[CA] [CA11] Upgrading to Axioms, integration and Auto Pilot help?

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

SE-FL,

Q. I have a GA150 gps antenna, what would be the best use of it with this autopilot setup and the 2 axiom rv displays and ray53 vhf and icom 502 vhf? Connected to one of the vhf’s, or one of the axioms? It can not be on the network and used by all somehow now can it?
A. In system installations which do not afford MFD w/internal GPS Sensor to be afforded an unobstructed view of the skies overhead, an external GPS sensor (ex. Raystar 150 GPS Sensor, etc.) or passive GPS antenna (ex. GA150 GPS Antenna) may be required. Either an external GPS sensor or passive GPS antenna would be installed in a location affording it an unobstructed view of the skies overhead. If an external GPS sensor having a SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 communications interface is installed onboard, then it would simply be interfaced as a spur to the system's powered and properly terminated SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 backbone. The benefit of this option is that it permits maximum flexibility with regard to operating the system with one or more of the system's devices switched OFF. In such a system, as long as the backbone is powered, the other devices which have been interfaced to the backbone will be supplied with GPS data.

Alternatively, a GA150 Passive GPS Antenna may be installed and interfaced to the Ray53, which may then be configured to transmit GPS data determined via its internal GPS receiver to the system's powered and properly terminated SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 backbone for use by the system's devices. In such systems, it would be recommended that the Data Sources Feature of the Data Master MFD, p70/p70R/p70S/p70RS autopilot control head, or i70/i70S MFID be used to designate the Ray53 as the system's data source for GPS, Date & Time, and GPS Datum data.