[TG] [TG11] Lighthouse 3 v 3.3.170

[Jjcodex]

Hey folks

Having recently upgraded to Lighthouse 3 on my es98 I have discovered that it makes the unit incompatible with my autopilot which is annoying.

What is really annoying however is that despite asurances to the contrary I cannot currently downgrade it. The instructions posted state that I first have to downgrade to the titles version of 3 (namely 3 v3.3.170).

Does anybody either

1. Have a copy of the above version they can share with me so I can follow the full instructions

Or

2. Know of another way to downgrade the software back to lighthouse 2?


Thanks in advance all!

James

[Tom - Raymarine - Moderator]

Hello James,

I see form your other post that you did get the software reversed to LH2 in the end. I thought I'd reply re. pilot compatibility.

We offer 3 levels of pilot integration in our MFDs:

1. Sharing waypoint/route data so that you can engage Track mode from the pilot. This works on almost all pilots, Raymarine or otherwise, as long as they're connected to the MFD via Seatalk1, NMEA0183 or SeatalkNG/NMEA2000.
2. As above, with status about the pilot mode on the MFD and the ability to switch the pilot into Track mode from the MFD when you do a Goto Waypoint or similar. A standalone pilot controller is still required. This works with LH2 MFDs and Raymarine Seatalk/STNG pilots.
3. Complete pilot control including calibration and operation without a dedicated pilot controller. This only works with Axiom-class displays and Evolution autopilots.
   

We introduced the third option with Axiom displays, and the first is still possible, but supporting the 3rd option has meant that we've had to drop support for the second. Earlier Raymarine pilots will still be compatible via the first control mechanism, you would just have to press Track on the pilot controller rather than on the MFD.

Regards,
Tom

[Jjcodex]

Hi Tom

Firstly, my sincere thanks for your response. As you rightly say - I realised that the error I was making was not properly unzipping the Version 2 software. Once this was done, it installed as anticipated which was a partial relief.

I am also grateful that you took the time to explain why is very helpful, albeit very frustrating from my perspective.

To give you a better understanding, we spent quite a lot of money on our boat to upgrade the system to the current ES98 along with several other supporting components (the downvision transponder, a complete AIS 650 system as well as several other components). Having stayed loyal to Raymarine we were also mindful that we chose a system that completely supported the other items on the boat (none of which are significantly old - the Autopilot is paired with the ST 70 head which gives you an idea of age).

What frustrates us is that as soon as you released Lightwave 3, the support for Lightwave 2 stopped. This would have been fine, but there are several advertised features that no longer function.

The most annoying of the above is the Raymarine "control" app which I used greatly from my tablet (Samsung Tab S2). This ceased to work about a year ago if not longer, and coincided with an Android update.

The above was the primary motivation to try out Lighthouse 3 - interestingly this works fine in LH 3, but the cost of the usability of the autopilot is just not worth it.

So you see that we have acquired an almost brand new (and still for sale system) that does not work as advertised with the shipped software.

Please don't get me wrong - I fully appreciate that sometimes legacy components need to be dropped for older products, but given that the hardware clearly works fine with the autopilot (see LH2) to drop it in favour of an additional system is infuriating (particularly as I can see no real software reason not to provide item 2 on your list other than to encourage the unnecessary replacement of our autopilot for the latest version).

I will only say that if LH2 worked properly (ie that whatever the issue with the remote access is properly solved) then I would have no complaints - whilst it would be nice to have LH3, it is not essential.

What annoys us is that stuff that did work when we bought the unit has not been resolved, and that seems kind of harsh to a loyal customer who has just bought a whole host of your gear. If you are not prepared to roll out proper compatibility of older Autopilot Raymarine equipment, can I plead with you guys to at least consider making the necessary code adjustments to LH2 to ensure that it works as advertised with the remote apps?

Regards

James

[Tom - Raymarine - Moderator]

Hello James,

I have RayRemote v0108 (26th July 2017) working on my Samsung S9 (Android 8.0.0, latest OTA update for that handset available here in Australia) right now with my test e125 v19.03. I have also tried RayControl, which I'd installed by the back door of backing up and restoring a tablet installation ( ;-) ), and that worked too. There's no general compatibility iblocker on LH2 R19 with the apps.

I'd suggest uninstalling and re-installing the apps, and trying a different Wifi channel (in the MFD's Wifi setup) since the default Channel 11 tends to be very congested and this will definitely cause problems.

I am happy to help where I can with troubleshooting the app connection with LH2.

Tom