Hi, I'm new to all this. I have a new BandG Vulcan display with an nmea 200 network. the only other thing connected to it is a new BandG VHF radio and a BG100 GPS antenna. I have on my boat existing S30 wind and sped/depth instruments that are connected to each other but not the nmea network. from what I understand I should be able to connect these to the nema network to get the data on the vulcan display. I'm just a bit confused as to how it all interconnects What sort of device do i need between the seatalk devices to get them onto my nmea 200 network? does anyone want to draw me a diagram as to how it should look?
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Hi Steve,
What you want to do is possible but probably not as easy as you may think, and quite possibly not worth the effort versus replacing the ST30 transducers and displays eventually. The ST30 series was never high performance and what you have is probably near end of life.
That said, here are some links that might help you understand the project and costs:
https://www.panbo.com/archives/2010/11/raymarine_st-stng_converter_hands_on_1_gps.html
http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=400&collectionid=197&col=1597
Raymarine also makes the ITC-5 which will translate your analog transducer directly into SeaTalkNG/NMEA 2000, but again how good are those transducers and how much longer will they last?
Consider a replacement option like this B&G kit:
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|344|2028690|2028820&id=3470271
The cost may seem high now, but maybe not after spending half that money to integrate with old gear that fails soon.
I appreciate your reply Ben, this is kind of what I suspected as well. might just need to bite the bullet and replace the old gear.
While Im here, Just wondering if i can get away with only buying the anenometer and cabling straight into my nmea 2000 network. The Vulcan 7 apparently has the ability to display the wind data. So do i need to buy the instrument display as well as the wind sensor? Or can i just get the sensor and use my Vulcan for display ?
Right, most any NMEA 2000 wind, depth, speed etc. sensor will show data on the Vulcan. B&G sensors are preferable, however, in case some sensor configuration is needed, as that is generally not done across brands. For wind, however, usually the only calibration is offset, in case you don't mount the sensor perfectly aligned with your bow.
What about a Garmin GWS 10 sensor? https://buy.garmin.com/en-AU/AU/p/15014
It's supposed to be fully compliant with nmea2000. What I would like to do is avoid having to add the display and just connect it directly to my NMEA 2000 backbone so the Vulcan can use it for SailSteer info. any thoughts?
Yes, that should work, but why not the B&G wind sensor:
http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|344|2028690|2028831&id=2601495
Also, the cabling issues. A NMEA 2000 cable running up your mast has to be setup as part of the backbone with one of the backbone's terminators up at the wind sensor.
Garmin supplies regular N2K cable (somewhat heavy but rugged) with a field attachble connector and an inline terminator. B&G uses a skinny SimNet cable (maybe not as reliable as standard cable but good for this application), and I just wrote about an impressive alternative from LCJ Capteurs:
https://www.panbo.com/archives/2017/10/smorgasboat_2_more_tasty_test_electronics_southbound_on_gizmo.html
What about a Garmin GWS 10 sensor? https://buy.garmin.com/en-AU/AU/p/15014
It's supposed to be fully compliant with nmea2000. What I would like to do is avoid having to add the display and just connect it directly to my NMEA 2000 backbone so the Vulcan can use it for SailSteer info. any thoughts?