Raymarine Auto Pilot connected to ANY NMEA 0183

[c130king]

Having the manuals to read while your boat and autopilot sit on the other side of the Atlantic must be very frustrating. It would drive me nuts!

Actually reading these manuals, and the dozens of books I have bought, and reading 749,039 posts on this website (but who's counting), and watching the Macgregor 55 minute video about 1 time per month, and emailing and chatting with several of my Macgregor buddies, and looking at all the pictures I have of my boat on my computer are the things that keep me from going insane.

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Bertrand,

I am going to connect mine to my electrical panel (fuse or cb still TBD). Delevi connected his direct to his battery with a fuse in-line...at least I think that is what he said somewhere in another post.

I will probably go ahead and wire my NMEA output from the GPS to the SmartPilot computer down in the cabin (with wire going through the pedastal) rather than directly to the control unit. But if you go with the control unit let us know how it works out. I can always change my mind....again.

Also, let me know what power cable you get for your computer...I read that in the manual yesterday and circled it with a note that says "what cable?". And since we are talking about power cables...on page 8 of the commissioning guide under the heading of "Grounding the SmartPilot" there is a diagram of the battery and the bottom right corner of the unit. There is a wire coming out of the unit labeled "RF GND" and they show it going to the grounding point "or" to the negative post on the battery. Also on the unit are the places for the power cable ("+" and "-")...wouldn't the "-" go to the batttery negative post? Or do they mean that the the "-" would go to the electrical panel negative bus and that the RF GND can go directly to the battery if there is no grounding point.

How did you do this?

And did anyone use a "suppression ferrite" for anything?????

Thanks

[Québec 1]

Also, let me know what power cable you get for your computer...I read that in the manual yesterday and circled it with a note that says "what cable?".
page 7 smart pilot series commissioning guide..(14AWG 2.5mm copper area)

And since we are talking about power cables...on page 8 of the commissioning guide under the heading of "Grounding the SmartPilot" there is a diagram of the battery and the bottom right corner of the unit. There is a wire coming out of the unit labeled "RF GND" and they show it going to the grounding point "or" to the negative post on the battery.
that is the ships ground and has nothing to do with you power hook up
Also on the unit are the places for the power cable ("+" and "-")...wouldn't the "-" go to the batttery negative post?
Yes and the + hooks up to the +power cable as per page 7 same guide

Or do they mean that the the "-" would go to the electrical panel negative bus and that the RF GND can go directly to the battery if there is no grounding point.

How did you do this?

And did anyone use a "suppression ferrite" for anything?????
Have not done any hook ups yet or gotten to the ferrite thing. Am presently running the wire where it needs to go and positioning and repositionning the equipment. Will hard wire and screw stuff in next week

Q1
Thanks

[atzserv]

Q1,

I put the fuse right after the perko switch and the switch right after that. I have wanted to run the switch up to the pedistal right by the fuse panel I installed up there just to help develop a sequence of events when turning everything on and when turning everything off at the end of the day. I am having alot of fun playing with these new toys now and need to get back to putting things where they need to go, LOL

Gary

[Terry]

A curiosity question subject to interpretation.
The Raymarine manual recommends installing the fluxgate compass between 1/2 & 1/3 the way along the water line. Measuring from the transom (Raymarine does not specify which end to measure from) the best placement is at the foot of the companionway ladder. Looking at Oskar's drawing (if it is to scale) clearly the daggerboard is well ahead of the halfway point as measured from the transom. On the other hand if one measures the same distance from the bow then Oskar's placement falls right into Raymarine specs - between 1/3 & 1/2 the length of the waterline measured from the bow. So which is the correct measurement and does it make any significant difference as long as it is abeam and as low to the waterline as possible.

[Québec 1]

Got this from Garmin today!



Click on the image below to view or download your file.


Name: GPS (fixed) to NMEA devices.pdf
Author: Bertrand Beaudry
Link: https://share.acrobat.com/adc/document. ... 3ae4471d64




© 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110 USA
Q1

[Hamin' X]

There is a wire coming out of the unit labeled "RF GND" and they show it going to the grounding point "or" to the negative post on the battery. Also on the unit are the places for the power cable ("+" and "-")...wouldn't the "-" go to the batttery negative post? Or do they mean that the the "-" would go to the electrical panel negative bus and that the RF GND can go directly to the battery if there is no grounding point.

How did you do this?

And did anyone use a "suppression ferrite" for anything?????

Thanks

RF ground and electrical (-) ground , are two different animals. RF is high frequency AC current and is affected by many things in wiring, inductance (resistance to AC and not DC) is the main culprit. A DC ground may check just fine with a multimeter, but be totally unacceptable for RF. Since the Mac has no real ship's ground, just go direct to the Battery negative, as this is as close to a common ground as you will get.

The main reason that the AP is using a separate RF ground, is to minimize interference from radios and electrical interference from other devices on board.

The ferrite bead should go on the power/data cable, close to the unit. The cable can act like an antenna for radio signals and these are designed to choke the flow of RF that can be picked up on the cable and prevent it from entering the AP circuitry.

~Rich

[atzserv]

Terry,

I put my fluxgate where OsKar 26M put his exactly. I can't remember if I called raymarine but something tells me I did before I mounted it there and for the same reason you mentioned.

Gary

[c130king]

... Since the Mac has no real ship's ground, just go direct to the Battery negative, as this is as close to a common ground as you will get.

...

The ferrite bead should go on the power/data cable, close to the unit. The cable can act like an antenna for radio signals and these are designed to choke the flow of RF that can be picked up on the cable and prevent it from entering the AP circuitry.

1. What is that "post" near the electrical panel on the for? I thought that was a ground.

2. Where does one get a ferrite bead? Is this something you can pick up at a WestMarine?

Thanks for all the tips/advice.

Jim

[hart]

Wikipedia's article on ferrite beads is decent. I added some to my recording studio gear when I was troubleshooting an RF problem.

They are the big knobby things you find on computer equipment cables, etc. The last TV I bought came with a couple extra clip on versions they suggested putting on the HDMI cables. You can also find clip on ferrite beads at Radio Shack or probably a computer repair store in your area.

[Hamin' X]

1. What is that "post" near the electrical panel on the for? I thought that was a ground.

2. Where does one get a ferrite bead? Is this something you can pick up at a WestMarine?

Thanks for all the tips/advice.

Jim

I am not familiar with the M's, but if it is a ground, it is only an electrical ground and not useful for RF. An RF ground needs to be as short and direct as possible, with no loops, or sharp bends and no excess wire coiled up anywhere.

If the kit does not include them, they are readily available in many locations.

All of this being said, I really don't think that you will need to worry about the RF ground, or extra ferrites. You most likely will not be using HF radio on board and if you are using a good marine antenna for the VHF, you should have no problems.

~Rich

[tangentair]

Jim
The post, I believe you are referring to, is a copper/brass bolt that the ground wires run back to. Rich is right about the need for ferrite beads, rings, etc. You are far more likely to get radio interference from your spark plugs than from your VHF. The wiring problem you need to be researching, in my opinion, is the run for your antenna wire, most antennas like this Shakespeare from West Marine come with 15 to 20 feet of cable lead and that will just barely reach from the inside of the boat to the aft steering hole or over to the mast mount when you try and conceal things nicely. You can buy an extension like this from Radio Shack (for example only or as a desperate last resort) but you need to figure out the distance and buy the correct length.
Remember Dobie's Dogma: If you are not thoroughly confused, you have not been thoroughly informed.
Ron