NMEA Connections to ST2000+

[RiverRunner]

Hi!
I am using my ST2000+ for the second year now; the first year was stand-alone and it worked fine in that mode.
This year I added a Humminbird Helix 5 G2 GPS with NMEA 0183 capability. I have made the connections (Humminbird NMEA+ out to ST2000+ pin 6 and jumpered pin 5 to pin 2; Humminbird uses ground as the NMEA -; and enabled the GPS NMEA output) but the Tillerpilot does not follow a track or seem to in any way recognize the NMEA data.
Using a Logic Probe shows there is a regularly repeating data stream at pin 6 on the Tillerpilot socket with the GPS on.
In an effort to see what is going on, I connected the Tillerpilot and tried it with the GPS turned off. When I press -10 and +10 together (to enter tracking mode) I expected to get an error message saying 'no data'. Clearly, with the GPS off, there cannot be any. Page 51 in the manual shows a message like '- - -' should be displayed in either standby or auto; I do not get that. When I press the two buttons, I get a beep immediately and again in 1 second; the display never changes from showing the heading or set course (standby or auto). Likewise pressing +1 and -10 or -1 and +10 does nothing but beep. GPS on or off, for that matter.
In case it matters, I do have the operating sense reversed for my installation and have 'reset' the Tillerpilot according to instructions found elsewhere on this forum (set to 1000, cycle power, set to 2000, cycle power). All that did was force me to re-set the operating sense and force a compass re-calibrate.
Any suggestions on where to go from here? In stand-alone mode, the Tillerpilot continues to perform well.

RiverRunner
Bayfield 25

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum RiverRunner,

Raymarine autopilots are not designed to follow a track. However, should a compatible chartplotting product receiving GPS data be interfaced to the autopilot's SeaTalk or NMEA 0183 communications interfaces, then commanding the chartplotting product to go to a waypoint / cursor position or to follow a route may then permit navigational data to be transmitted to the autopilot. When receiving such navigational data from a compatible chartplotting product, the autopilot may be commanded into Track mode (pressing +10 & -10 buttons simultaneously). The vessel must be located within 0.1nm of the course line and/or within 5 degrees of the bearing to the next waypoint/cursor position when commanding Track mode to be entered.

Should you have satisfied the items specified above, the it is recommended that you try connecting the autopilot's NMEA 0183 IN- terminal to the Garmin plotter's ground lead rather than employing the jumper which you have installed. Should the autopilot still not be able to enter Track mode, then the following information will be required:
- the make & model of third party chartplotting product
- a 10 second data capture of the chartplotter's 4800 BAUD NMEA 0183 output taken directly from the NMEA 0183 IN+ and NMEA 0183 IN- terminals of the autopilot.

[RiverRunner]

Thanks for the welcome and prompt reply.

I will add the 'NMEA -' wire at the earliest opportunity; Humminbird also has a firmware update which I will use as well. I was using a 'Go To' function, so the cross-track error would have been zero.

But - is the lack of any error message after pressing '-10 and +10' with the GPS 'off' an indication of a specific condition? Wiring problems or not, I would expect a message then. Almost as if the Autopilot is set to 'not use' NMEA input.

Regards,
Willy

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Willy,

The autopilot must be in Auto mode prior to engaging track mode. The screen of the ST2000+ should respond as indicated below when not receiving navigational data required support tracking to a waypoint:



It is recommended that you ensure that the chartplotter (must support NMEA 0183 v2.1 or higher communications protocol) has been 1) interfaced to the autopilot as has been specified within my initial response and 2) has been configured to transmit all supported NMEA 0183 sentences at 4800 BAUD. Should the problem persist, then please respond with the 4800 BAUD NMEA 0183 capture as specified within my prior response.

[RiverRunner]

Bingo! 'The pilot must be in Auto mode' was throwing me off. Since I was trying to work this out at the dock, most of my tries were in Standby.
Out on the water in auto mode, everything worked fine. I could get the error message, and better yet Track Mode works! Is there any way to turn up the alarm sound level? When I reach a waypoint (if under power; the Yanmar YSM8 is loud) I can hardly hear the waypoint advance alarm.
One last question: some of the forums have been reporting problems with 'more than 4 character' waypoint names. I see no such problem (now). Has this always been just nonsense, or has something been done about it?
Thanks a bunch for working through this with me;
Best Regards!

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

RiverRunner,

Q1. Is there any way to turn up the alarm sound level? When I reach a waypoint (if under power; the Yanmar YSM8 is loud) I can hardly hear the waypoint advance alarm.
A1. The alarm volume for Raymarine products is not adjustable.

Q2. One last question: some of the forums have been reporting problems with 'more than 4 character' waypoint names. I see no such problem (now). Has this always been just nonsense, or has something been done about it?
A2. As indicated within page 18 of the ST2000+'s manual, "Waypoint advance will only operate if the tiller pilot receives valid bearing to waypoint and waypoint name information. The tiller pilot can only decode the first FOUR characters of a waypoint name. It will not be able to decode names longer than four characters, which will stop the waypoint advance feature from working."