). I want to upgrade these to N2K first and verify their functionality before swapping out the MFDs.

I know my E80s running 5.69 have some N2K capability. Specific questions:

Q1: Will the E80s accept water depth/temp/speed via N2K?
Q2: Will the E80s accept AIS data via N2K?

Attached are two drawings. The first represents the current state of the network. The second is my proposed interim configuration for an upgraded network before replacing the MFDs.