[TG] [TG11] SeaTalk 1 to MNEA 2000 via ST70

[HaraldS]

I now had a chance to try out the E22158 SeaTalk bridge in my system.

The data I really needed to bridge, from N2k to ST1, like route and waypoint info for the autopilot track function, seem to come across just fine. Also in the other direction I do get wind data and speed through water.

Of the nice to have data, GPS position, SOG, COG, and time also come across fine. Interestingly the date doesn't come across and remains at some date in 1997.

But the real problem is heading: It does come across, but unfortunately wrong. The bridge seems to mistake true for magnetic and apply the variation to true to calculate its new true heading. When I look at what the sat-compass sends out on N2K, I see 50 magnetic, -5 variation, and 45 true in PGN 127250. - On SeaTalk1 instruments 40T is displayed.

When I take out the E22158 bridge and connect ST1 to an old N0183 bridge and that bridge to an Actisense gateway bridging N2k to N0183, it seems to work like in the old days when I had no N2k devices. That means, that now the date comes across ok, and no heading is passed to ST1 as long as the course computer sends out his own heading.

If I then disconnect the fluxgate sensor from the course computer, the heading from the sat compass is apparently passed to ST1 and this time correctly, showing the 45T.

So I have to conclude that the course computer heading gets priority when using the old N183 bridge, and the external heading gets priority when using the E22158 bridge.

I also have to conclude that the E22158 passes on wrong heading and doesn't pass on date.

It looks like I have to stick with the 'old' way of bridging unless there is a fix for the E22158. No idea what software level it has, but it was just purchased 5 weeks ago.