[TG] connecting Rudder Indicator

[HMCSW]

Hi: I ordered a rudder indicator. Can I connect it directly to an i70 or a Series A screen? I do not have autopilot yet. Thanks for any help.

[Tom - Raymarine - Moderator]

Hello HMCSW,

No, neither of those displays (and in fact no current Raymarine display) can take a direct analogue rudder reference connection. You can connect the rudder reference to an ITC5 black-box instrument transducer interface and calibrate that with i70, and display on either i70 or A-series. When you do get an autopilot, then disconnect the RR from the ITC5 and connect to the pilot instead for better pilot performance.

Regards,
Tom

[HMCSW]

thanks for that: So I have the Series A 12 inch, i70, through hull sonar and a radar dome. Those connect directly to the MFD right? So do I need the converter and SeaTalk connector "T" or 5 way connector? Thank again for you help.

[Tom - Raymarine - Moderator]

Hello HMCSW,

Radar: would connect to the display's Raynet network port, assuming this wasn't already in use to connect to another device (e.g. a black-box sounder module.) If you had no free network port on the display then you would need an HS5 network switch, which provides 5 network ports.

Through-hull sonar: that depends on whether we're talking just a transducer or a black-box sounder system (and what kinds) and what specific model of a-Series you have (a125, a127, a128.) Can you give me more information, ideally part numbers? You can find the a-Series Installation Manual here.

i70: connects to the display via a powered, terminated STNG/NMEA2000 network. Please refer to the SeatalkNG Reference Manual for part numbers and descriptions of what this means and how the network goes together.

Regards,
Tom

[HMCSW]

Tom:

Thanks again for your support. As it is obvious I know nothing: I have the i70 with one spur fitting used and the other is empty. It is connected to my MFD Series A. If I got this right I can connect the iTC-5 via the supplied spur cable directly to the free i70 port. I also have a free one on the back of the Series A.
Thanks again.

[Tom - Raymarine - Moderator]

Hello HMCSW,

That doesn't sound like a complete and functional network (no terminating resistors, for example) so I assume there is more to your network than that. For me to give you accurate information I would need to know exactly what cabling you have, but have you had a look at that SeatalkNG reference manual? Your network should look something like Figure 1-2 on p5 of that book.

Regards,
Tom