[CA] [CA11] Sirius XM Weather on AXIOM / SR150 Vs 200

[vacantid]

I have been successfully using (all during 2018) an SR150 WX receiver on an Axiom display but have had problems getting all data to be displayed. Please confirm the following:

1) SR150 Receivers will no longer be compatible with my Axiom display after the release of 3.9 software update - is this correct?

2) Will the Weather Application will only be available in the Axiom Chart App as an option if a new SR200 receiver is installed in the Axiom system? Will there be a new standalone Weather Application with the release of 3.9 software?

3) Do I need to have Lighthouse Nav Charts installed to be able to view Buoy data or other specific WX data on a chart overlay? If I install an SR200 on my axiom system, what Sirius XM Marine Weather Features will or will not be available for viewing or chart overlay if I have Navionics charts installed?

4) Is there a less expensive version of the SR200 that does not include antenna and cables if I am just replacing an SR150?

5) If I install an SR200 may I use all of my existing audio, antenna, Ethernet (HS) and power cables presently connected to my SR150?

Many thanks for any help that can be provided.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum vacantid,

Q1) SR150 Receivers will no longer be compatible with my Axiom display after the release of 3.9 software update - is this correct?
A1. Incorrect. LightHouse 3 software is and will continue compatible with the SR150 and SiriusXM Satellite Weather / Radio Receivers. However, LightHouse 3 software is not compatible with the SR100, SR6, and SR60 Sirius Satellite Weather / Radio Receivers. The most common causes for incomplete data within the SiriusXM Satellite Weather are old software within the SR150 (correct by installing the latest available Raymarine product software update into the MFD) or insufficient satellite signal strength. As Axiom MFDs are not designed to update the software within a SR150, it would be recommended that the SR150 be sent to Raymarine’s Product Repair Center to be updated or that it alternatively be updated by a Certified Raymarine Installer using a MFD running LightHouse II software. Regarding satellite signal strength, it has been my experience that signal levels less than three bars as indicated with the application produce spotty and/or incomplete data.

Unlike systems running LightHouse II software, SiriusXM Satellite Weather is at this time only supported on the Data Master MFD of a LightHouse 3 system.

Q2a) Will the Weather Application will only be available in the Axiom Chart App as an option if a new SR200 receiver is installed in the Axiom system?
A2a.) The SiriusXM Satellite Weather feature will indeed only be available via the Chart application. NOWRAD may be overlaid atop Navionics, C-Map, or LightHouse cartography, or the SiriusXM Satellite Weather feature may be selected from the Chart application's menu. For those seeking to dedicate a page icon to the the SiriusXM Satellite Weather feature, one need simply customize a page icon to run the Chart application, name the page icon SiriusXM Weather, and then configure the chart application associated with that page icon to display the SiriusXM Satellite Weather feature.

Q2b) Will there be a new standalone Weather Application with the release of 3.9 software?
A2b) Negative. Please see the response to Q1 addressing how to accomplish the end sought in a similar way.

Q3a) Do I need to have Lighthouse Nav Charts installed to be able to view Buoy data or other specific WX data on a chart overlay?
A3a) As indicated above, NOWRAD may be overlaid atop Navionics, C-Map, or LightHouse chart ... that said, the corresponding chart card(s) must be inserted within the memory card reader(s) of the system's MFDs.

Q3b) If I install an SR200 on my axiom system, what Sirius XM Marine Weather Features will or will not be available for viewing or chart overlay if I have Navionics charts installed?
A3b) Only NOWRAD may be overlaid atop detailed cartography within Chart application.

Q4) Is there a less expensive version of the SR200 that does not include antenna and cables if I am just replacing an SR150?
A4) At the time of this response, Raymarine had not introduced a part number for a SR200 minus the antenna.

Q5) If I install an SR200 may I use all of my existing audio, antenna, Ethernet (HS) and power cables presently connected to my SR150?
A5) Cabling:

- audio - negative ... must be replaced with supplied cable. The SR200 audio cable is terminated with two female RCA plugs and will accordingly need to be adapted to be mated to be mated to the female 3.5mm stereo plug which SR150 audio cable had been connected

- antenna - yes

- Ethernet (HS) - must be adapted ... adapter included within package

- power - negative ... must be replaced with supplied cable.

