Adding a second chartplotter

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum Heath,

General comment: It is generally not recommended that the SeaTalkng port of an ACU-200 be used to power a backbone having more than one device in addition to the SeaTalkng backbone. In larger systems, it is recommended that that the ACU's power switch be configured to the OFF position, that a spur socket be installed at the approximate mid-point of the backbone's LEN Load, and that a SeaTalkng Power Cable (protected with a 3A fuse) which has been interfaced to a switched 12 VDC power circuit be connected to the aforementioned spur socket.

Q1. The power layouts required me to power the AIS/VHF/AIS100 splitter, es78, and rest of the system from separate breakers. Is there a specific order they should be powered up in order to ensure that everything comes and shares data appropriately? In my initial bench testing, i had some issues getting the AIS650 to talk to the MFD and was unsure what i did that eventually fixed it (I was poking around in the NMEA input settings when it started talking to the MFD; i figured these would be irrelevant for a STng connected AIS system.)
A1. Please click here to view a FAQ addressing this subject. The MFD should be interfaced to the AIS650 by either SeaTalkng (preferred) or NMEA 0183 communications protocol, but not both ... please ensure that this is the case. It is also recommended that you verify that all components, including the AIS650 have been updated with the latest available Raymarine product software updates to ensure proper operation of the system. With respect to power-up sequence, the only product which may be affected by power-up sequence would be a system's radar transducer. In systems where communications issues regularly arise with communications between the MFD and radar transducer, it is generally recommended that the radar transducer be switched ON after the Ethernet network switch (if any) has been powered and the MFD(s) has completed initialization.

Q2. Should I connect to the radar from the cockpit (a98) display as well, or rely on the Raynet switch to transfer all the data? will i be able to power up and standby the radar from that MFD?
A2. Should an Ethernet network switch be installed onboard, then it is recommended that the MFDs and radome each be interfaced to the network switch ... particularly if the concept of operations included use of one of the MFDs while the other is switched OFF. Should this be consistent with your concept of operation for the system, then it would be recommended that each MFD also be interfaced as a spur to the SeaTalkng backbone.

Q3. For a multi-MFD system, what exactly does the 'data master' do? is that relevant only to ethernet stuff, or STng as well?
A3. Please click here to view a FAQ addressing this subject.

Q4. I attempted to select the GPS source, but got a message that the ACU-200 prevented that action. Is this normal? the p70 has GPS source set to 'auto.'
A4. Please click here to view a related FAQ addressing this subject. Is recommended that you verify that the software within each of the system's Raymarine products has been updated with the latest available Raymarine product software updates to address this issue. I have seen instances where an AIS650 may block MDS, necessitating that the AIS650 be unplugged from the SeaTalkng backbone prior to commanding Data Source selection (MENU->SET-UP->SYSTEM SETTINGS->DATA SOURCES).

Q5) If i want to use Raycontrol for additional display or a wifi hotspot to get weather data, how does that interact with the wifi radar and 2 chartplotters wifis?
A5) Any Wi-Fi equipped MFD within the system may be configured to communicate via Wi-Fi with a Quantum radar, or with the Raymarine mobile apps, or connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot to support product software updates or Theyr weather downloads, but these cannot be simultaneously accomplished.

Q6. If i want to interface my Standard Horizon GSC1700 radio to the belowdecks (eS78) MFD with NMEA 0183 for the purposes of getting DSC data, will that be promulgated over the network as well? Any specific precautions/settings to make that work?
A6. Yes. Unlike SeaTalkng communications, the NMEA 0183 ports of any of the system's networked MFDs is capable of transmitting and/or receiving data. Any received data will be shared with the other networked system devices.