Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum and need some advice. I have a Raymarine C120W Multi Function display network and I'm contemplating using it for displaying engine data from TWIN Cummins 6BTA M3 (370hp) engines.
Given that the engines are 10 yrs old and are only supplying anologue data now, I plan to leave the anologue gauges in place and set up new senders for oil pressure and coolant temp as well as taking the engine revs from the alternators. That way I have completely separate feeds for dual redundancy. I'm only looking for these 3 measures from both engines.
My plan is to take the anologue engine data from the senders/alternator thru a Murphy MeCAN unit (which has these exact feeds) to convert to J1939 format, then into a Maretron J2K100 Gateway to convert into an NMEA 2000 format/backbone for the C120W display.
A Raymarine specialist says it should/will work, but I would appreciate any thoughts anyone has. (Ben, I actually asked the question of Ed, but he referred me to you/your site.) Is there anything I should be aware of that would be regarded as an issue or show stopper??
I'm aware of having to program one of the gateway units for the separate address for the starboard engine, and I'm asking Maretron how can I best accomplish this without buying a Maretron display. (any thoughts??)
The web dealers I've looked at are happy to sell me 2 Gateway units, but when I asked questions, I seem to be on my own. Assuming the first unit will work "out of the box", can anyone provide some comments if they have done something similar. All/any assistance is appreciated.
Many thanks.
Sorry, John; I missed some new entries here on the Forum, and I only have limited experience with what you're doing, which is still tricky stuff. One thing I can tell with certainty is that you can purchase a Maretron USB100 PC Gateway and use N2KAnalyzer on a PC instead of a Maretron display for setting up Maretron gear. It will also give you a simulated DSM250 display and it will show you exactly what engine data is coming out J2K100 Gateway, which might be helpful for troubleshooting.
But I'm wondering if you might consider a different approach than the Murphy Maretron two step. I think there are at least five companies at this point offering, or about to, direct analog engine to NMEA 2000 conversions: Noland RS11, Chetco Digital, Mas-Technologies, Rose Point Navigation, and Actisense. The first three have been covered on Panbo by guest writers who have used the systems on their own boats (search the product name, or scan the Engine category in the archives). The Rose Point device and software isn't quite ready yet, but I hear it's testing well, and I showed a screen shot here: http://goo.gl/EqLLX
Actisense hasn't actually announced the ATM-1 yet, but they've had it at boatshows and you can see it in a diagram here: http://goo.gl/nUCcd
I haven't yet tried one of these myself, but I have an analog diesel I'd love to monitor better, so I'm hoping...
Many thanks Ben for your insights and alternatives. I'll investigate further.
Hi John,
If you are still at a loss in the new year for an analogue engine to NMEA 2000 interface, please contact [email protected] and request to join our beta program.