In case anybody else is having this issue....this report will go to show you're not the only one......
After asking Lowrance tech support a couple of months ago whether my LMS-525c would support the Maretron NMEA2000-networked "DST100" tri-sensor, i.e. Depth, Temp, and Speed/Distance sensor, and being assured it would work perfectly, I went ahead and bought a DST100.
In doing preliminary testing, as the Maretron installation manual describes....of just hooking up to the backbone before installing in my hull, go into Setup on my LMS display unit and see that the Maretron is recognized in the NMEA2000 Buss Configuration, I was confused to find only 3 out of 4 data-streams present.... Temp, Speed, and Distance showed up as selectable under NMEA2000 Buss Configuration, but no Depth PGN was selectable.
I went into "Overlay Data" setup, and was able to select and display the DST100's feeds for all three PGN's available in NMEA2k Buss Configuration, and they showed up fine on the LMS-525's screen....and, as the Maretron manual suggests, I was able to spin the paddle wheel and get an immediate speed reading displayed on the LMS-525's screen....but still no Depth function available at all.
I called Maretron first, since they are a LOT easier to get help from then Lowrance, where you'll regularly wait at least 20-30 minutes on the phone before anybody answers (thank God it's an 800 number!!!) ...and, true to form, got Mark at Maretron Tech Support in a matter of a minute or less.... Right there on the phone, he hooked up an older Lowrance LMS-332 unit that seems to be virtually identical in features to my LMS-525c, except the 332 is a single 200 khz, vs. 50/200 khz on my LMS-525c, and Mark could get Depth, Temp, Speed, and Distance, i.e. all 4 PGN streams selectable and displayable both in "NMEA2000 Buss Configuration" and "Overlay Data" on the LMS-332, so we know the DST100 works on units virtually identical to my LMS-525c.
My guess is there's a firmware glitch in version 2.4 loaded in my LMS-525c, since the DST100 works perfectly in the older LMS-332. Mark at Maretron suggested I report this possible NMEA2000 incompatability to NMEA itself, not just Lowrance, so I did both. I immediately got a response from Steve Sptizer of NMEA, who immediately forwarded my report to a Navico engineer described as "....the current NMEA 2000 engineer from the Navico Group." That alone was a little surprising to me, to think a corporation as big as Navico/Lowrance/Simrad/Eagle,etc., has ONE engineer assigned to NMEA2000 issues....maybe he's just the one assigned to customer interface? Of course, when I reported the issue to Lowrance Tech support, after the requisite 20-25 minutes on hold, the first thing I was told was "we don't support Maretron stuff." After stressing to the person that the DST100 was a standard NEMA2000-compatible device, and that Maretron lists the Lowrance LMS-52x-series as compatible, finally I at least got them to be willing to record the issue and pass it up the chain of command.
This was all yesterday,....so I'll report back if/when anything gets resolved.
Stenn
Hi Stenn,
Another Panbo reader is having similar problems, which I attempted to trouble shoot:
https://www.panbo.com/forum/2009/03/need-help-with-lowrance-glabal-map-5300-and-maretron-dst100.html
Yes, thanks, I read that Ben....that's not what's going on with my unit.
Impressively, a Navico NMEA2k engineer got back to me with some very specific, undocumented trouble-shooting today, involving a series of key-presses on the LMS-525c, to activate NMEA2k data-stream recording and text-dump to SD card. He wants me to email him the text-dump off the SD card. He suspects, after his own testing on his end, that the reason the PGN doesn't show up is when the transducer isn't getting a bottom-lock because I'm holding it in the air, not installed in the hull and shooting through water to the bottom ( I'm on the hard right now...preparing to barrier-coat the hull, then install the DST100). Let's hope that's all it is....since the other 3 PGN streams are selectable and displayable (Temp, Speed, Distance).
Very interesting, Stenn; I'd love to find out if there is a similar data logging capability on the Lowrance LCX I have here, and/or the HDS10 that's coming. Or other brands of N2K MFDs? (Engineers, please email or call me with instructions.)
Incidentally, the DST100 in the lab thinks it sees bottom when aimed square at a concrete floor from one to three feet away.
Here's the key-sequence:
Go into "NMEA Diagnostics" after installing an SD card you can record the data-dump to...
Press ZIN + ZOUT + ZIN + ZOUT + ZIN + ZOUT ...to uncover a checkbox that says "Record Bus Traffic." Enable the chckbox and select "Yes" in the "are you sure?" dialog. Wait approx. 20-30 seconds as it records data, then clear the checkbox. It will automatically create a file called Debugnmea2k.txt."
I will test it too ! :)
For info : I've an airmar DST200 on my demo LCX and globalmap, and work fine.
I've tested HDS 10... I don't like new dashboards, prefer old one which is more personalizable.
Finally managed to write those NMEA2kDebug files to an SD card this weekend, and emailed them off to the Navico engineer this morning. Only a code-reader could make heads or tails of them...they're all Assembly and ASCII code....
One confusion in the directions I reported earlier from the Navico engineer...those "+" signs in between the ZIN and ZOUT, i.e 'ZIN+ZOUT..." led me to believe the keys were to be pressed simulaneously, which does not work...every time you enter the "ZOUT" it would back-step you out of "NMEA Diagnostics." It should be, once you are down in the "NMEA Diagnostics" page with the "Ping All Devices" panel highlighted, THEN enter "ZIN," then "ZOUT," and do that sequence for a total of 3 times....then the "Record Bus Traffic" option will suddenly appear. Check the box and say "Yes" and it'll take off.
The resulting files are not big at all....maybe 1K per second, so counting to 30 or 40 will only make a 30-40K file....tiny by today's standards...so no worries about filling even the little 16meg SD card I was using at the time.
I'll report back if/when I hear from the engineer.
Stenn, As Ben mentioned, the problems you are experiencing sounds like the same problems I am having with my 5300. I can get other info from the DST100 but not depth. Let us know what you find out.