SPX-5 as backup to EV-200

[Bob Johnston]

Apologies if some of this has been asked - Search didn't find it.

I have an EV-200 on my 30' sailboat and I'm considering re-installing my old SPX-5 as a backup. It's a tiller-steered boat and I use cockpit-mounted tiller drives with no rudder reference. All software is up to date.

1) Do I need to re-install the old heading sensor or will the heading data from the EV-1 work with both ACUs? The EV-1 seems to be the better sensor so I'd rather use it for both ACUs.

2) Can the P70 control both pilots via the SeaTalk ng backbone? Can the second pilot be on Standby or must it be powered off?

3) I have a switch between the ACU-200 and the tiller drive (I currently use a non-Raymarine autopilot as a backup). Will I need to isolate the EV-200 and SPX-5 further?

I've done this before with the X-5 and an old 4000+ with no conflicts. With that setup I didn't even need the drive switch. I mostly race and if one AP fails I need to be able to switch quickly.