[vacantid]

Many Thanks for your detailed help. I was able to get my SR150 working with an Axiom display.

I would like to point out that I was able to see wind data plotted over a "base" map that has low detail but data for wind direction and magnitude, storm cast vectors were also present. Full reception of text data was also possible.

One question that I do have - how can I determine the software version that is installed in my SR150? I used the Settings > Network > Diagnostics > Product Info but the SR150 was not listed, though I can see my CP370 (also on ethernet) but not my IP220 cameras or the SR150 radio.

Thanks again for the great set of detailed answers

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

vacantid,

Q. How can I determine the software version that is installed in my SR150?
A. Unfortunately, the current set of diagnostic features for LightHouse 3 software (v3.8.105 at the time of this response) do not support diagnostics for interfaced SiriusXM Satellite Weather / Radio Receivers. Accordingly, it is not possible to presently determine the version of software within a SiriusXM Satellite Weather / Radio Receiver via an Axiom/Axiom Pro/Axiom XL MFD at this time. However, as your system is displaying other weather data in addition to NOWRAD when the Weather option is chosen from the Chart application's menu, then your SR150 would be deemed to have the latest available software installed within its memory.

Per my prior response, only NOWRAD weather data may be layered atop Navionics, C-Map, or LightHouse cartography. The world map utilized by the Weather feature is not detailed, and is indicative of the fact that the resolution of SiriusXM weather is designed to support viewing weather data down to a regional area (ex. New England, the MidAtlantic region, etc.) rather than within a local are (ex. Boston Harbor, Long Island Sound, etc.). For the latter, it may be more appropriate to view the weather web page for one's local network news website on one's smartphone or via the LightHouse 3 Apps feature. Please click here to view a FAQ addressing this subject.

[vacantid]

Chuck-
Many thanks for previous replies. After I installed LH3.9.46 my SR150 was no longer available on my DATA Master Axiom 12 display. I have gone to several local Raymarine Dealers (Certified) but none had LH2 Hardware to provide a software update to the SR150.

I've given up trying to update the SR150 and have tried to purchase an SR200, but no stock is available from any online source across the USA that have previously supplied me with all of my Raymarine kit.

Can you give any indication when the SR200 will be shipped to suppilers? All I have spoken to have indicated that no delivery date from Raymarine was known. Any help you can provide would be appreciated.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

vacantid,

The latest LightHouse II software update may be found here. The latest SR150 software to be used in updating the SR150 via an a/c/e/eS/gS-Series MFD may be found here. Regarding the SR200 click here to view a FAQ addressing where one may obtain the latest information concerning product availability.

[jerroz99]

I recently installed an SR200 and connected it to my Axiom 12. The graphics seems to be at a very low resolution. See attached picture. Ive looked for every setting I can find and dont see one to fix it.
Can you please advise on what possible things to do?

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum jerroz99,

The performance which you have shown is that of a properly operating system. When ranged in too closely, Sirius/SiriusXM Marine Satellite Weather graphics will appear pixelated, to aid users in understanding the limits of SiriusXM SiriusXM Marine Satellite Weather data. The world map utilized by the Weather feature is not detailed, and is indicative of the fact that the resolution of SiriusXM weather is designed to support viewing weather data down to a regional area (ex. New England, the MidAtlantic region, etc.) rather than within a local are (ex. Boston Harbor, New York Harbor, etc.). For the latter, it may be more appropriate to view the weather web page for one's local network news website on one's smartphone or via the LightHouse 3 Apps feature. Regarding the latter, please click here to view a FAQ addressing this subject.

In a nutshell, Raymarine and third party SiriusXM satellite receivers are supplied with exactly the same resolution of weather data. The perception of greater resolution within one manufacturer's products is the result of smoothing algorithms designed to improve the appearance, albeit not necessarily the accuracy, of the NOWRAD data. As indicated within a related discussion within the retired Raymarine Technical Community Forum, the designers of Raymarine MFD software have opted not to employ such smoothing algorithms, as it may be misleading with respect to the resolution of the NOWRAD and other weather graphics layers. Instead, Raymarine MFDs have been designed to plot exactly the data which has received. When so plotted, this can have appearance of reduced resolution when ranged well in. When viewing NOWRAD weather, it is typically recommended that it be viewed at a regional level.