peaman
Sustaining Member
@windblown wrote:
As requested....
It turns out that the MFD does not need to recognize the autopilot, as long as the autopilot can hear the MFD.
When I got my boat 3 years ago, the instruments were of so little value that I was able to basically "start from scratch" for the navigation suite. I wanted to go with B&G for everything, but for an autopilot, Raymarine's wheel pilot was a compelling choice based on simplicity of installation and use, and of cost. Unfamiliar with the details of marine networking, I was worried that the Raymarine SeaTalkNG devices might not work well with my otherwise NMEA 2000 network. So I arranged the two networks so that they both terminated independently in the same physical area under the cockpit.
My B&G network was powered from a circuit breaker labelled "Instruments", while the Raymarine network was powered by one labelled "Autopilot", which also powered the Raymarine ACU controller. Both networks could be individually terminated for complete separation.
Raymarine EV-100 Wheel Autopilot Pack with dedicated fused power supply (red striped wire)
In order to test for compatibility, I made up a cable with an NMEA 2000 Micro field-installable connector on one end, and a SeatalkNG backbone connector on the other, but the 12V DC power wire in the cable was left unconnected.
That rig allowed for network-to-network communication, but with independent power source for each. I figured that would give me greater control of power consumption while allowing networking most of the time, and the ability to separate the two networks in the event of a problem, simply by replacing the joining cable with the respective network terminator for each network. But after experiencing the pros and cons of that arrangement, I was able to further simplify things.
From my research, I knew that Raymarine has a reputation, whether earned or not, for making it difficult for their systems and devices to play nice with others'. But it turns out that, in the case of the Evolution EV-100 Wheel Autopilot Pack, both EV-1 electronic compass, and P70S control head appear to be perfectly compatible with current B&G devices on a NMEA 2000 network, independent of Raymarine's ACU-100 Actuator control unit.
In my present network configuration, The Raymarine components are connected in the normal manner, except that the ACU-100 controller (which powers the wheel actuator) is powered independently of the other components. The SeatalkNG network is connected to the NMEA 2000 network through a Raymarine A80674 adapter cable, so that now, when the "Instruments" breaker is turned on, the Raymarine control head and compass are also powered on. The greatest benefit is that the compass provides a heading sensor for the GPS, radar, and wind instrument, even when the boat is at dock or at anchor.
Present installation, with ACU-100 separately powered ("Autopilot" circuit breaker) from SeatalkNG network, which is powered from the NMEA 2000 network ("Instruments" breaker).
With my present configuration, if a waypoint has been set in my B&G Zeus MFD, the Raymarine wheel pilot can be set for "Tracking", and it will steer to the waypoint. Even cooler, the pilot can be set for "Windvane", and it will steer to the wind, either true or apparent, according to user preference.
If you ever get your Zeus to recognize you Raymarine autopilot, please start a new thread. Several of us would be very excited.
As requested....
It turns out that the MFD does not need to recognize the autopilot, as long as the autopilot can hear the MFD.
When I got my boat 3 years ago, the instruments were of so little value that I was able to basically "start from scratch" for the navigation suite. I wanted to go with B&G for everything, but for an autopilot, Raymarine's wheel pilot was a compelling choice based on simplicity of installation and use, and of cost. Unfamiliar with the details of marine networking, I was worried that the Raymarine SeaTalkNG devices might not work well with my otherwise NMEA 2000 network. So I arranged the two networks so that they both terminated independently in the same physical area under the cockpit.
My B&G network was powered from a circuit breaker labelled "Instruments", while the Raymarine network was powered by one labelled "Autopilot", which also powered the Raymarine ACU controller. Both networks could be individually terminated for complete separation.
Raymarine EV-100 Wheel Autopilot Pack with dedicated fused power supply (red striped wire)
In order to test for compatibility, I made up a cable with an NMEA 2000 Micro field-installable connector on one end, and a SeatalkNG backbone connector on the other, but the 12V DC power wire in the cable was left unconnected.
That rig allowed for network-to-network communication, but with independent power source for each. I figured that would give me greater control of power consumption while allowing networking most of the time, and the ability to separate the two networks in the event of a problem, simply by replacing the joining cable with the respective network terminator for each network. But after experiencing the pros and cons of that arrangement, I was able to further simplify things.
From my research, I knew that Raymarine has a reputation, whether earned or not, for making it difficult for their systems and devices to play nice with others'. But it turns out that, in the case of the Evolution EV-100 Wheel Autopilot Pack, both EV-1 electronic compass, and P70S control head appear to be perfectly compatible with current B&G devices on a NMEA 2000 network, independent of Raymarine's ACU-100 Actuator control unit.
In my present network configuration, The Raymarine components are connected in the normal manner, except that the ACU-100 controller (which powers the wheel actuator) is powered independently of the other components. The SeatalkNG network is connected to the NMEA 2000 network through a Raymarine A80674 adapter cable, so that now, when the "Instruments" breaker is turned on, the Raymarine control head and compass are also powered on. The greatest benefit is that the compass provides a heading sensor for the GPS, radar, and wind instrument, even when the boat is at dock or at anchor.
Present installation, with ACU-100 separately powered ("Autopilot" circuit breaker) from SeatalkNG network, which is powered from the NMEA 2000 network ("Instruments" breaker).
With my present configuration, if a waypoint has been set in my B&G Zeus MFD, the Raymarine wheel pilot can be set for "Tracking", and it will steer to the waypoint. Even cooler, the pilot can be set for "Windvane", and it will steer to the wind, either true or apparent, according to user preference.