A98 ST50 ST60 Quantum Raystar 130 "suite"

[kevkal]

Hello Charles,

Very much appreciate the service you provide on this forum!

I'm trying to set up a new "suite" of electronics for my boat.

The boat presently has:
- ST60 SmartPilot autopilot and fluxgate compass
- ST60 depth instrument with the lexan transducer

They work well and I plan to keep them.

I have purchased some new equipment:
- A98 display
- Quantum Q24C radar
- CPT 110 bottom sounding transducer
- Raystar 130 antenna
- Seatalk ST1-STNG converter
- Standard Horizon GX2100 VHF radio with AIS

I also have some older ST50 instruments that I'd like to install with the new gear. They include
- ST50 wind speed and direction
- ST50 depth (for use as a repeater)
- ST50/ST60 compass heading (have both)
- ST50 boat speed (no transducer)
- ST50 NavData

Goals:

1. Be able to sail with the A98 and autopilot off and still be able to use the ST50 and ST60 depth, compass, wind and speed instruments, as well as get latitude and longitude from the ST50 NavData instrument.

2. Be able to sail with the A98 and autopilot off and still be able to use the navigation and AIS functions on the Standard Horizon VHF, which requires a latitude and longitude input from a NMEA interface.

3. Install the CPT110 transducer inside the hull (perhaps in an oil bath) but keep the present ST60 lexan transducer thru-hull so that I have both.

4. Use the ST50 Speed instrument as a repeater that displays only calculated SOG (presumably from the Raystar 130 antenna...I don't want to have a thru-hull speed transducer / paddlewheel.)

FWIW, I'm not too concerned about displaying AIS data on the A98 if that is going to be difficult.

I've attached a block diagram of the sensors and display components to aid in thinking about the system. Essentially it lays things out geographically from bow to stern:
- vicinity of the mast
- nav station
- companionway
- helm
- stern

Your thoughts on the "reasonableness" of my four goals above and any related thoughts would be much appreciated!

Kevin Reilly

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum Kevin,

Before responding to your comments/questions concerning your proposed system and how these devices may may be powered and how they may (or may not) be interfaced to one another, I need clarification concerning:
- the model of autopilot control head and autopilot course computer installed onboard ... Raymarine has produced no autopilots having the name"ST60"
- verification concerning whether the installed "ST50" Instruments are indeed ST50 or whether they may be ST50+ Instruments.

[kevkal]

Sorry for the delay...

-- Raymarine SmartPilot Course Computer S3
-- actually they are the older Autohelm, which I understand are similar/identical to ST50s?

Many thanks!

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Kevin,

General comments:

The GX2100 VHF radio / AIS receiver may be interfaced to the new system via either 38400 BAUD NMEA 0183 communications to the MFD's NMEA 0183 Port 1 or via SeaTalkng communications. As the GX2100 does not feature a NMEA 2000 communications interface, the latter would require that a NMEA 0183 to SeaTalkng /NMEA 2000 data bridging device (ex. Actisense NGW-1-ISO-AIS) be interfaced as a spur to the SeaTalkng backbone. A powered and properly terminated SeaTalkng backbone having a sufficient number of spur sockets to accommodate the a98 MFD, Raystar 130, and possibly a third party SeaTalkng/NMEA 2000 to NMEA 0183 data bridging device will need to be constructed. Please click here to view a FAQ addressing how to interface devices having a SeaTalk communications interface to a SeaTalkng backbone. As indicated within this FAQ, SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Converter has neither been designed nor tested for use with instrument products introduced prior to the ST50+ (i.e. your ST50 instruments). Accordingly, it would be recommended that your ST50 instruments be disconnected from the SeaTalk bus, in turn reducing the SeaTalk bus to the S3 autopilot course computer, ST600x autopilot control head, and ST60 instrument(s).

Regarding the ST50 instruments, several years ago, Raymarine had offered the E85001 PC/SeaTalk/NMEA 0183 Interface Module which would have supported bridging data from the ST50 instruments to NMEA 0183. Should you be able to procure an E85001 via the second hand market (or third party device performing this SeaTalk to NMEA 0183 data bridging function (ex. Brookhouse iMux, etc.)), then it may be used to bridge instrument data from your ST50 instruments to NMEA 0183 which in turn may be fed to the a98 MFD's NMEA 0183 Port 2 input. Should an E85001 not be able to be source or a third party device not be found to satisfactorily perform this SeaTalk to NMEA 0183 data bridging function, then it would be necessary to consider upgrading the vessel's instruments should it be desired that they be integrated with the new equipment.

