[CA] [CA11] ST60+, seatalk1, seatalk NG, ray55e, A70D and ST2000+

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Dave,

Q1. Am I correct in assuming I can have the autopilot and third party compass both permanently connected?
A1. Yes ... if the autopilot is disconnected from the SeaTalk bus and is instead interfaced to the system via its NMEA 0183 input port as was previously recommended.

Q2. I assume that the autopilot still uses it’s own compass but the MFD and other instruments use the third party compass’ heading data in this arrangement, hence the need for both compasses to be closely aligned?
A2. Correct.

Q3a. - Autpilot NMEA IN, pin 6 (+) and pin 5 (-) connected to MFD NMEA OUT Orange/Yellow (+) and Orange/Brown (-).
Provides wind data from ST1 instruments, via ST1/STNG Converter, to the MFD. Then the wind and navigation data go by NMEA to the autopilot.
Autopilot heading data is not output to the system on the MFD NMEA OUT connection. And compass heading data is not sent from the MFD to the autopilot.
A3a. Correct.

Q3b. - Third Party compass NMEA OUT connected to MFD NMEA IN Orange/White (+), Orange/Green (-) [or to ground depending on compass comm type].
Provides Heading data to the MFD and hence via STNG/ST1 converter to the ST1 instruments (for heading display and set/drift and true wind calculations etc.).
A3b. Heading sensor NMEA OUT+ connected to MFD NMEA IN Orange/White (+); Orange/Green (-) to NMEA 0183 OUT- lead of heading sensor. If using a sensor featuring single ended NMEA 0183 communications, consult with 3rd party heading sensor manufacturer.

Q3c - Autopilot Seatalk 1 (pins 2 and 4) disconnected (to exclude autopilot heading data from the ST1 bus). Autopilot has only power and NMEA IN connected.
A3c - Autopilot features 3 SeaTalk pins ... disconnect SeaTalk cable from all 3 pins

Q4. - the MFD’s other NMEA IN/OUT ports (white/green and yellow/brown) will remain connected to the Ray55e VHF (so there’s no need to parallel the NMEA connections).
A4. Noted.