Upgrading ST40 to i50/i60 system

[sendicott]

I am planning on upgrading my existing RayMarine ST40 Depth and Speed instruments with a Raymarine i50 / i60 Depth, Speed and Wind Systems Pack. My hope is that I can use the existing wiring and the transducers for speed and depth (as there is nothing wrong with them) and only run the mast wire for the wind.

Does anyone know if that will work, or will I have to do a complete rewire?

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum Steve,

Please note that unlike the ST40 instruments which featured sockets designed to accommodate 3-pin SeaTalk cables. In contrast, the i50 and i60 instruments feature SeaTalkng sockets, which are designed to support SeaTalkng Spur Cables. Within a system lacking a powered and properly terminated SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 backbone, it would be recommended that the i50 and i60 instruments be daisy chained to one another using appropriate lengths of SeaTalkng Spur Cable. The i50 and i60 instruments are supplied with a 400mm SeaTalkng Cable to support such daisy chaining of closely located i50 and i60 instruments. A SeaTalkng Power Cable will be used to supply power to the i50 and i60 instruments. The existing depth and speed transducers may indeed continue to be used with the i50 instruments.

Should there be marine electronics other than the ST40 instruments which you have not yet identified, then please respond accordingly, as it may impact or require adding to the response provided above.

[sendicott]

Thanks Chuck.

As far as the ST40 goes, I believe from the PO, they are not daisy chained at all, but a direct run from each transducer to the two instruments (speed & depth).

However, in my research of trying to discover my solution I may have stumbled onto a different solution I may like better.

I am now considering an i70s system pack instead of the i50/i60 combo. If I went that route, everything would be contained in one unit. I guess I'd need to figure out what to put in the place of one of the ST40 units. :-)

Does the i70s system have a built in digital compass as well, or only when hooked up to a Fluxgate Compass? The pictures show a compass heading, but what I cant figure out is what is "connected" in the sales photo.

Anyhow, thanks for the help!

Steve E.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Steve,

Q1. As far as the ST40 goes, I believe from the PO, they are not daisy chained at all, but a direct run from each transducer to the two instruments (speed & depth).
A1. The daisy chain which I had been referring to is with respect to how they are powered, not how the transducers were connected to the instruments. In a small system such as you present one, it would have not been uncommon to have had both instrument interfaced to a D244 SeaTalk Junction Block to which a SeaTalk Power Cable or SeaTalk Auxiliary Junction Box would have been connected.

Q2. In my research of trying to discover my solution I may have stumbled onto a different solution I may like better. I am now considering an i70s system pack instead of the i50/i60 combo. If I went that route, everything would be contained in one unit. I guess I'd need to figure out what to put in the place of one of the ST40 units. :-)
A2. This is certainly an alternative to dedicated instrument displays. Should it be desirable to reduce the system to two displays, then you may also want to consider an i60 Wind System and an i50 Tridata Instrument (E70060 Display-Only) to use with your currently installed depth and speed/temp transducers.

Q3. Does the i70s system have a built in digital compass as well, or only when hooked up to a Fluxgate Compass? The pictures show a compass heading, but what I cant figure out is what is "connected" in the sales photo.
A3. While the i70S MFID is capable of displaying heading data should it be interfaced to a source of heading data (ex. EV-1/2 CCU, iTC-5 w/fluxgate compass transducer), the i70S System Pack lacks the fluxgate compass which would minimally be required to permit the system which you have specified to additionally display heading data.

[sendicott]

Thanks for the feedback Chuck.
Q1. As far as the ST40 goes, I believe from the PO, they are not daisy chained at all, but a direct run from each transducer to the two instruments (speed & depth).
A1. The daisy chain which I had been referring to is with respect to how they are powered, not how the transducers were connected to the instruments. In a small system such as you present one, it would have not been uncommon to have had both instrument interfaced to a D244 SeaTalk Junction Block to which a SeaTalk Power Cable or SeaTalk Auxiliary Junction Box would have been connected.
R1: I will have to take a look next time I go down. It is on the hard right now undergoing fiberglass repairs, so I can access pretty much anywhere on the boat to look. In the years I have owned her, I have never noticed a junction block, but honestly, I have never looked. Would it be required? Could they have ran the depth transducer directly to the depth instrument and the same as the speed/temp setup too?

Q2. In my research of trying to discover my solution I may have stumbled onto a different solution I may like better. I am now considering an i70s system pack instead of the i50/i60 combo. If I went that route, everything would be contained in one unit. I guess I'd need to figure out what to put in the place of one of the ST40 units. :-)
A2. This is certainly an alternative to dedicated instrument displays. Should it be desirable to reduce the system to two displays, then you may also want to consider an i60 Wind System and an i50 Tridata Instrument (E70060 Display-Only) to use with your currently installed depth and speed/temp transducers.
R2: That was my original intent, until I saw the i70. My original plan was to use the i50 with existing transducers and the i60 for wind. As long as the ST 40 Transducers work with the i50s, then that may not be a bad idea either.

Q3. Does the i70s system have a built in digital compass as well, or only when hooked up to a Fluxgate Compass? The pictures show a compass heading, but what I cant figure out is what is "connected" in the sales photo.
A3. While the i70S MFID is capable of displaying heading data should it be interfaced to a source of heading data (ex. EV-1/2 CCU, iTC-5 w/fluxgate compass transducer), the i70S System Pack lacks the fluxgate compass which would minimally be required to permit the system which you have specified to additionally display heading data.
R3: Understood. Maybe I will just put an clinometer over the empty [censored].

Thanks,

Steve E.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Steve,

R1a:In the years I have owned her, I have never noticed a junction block. Would it be required?
A1a: Negative. Networking the ST40 Instrument display to one another via the method described within the prior response would simply have been the means that data from these instruments would have been supplied to a larger system.
R1b: Could they have ran the depth transducer directly to the depth instrument and the same as the speed/temp setup too?
A1b: Yes. In all cases, these transducers would have had to have been directly connected to the transducer terminals of the ST40 Instruments.

R2: That was my original intent, until I saw the i70. My original plan was to use the i50 with existing transducers and the i60 for wind. As long as the ST 40 Transducers work with the i50s, then that may not be a bad idea either.
A2: Indeed the currently installed depth and speed/temp transducers may be either used with an i50 Tridata Instrument, with an i50 Depth and i50 Speed instrument, or with an iTC-5 with an i70/i70S MFID.

R3: Maybe I will just put an clinometer over the empty [censored].
A3. Should an EV-1 CCU be included within the system instead of a fluxgate compass, then it will not only provide the system with very accurate and very stable heading data, but also with heel angle data which in turn may be displayed by the i70/i70S MFID. Additionally, should it ever be desired to add an Evolution autopilot to the system, then it would not be necessary to purchase the EV-1 CCU along with the other Evolution autopilot components (as it would already be present within your system).