Q1. Be able to sail with the A98 and autopilot off and still be able to use the ST50 and ST60 depth, compass, wind and speed instruments, as well as get latitude and longitude from the ST50 NavData instrument.
A1. Please note that the older equipment onboard your vessel was not designed to support multiple sources of any one type of data (ex. GPS, wind, depth, etc.). Accordingly, it would not be recommended that data from new equipment be fed into the ST50 system. Should it be desired to sail to wind with the MFD switched OFF, then it would be recommended that the NMEA 0183 output of the SeaTalk to NMEA 0183 data bridging device specified above instead be interfaced to the S3's NMEA 0183 input port rather than one the MFD's NMEA 0183 input ports.

Q2. Be able to sail with the A98 and autopilot off and still be able to use the navigation and AIS functions on the Standard Horizon VHF, which requires a latitude and longitude input from a NMEA interface.
A2. Should the GX2100 VHF radio / AIS receiver be interfaced to the new system via SeaTalkng communications as indicated above, then it would permit the GX2100 to be supplied with GPS data irrespective of the ON/OFF state of the a98 MFD. Please click here to view a FAQ addressing setting up power circuits for marine electronics. In this case, it would be recommended that the ST50 instruments and SeaTalkng backbone be powered by the same circuit.

Q3. Install the CPT110 transducer inside the hull (perhaps in an oil bath) but keep the present ST60 lexan transducer thru-hull so that I have both.
A3. Due to the relatively low power output of CHIRP/DownVision transducers, Raymarine does not offer in-hull transducers for ax8, eSx8, CP100, and Dragonfly products. It is exclusively recommended that transducers designed for these products use transducers which are in direct contact with the water outside of the hull. Those limited to installing an in-hull fishfinder transducer would be recommended to instead consider an ax7, cx7, e7D, ex7, eSx7 MFD and a compatible in-hull fishfinder transducer (ex. A80170 P79, etc.).

Q4. Use the ST50 Speed instrument as a repeater that displays only calculated SOG (presumably from the Raystar 130 antenna...I don't want to have a thru-hull speed transducer / paddlewheel).
A4. It is not recommended that the ST50 instruments be interfaced via bi-directional communications to the system unless a programmable NMEA 0183 multiplexer is installed between the NMEA 0183 output of the SeaTalk to NMEA 0183 data bridging device (see general comments above) and the NMEA 0183 output port of the S3G. The programmable NMEA 0183 multiplexer would in turn need to be programmed to limit output from the ST50 system to NMEA 0183 sentences containing wind and speed through water data.

[kevkal]

Chuck,

Thank you for your most excellent response! No doubt I'll be back with more questions as I digest the details and consider my needs and options.

All the best-

Kevin

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

You're welcome.

[kevkal]

Hello Chuck,

So in considering your comments (as best I was able to understand them!) as well as my options over the last few days, I'm thinking that purchasing the Raystar 130 might not have been the best choice in view of the fact that most of my proposed system's components are NMEA 0183 based.

Here's what I am thinking:

a) Instead of using the Raystar 130, maybe I should get a smart GPS sensor that outputs 0183 data directly (used Raystar 120/125, Garmin 17C, Standard Horizon "Smart GPS Sensor" or similar). Then I could

b) connect the new antenna's 0183 output to
- the Standard Horizon 2100 AIS/VHF radio
- the ST50 NavData instrument (set up as Master)

c) connect the ST50 NavData to the S3 course computer via Seatalk1.

d) I would also propose connecting the new A98 MFD to the S3 course computer via a ST1/STng converter.

With this arrangement I am hoping:

1) to be able to use the AIS capabilities of the GX2100 with the S3 and A98 off, and with the ST50 NavData concurrently displaying the boat's position

2) to be able to turn on the S3 course computer and have the autopilot steer a compass course with the A98 off (ST6002 control head)

3) to be able to input waypoints via the ST50 for the autopilot to steer to with the A98 off

4) to be able to turn on the A98, select a waypoint on a chart, and have the autopilot steer to that waypoint

5) to be able to use the GPS input from the 0183 antenna/sensor in lieu of a GA150 external antenna if necessary for the A98 (which will be mounted belowdecks).

My question is "Do you think this could work!?!?!?"

All the best, and many thanks-

Kevin

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Q1: c) connect the ST50 NavData to the S3 course computer via Seatalk1.

d) I would also propose connecting the new A98 MFD to the S3 course computer via a ST1/STng converter.

A1: The S3 autopilot course computer's SeaTalk ports may essentially be thought of as a single port with two sockets forming one continuous SeaTalk bus. Per my earlier response, a ST-STng Converter should not be interfaced to a SeaTalk bus which additionally includes ST50 Instruments.

[kevkal]

Got it. I will keep the ST50 NavData, NMEA 0183 GPS sensor, and GX2100 AIS/VHF separate and just use the A98 through the ST1/STng converter to provide waypoint input to the S3 course computer. That should keep it clean.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

You're welcome.