Need help making sure my ST, STng, NMEA setup will actually work...

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum Richard,

Please click here to view a FAQ addressing this subject. The key pieces of the referenced FAQ are:
- the MFD will be disconnected from the SeaTalk bus and will instead be connected as a spur to the SeaTalkng backbone ... you will need to make this change
- each SeaTalk to SeaTalk Converter will support a SeaTalk bus of up to five SeaTalk devices ... you will need to divide the current SeaTalk bus and install a third SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Converter within the backbone
- the SeaTalkbus will be disconnected from its present power source (likely the red terminal of the autopilot course computer's SeaTalk port
- the SeaTalkng power insertion point should be at the approximate mid-point of the backbone's LEN load.

Regarding the redundant source of GPS data, please note that the equipment which you have identified does not support more than one source for any specific type of data (GPS, wind, speed through water, heading, etc.). As such, any redundant GPS source of GPS data would have to be physically disconnected or switched in an out of the network. In the case of the 34800 BAUD source of GPS data, switching the MFD's NMEA 0183 port to NMEA 4800 would effectively block reception of GPS data from the AIS transceiver.

Finally, please note that many AIS transceivers do not support supplying the system with UTC (date/time) data. Beyond the obvious use for this time data, it is also used to display tide and current data for the current date/time.