SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Converter vs. SeaTalkng to SeaTalk Adapter Cable

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Converter vs. SeaTalkng to SeaTalk Adapter Cable

SeaTalk to SeaTalkng data bridging requires processing which a simple cable cannot be expected. Such processing may be performed by MFDs featuring both SeaTalk and SeaTalkng communications interfaces, or better yet by Raymarine's SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Converter Kit. Unlike a SeaTalkng 5-Way Connector, the slightly larger SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Converter features a microprocessor within its base which has been programmed with software to bridge SeaTalk communications to SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 and vice versa. The SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Converter Kit includes a SeaTalkng Converter to SeaTalk Cable which is designed to mate the SeaTalk (yellow) socket of the SeaTalk to SeaTalkng converter to up to five compatible devices having a SeaTalk communications interface. A backbone may include more than SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Converter should the system feature more than five devices having a SeaTalk communications interface. This cable features a matching yellow plug to assist the installer in identifying which socket of the SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Converter the cable will need to be plugged into.

It would then seem natural to ask what is the purpose of a SeaTalkng to SeaTalk Adapter Cable which had at one time been packaged with i50/i60/i70 instruments (also available for separate purchase) would be used for. The SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Adapter Cable does not support SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 to SeaTalk data bridging. Raymine's i50/i60/i70/i70S instruments and p70S/p70RS/p70/p70R autopilot control heads feature communications circuitry which will permit these devices to support either SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 communications or SeaTalk communications ... BUT NOT BOTH SIMULTANEOUSLY. The key part of this last statement is that the i50/i60/i70/i70S instruments and p70S/p70RS/p70/p70R autopilot control heads are not designed to function as SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 to SeaTalk data bridging devices. Accordingly, the i50/i60/i70/i70S instruments and p70S/p70RS/p70/p70R autopilot control heads may not be simultaneously interfaced to a SeaTalk bus and to a spur socket within a SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 backbone. At each powered up, the i50/i60/i70/i70S instruments and p70S/p70RS/p70/p70R autopilot control heads will sense whether these devices have been interfaced to a device(s) supporting SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 communications or SeaTalk communications and will then configure the device to match the type of sensed communications.

Having communications circuitry which supports either SeaTalkng / NMEA 2000 or SeaTalk communications permits these instruments and autopilot control heads to be be easily used to replace a failed legacy instrument or legacy autopilot control head without needing to rewire the system. As the power/communications interfaces of the i50/i60/i70/i70S instruments and p70S/p70RS/p70/p70R autopilot control heads features a SeaTalkng spur socket rather the a press-fit 3-pin plug, the SeaTalkng to SeaTalk Adapter Cable may be used to daisy chain the i50/i60/i70/i70S instrument or p70S/p70RS/p70/p70R autopilot control head to another device having a press-fit 3-pin SeaTalk socket or to a D244 SeaTalk Junction Block.


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