E80 Classic to RNS 6.2

[vshtonov]

I am trying to interface an E80 Classic display to RNS 6.2 (on a Windows 10 laptop, via wifi). The primary motivation is to display radar images on a small tablet that I can carry around the boat. I think I am close but not sure if it is possible. The E80 is connected to a travel router (acting as a switch) which connects wirelessly to both my laptop and the marina wifi (the latter is not important). I am using an original Raymarine shielded cable that plugs into un unshielded port on the router. However, I do get the physical layer as the lights light up.

The E80 diagnostic screen says IP 10.0.59.173 / 255.0.0.0 and there is no apparent way to change it. So if I set the router to serve via DHCP 10.0.59.[censored] / 255.0.0.0, I get the laptop and the E80 on the same subnet. I can ping the E80 from the laptop and the E80 recognizes that a Device called Raytech is attached to the system. However, I cannot get the radar image to carry over or the GPS signal. I get a lot of UDP traffic and very little if any TCP traffic.

I believe that the next step should be to get a laptop with an Ethernet card and see if I can make it work without the wifi, then go to the complexity of wifi. Still my questions are:

1. What logic does the E80 use to setup the IP address space? Is it a DHCP server or does it expect anything special? I cannot use the supplied network settings program because I need to set the parameters on the router via a web interface.

2. Has anyone been able to do this? It seems straightforward but has not been mentioned in the forums.

3. Do you believe downgrading to Windows 7 may help?

On the other hand, the RNS 6.2 software, coupled with a touch tablet works really well. You get amazing functionality much better that recent touch displays and apps by Raymarine. I just wish I could get the radar image there as well.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum vshtonov,

A fully licensed instance (i.e. the owner possesses a RayTech RNS 6.x license key) to support integration of RayTech RNS 6.x software with a vessel's marine electronics. Please click here to view a FAQ addressing how to interface a PC running RayTech RNS software to an E-Series Classic MFD. As indicated within this FAQ, Raymarine advises use of RayTech RNS 6.1 (not 6.2) when interfacing with E-Series Classic MFDs. As indicated within the FAQ found here, RayTech RNS 6.2 may continuously display alert messages indicating that an incompatible memory card reader has been detected within systems featuring PCs running RayTech RNS software which have been networked via an Ethernet (SeaTalkhs network) to a system featuring E-Series Classic MFDs. In such systems, the MFD is responsible for serving Navionics cartography to the PC running the RayTech RNS 6.x software (i.e. the Navionics chart card is inserted into the CF memory card reader of one of the MFDs). Accordingly, it is recommended that RayTech RNS 6.1 be used with the system.

Also indicated within the first FAQ referenced above, is a statement that RayTech software is not compatible with Windows 10, as use of the Navionics software libraries with Windows 10 may cause the RayTech RNS 6.1/6.2 software to hang or crash. RayTech software was designed and tested for use with Windows XP and Windows 7 (if using Windows 7 or Windows 8 to install RayTech RNS 6.1 software, it is recommended that Windows Compatibility Mode in conjunction with the Windows Vista SP2 option be utilized). Some customers also have reported compatibility with Windows 8 when using Windows Compatibility Mode in conjunction with the Windows Vista SP2 option to install the RayTech software.

Raymarine E-Series Classic MFDs and RayTech RNS software were designed to function within a Class A private network, wherein Raymarine products have been programmed at the factory with Class A IP address, some of which were specific to the product (ex. DSMs, thermal cameras, IP cameras, etc.). The addresses of these Raymarine products are not designed to be changed by their owners. RayTech's documentation only describes wired interfaces between the PC running RayTech software and E-Series Classic MFDs, and correspondingly, Raymarine has only tested and only supports the products when they have been interfaced in this manner. If seeking to interface the PC to the E-Series Classic MFD, you may want to try configuring the PC's IP address to 10.0.0.7 and subnet mask 255.0.0.0 ... see the reference to the RayTech Network Configuration Tool within the first referenced FAQ. You may also want to try experimenting with a wired communications interface (i.e. USB to Ethernet) before attempting to tackle communications via Wi-Fi.

[vshtonov]

Dear Raymarine customers,

I succeeded in interfacing the Classic E80 to a tablet via a wireless connection and I am very happy with the results. Here is a summary what you need to do if you want to replicate my setup:

1. Get a Windows touch tablet of your choice. All work, including Windows 10, 8.1 or 7. Focus on the quality of the display. One good choice is a Windows 7 industrial tablet ($99 on Amazon) or as in my case a Windows 10 tablet for $59.

2. Install Raytech RNS v6.1 on the tablet. You need a license key. I recommend that you purchase one from Raymarine. If you have a working license key, you can install it on 100 devices if you desire to do so. Enough said on this topic.

3. Get a wireless router. Most will work but you want to select a model where you can configure the routing tables manually. The E80 has a fixed IP address (shown in the menu's) - for example, mine was 10.0.59.173. Once it is booted, it starts checking the network starting with 10.0.0.1 upwards. Thus, you want to configure the router with a gateway of 10.0.0.1 and the tablet that connects over Wifi as 10.0.0.2 or above. Raymarine recommends 10.0.0.7, you can use any address in that subnet. Make sure it does not conflict with any other devices you have. Then you setup a fixed route between the E80 (10.0.59.173 in my case) and the tablet (10.0.0.2 in my case). First you power on the router, then start the Raytech RNS sofware on the tablet, then cycle the power on the E80. The E80 will investigate the network and find the RNS software. You do not need to use the Raymarine network utilities as you have set fixed addresses already.

4. Once you start the Raytech RNS software on the tablet you may experience some initial lockups. In most cases, this is due to the graphics driver issues. My approach was to disable all accelerations in the software (Settings menu) then enable them one by one to see which ones work with my graphics card. I am running the software in Windows 10 mode, i.e. do not worry about any compatibility once you have the graphics settings figured out. Also, 32bit vs. 64bit OS makes no difference. The only issue you need to worry about is display rotation. The program crashes everytime when you change from landscape to portrait mode but this is typical of many older apps. My suggestion is to decide which orientation you prefer then lock the display rotation on the tablet. Portrait works great for radar, landscape gives you two nice side by side, nearly square displays.

5. The Raytech RNS has many customization options which is great. I suggest you play with the colour settings (the original colors for the radar display are really bad) to make the radar picture appear to your liking or just to match the E80 colors), then increase the font size in Windows (to make it easier to touch with wet fingers), set up you gribs (you need to download them separately and put them in the right directory) and you are all set.

6. Overall impression. The key benefit of the Raytech RNS running on the tablet is that you can show radar anywhere on the boat. Other benefits that you will get to like over time include very fast operation. You can do weather routing, boat polars, racing optimizations... lots of good stuff. The touch is great. For example, you do not pinch and zoom but point and click which works better with wet fingers or with one handed operation. Also, you can actually run multiple displays off the wireless switch if you wanted to do this. The E80 gets thoroughly confused at times if it gets instructions from two RNS instances at the same time but it was fun to test.

S/V Pizzazz

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

vshtonov,

We're glad to learn of your success and thank you for posting your configuration. As indicated within the previously referenced FAQ, it is recommended that the device running RayTech RNS 6.x be configured with IP address 10.0.0.7 to avoid IP addressing conflicts with other Raymarine products which were designed to have low Class A private network addresses (i.e. DSM300, SR100). If seeking a range of addresses for the router, it is recommended that they be 10.0.0.7 - 10.0.0.255.