[CA] [CA11] Questions about networking

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum corndog,

Q1. Are the sonar transducers ethernet devices?
A1. Negative. Fishfinder transducers are designed to be mated directly to the transducer socket of MFD or fishfinder sonar module having fishfinder sonar circuitry which is specifically matched to the type of fishfinder transducer (ex. RealVision, HyperVision, 1kW/2kW CHIRP, 50kHz/200kHz, DownVision, CPT-S, etc.).

Q2. One of the reason I ask is because I'd like to extend the length between the MFD and the transducer way beyond what's recommended and if it's an ethernet device, that should be pretty easy.
A2. Should the total chased cable distance exceed the transducer cable's length plus one length of fishfinder transducer extension cable, then a compatible fishfinder sounder module would need to be installed within this distance. The fishfinder sounder module would then be interfaced to MFD (the MFD need not have internal fishfinder circuitry) via an appropriate length of RayNet (F) to RayNet (F) Cable. RayNet cables may be joined together for total lengths which are commonly accepted for Ethernet communications.

Q3. I came across the iTC-5, which is an obsolete device that converts analog transducer signals to ethernet for use on the SeaTalk network, but since it's obsolete and I can't find a the newer equivalent, it has me thinking that transducers are now ethernet devices.
A3. The iTC-5 is not obsolete and continues to be offered by Raymarine. However, this product will not support fishfinder features. The iTC-5 Analog Instrument Converter is designed to support interfacing analog instrument transducers to systems featuring Raymarine's i70/i70S Multifunction Instrument Displays via the system's powered and properly terminated SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 backbone. The iTC-5 allows all instrument transducers to be led to a single location which may be well away from the i70/i70S MFIDs and other Raymarine products. With respect to sonar, this product would only support supplying numerical depth data to the system.

Q4. Also, if they are ethernet, can you connect them to your laptop for use with the RayTech software without the MFD?
A4. See the response to Q1 regarding networking. Please note that RayTech software is no longer being sold by Raymarine and the last supported operating system for use with RayTech was Windows 7 ... which is no longer supported by Microsoft.

Q4. Is the aSeries the entry level MFD with network ability?
A4. Yes.

Q5. I don't want a sonar module and am hoping you can just buy a MFD with transducer.
A5. It would appear that this will ultimately be determined by the chased cable distance that the MFD and transducer will be separated from one another, the maximum depth of water to be fished, and they type(s) of fishfinder sonar imagery desired. Accordingly, it is recommended that your review Raymarine's Element, Multifunction Displays, and fishfinders web pages to view the different types of fishfinder products and the imagery which each would support.