Really hoping someone could help since Raymarine support suggestion only extended to resetting everything to factory defaults.
I have eS97 Raymarine display which is about 1 year old. Latest LightHouse v19.x. Recently I purchased Raymarine AIS350 receiver which is the only SeaTalk device attached to the display. It is attached via spur cable without any T (direct wire from the AIS unit to the display - Raymarine support confirmed that its ok).
The problem is the plotter doesnt see AIS. AIS is turned on and green light acts as if signal is being received (bright and dim green light). I dont know whats going on :( any help or ideas greatly appreciated.
p.s. in the diagnostic menu there isnt much to see for AIS but I do see numbers running up for transmit but zero for received.
Thanks again
Val, I think you had a confused conversation with Ray support. You're talking about SeaTalkNG (very similar to NMEA 2000) not SeaTalk. No data will pass through that cable unless there is also 12v power in it, I'm pretty sure. Suggest you check AIS350 and STNG manuals.
Just called to verify again. They confirmed in a single SeaTalk device installation I do not need anything else. The spur cable can go directly from the AIS350 into the es97 display.
I told him that something isnt working and I still need assistance. He told me to buy a new cable which seems like a waste of time and money because this cable is brand new from the bag. He then transferred me to another support level on which i was onhold for 40 minutes now. :(
I suppose I can try NMEA0183 which comes out of power cable on both AIS and the display unit. That should bypass SeaTalk. Correct?
And if so would I need to supply any additional power to that?
Have you read the manual, Val?
I have. About SeaTalk the manual states I need to use either 5 way connector *OR* T-piece connector *OR* spare SeaTalk spur on a SeaTalk converter. The manual assumes I have a large network of these seatalk devices. It does not talk at all about single SeaTalk device that connects to a single MFD. So I called Raymarine and asked this question. Hence the recommendation to connect the cable directly.
About NMEA0183 connectivity the manual just shows 4 wire colors and has no mention if it needs additional power.
No, NMEA 0183 does not require power, and actually only need to connect the 38400 baud OUTput of the AIS to the 0183 INput of the eS97 (and setup the eS for that baud rate).
But I'm still scratching my chin about this idea that you could direct connect the AIS350 to the eS using SeaTalkNG. It would be a nice thing -- you're not the only one with an STng/N2K network that only has two devices -- but the possibility is not mentioned in any manual including Ray's SeaTalkNG manual and I've never heard of such a network STng or N2K.
So I don't understand what you're hearing from Ray tech support, but I'm pretty sure that you'll see AIS on your eS if you put a tiny powered and terminated SeaTalkNG network between your AIS and the eS, as shown everywhere in the manuals.
Thanks Ben for responding. Unfortunately when I tried to connect Ray AIS350 to Ray eS97 display via NMEA0183 I ran into unexpected problem. AIS manual describes this type of connection as:
1 Green > Orange/Brown
2 White > Orange/yellow
3 Blue > Orange/Green
4 Brown > Orange/White
The problem is the only matching wires coming out of the plotter are Orange/Green and Orange/White. The other two dont even exist. So I dont understand what AIS Raymarine manual is referring to.
Tried to google but cant find any cross reference between actual wire colors from display unit and those referenced by the Raymarine AIS manual.
Thanks again
Val
After posting this I may have found the answer. I will not know until I go back on the boat next week.
AIS manual says "orange and brown", "orange and yellow", etc. Perhaps they are referring to some other wire coloring standard other than their own.
I looked at eS97 installation manual and there the wire colors are Brown, Yellow, Green and White. So in this puzzle if I drop the "orange and..." part it starts to make sense. I will have to check this theory.
Val, look again at your eS manual, and, more important, figure out what the wires do. As your AIS manual says:
1. Identify the 38400 baud, NMEA0183 wires on the AIS units power/data cable.
2. Identify the 38400 baud, NMEA0183 wires on your multifunction display.
3. Connect the wires as shown below. (as in IN- to Out-)
Hint: On the eS, Orange/white is NMEA 0183 Input Port #2 Positive. Orange/green is the same Port but Negative. You could also Port 1, but whichever used has to be set to the right baud rate.
You only need to use two wires, like I said above, unless there's some reason to output 0183 from MFD to AIS?
It's not a puzzle, it's a system. You might luck into something that works eventually, but it will be a far better install if you understand what you did.
PS At the boat show in Rockland yesterday, I asked a very experienced marine electronics installer if he'd ever heard of a SeaTalkNG install just using a single spur cable with no network power or terminators: "Hell no!" is what he said.
Thanks Ben for the detailed (and patient) response. Much appreciate it.
You make a great point that if MFD doesnt need to send anything to the AIS then why 'OUT'. I dont know and I will definitely try it. And this begs the question why would Raymarine require both IN and OUT.
About connecting the spur cable directly I can only say just for kicks and giggles call up Ray 1-800 number one day if you are bored and ask them if you could do it or not (they pick up in under 5 minutes). For me, two different support reps said I can.
But then again, those are the same two people that said reset everything to factory defaults and never even brought up the possibility of using NMEA0183. :)