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Chartplotter

wheelerwbrian

wheelerwbrian

Member III
I'm looking at installing a basic chartplotter on my 88 38-200. I've been successfully living with my 15 year old Garmin 12XL and been resisting a chartplotter since I really can't stand a cluttered binnacle (no offense to those loaded up - its just not my style).

Nevertheless, I'm looking at an A series Raymarine. I want it to interface with my autopilot. Where have folks mounted this sort of item? I want it to be reachable from the helm and don't really want to cut a hole in the coaming. I'd like to mount it on the binnacle and I want to be able to remove it for stowage. The installation instructions say to keep it 3 ft away from the compass, but that clearly isn't going to happen if its going to meet these requirements. Do I just give up on the compass when using the chartplotter?

Thoughts?
 
treilley

treilley

Sustaining Partner
Brian, I also do not like a cluttered bincale. My Garmin 3206 is mounted at the binacle and does not interfere with the compass at all. I fabricated a custom mount so I can swivel the display for when I am sailing from the edge of the cockpit while racing. All the cables run down through the pedestal. I also have the integrated radar which is necessary to see at the helm. I ran a serial cable to the nav station where I can do all my route planning on my laptop and then download to the chartplotter.

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wheelerwbrian

wheelerwbrian

Member III
Thanks, nicely done. I like that the unit is under the guard -- it looks like you had to add a new guard and shelf, right?
 
treilley

treilley

Sustaining Partner
wheelerwbrian said:
Thanks, nicely done. I like that the unit is under the guard -- it looks like you had to add a new guard and shelf, right?
Click to expand...

I did add a new guard Brian. The original was full of holes and this new one is so much better. I had it fabricated 2" higher than the OEM. The people who made it did a fantastic job. The tubing actually stays round throughout the bend.

The shelf is also new. The old one was pretty ratty and I wanted something I could customize for future uses.
 
stgermain45

stgermain45

Member I
Brian,

Another option is to buy some of the RAM mounts to clamp to the binnacle guard. Specifically, for a chartplotter like Tim's (or Raymarine's A-series), you might consider the RAM-233 and RAM-111 (both available at WM). The added bonus is that you can swing the plotter in all directions and they are easily removable in case you don't want them there all the time. I just mounted my new Garmin 740s using these two mounts this past week and ran the cables down inside the SS binnacle guard. My plotter sits in exactly the location that Tim's does under the guard and is pretty much identical in size. I can take a picture of my setup and post it here if you're interested.

The biggest compass interference issue these days lies with the fact that a lot of the new chartplotters from various manufacturers are using a magnet to hold the SD card door shut (SOOO stupid!). The magnet interferes with the compass. You may be OK with a Raymarine A-series chartplotter being that close to the compass since it uses a compact flash card (not SD) and doesn't look like it has a magnetic door like so many of the other models. With my Garmin 740s, I knew of the compass interference going into the purchase and sure enough, it swung the compass at least 25 degrees. I opened up the unit and removed two magnets stacked on top of eachother from the Garmin and held in by a type of glue. It voids the warranty, but I'm much happier not ruining my compass nor having it 25 degrees off! I'm sure I can re-glue them back in if the day comes that I need to send the unit in for repair under warranty. Without those magnets, the compass is not affected in any way and 100% in sync with the Garmin compass readings. A piece of tape folded on itself inside of the door holds it firmly shut (it's not often I need to access my V2 Vision SD card anyway!). Of course, a lot of people might be unnerved about taking this route, but it's an option. Having said all that, I'm thinking you'll be OK with the Raymarine unit..it's just one of those things you'll need to test out for yourself in its mounting location. IMO, with the exception of the units with powerful magnets behind their removable media doors, the manufacturer safe compass distance warnings seem like more of a CYA thing.


-Chris
 
L

Lawrence B. Lee

Member III
magnet in the door

Brian,
It is alleged and observed by me that some recent Garmin Chartplotters have a magnet that keeps the SD chip slot door closed. It also throws the compass off if is too close. It is for that reason that Garmin says to mount the little rascal about 30 inches away from the compass. I can't speak for RAM A series plotters but if they tell you to mount it at a distance there must be a reason similar to the above in play.

Larry Lee
Annabel Lee E32-200
Savannah,GA
 
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