Connecting old Garmin to old Raymarine.

Dec 2, 2003
751
Hunter 260 winnipeg, Manitoba
Seatalk cables are just wires with I think it’s 1/8” female quick connects all moulded into a nice plastic shell. You can do the same - wire doesn’t have to be very heavy gauge. If making your own I would likely use 18guage stranded wire. If just doing data connection that happens on the two non-red wires. Red is the +ve power connection. You can feed power from autopilot end to instruments but shouldn’t feed power from instruments to autopilot.

For calculation of true wind speed and direction you need to feed the wind instrument BOTH boat speed (from depth/speed) and boat direction which comes from the compass attached to the autopilot. This last component is missing at the moment since the autopilot isn’t communicating with the other instruments.

Wind and speed/depth should be talking to each other right now, it’s just they can’t do anything with each other’s data at the moment. For a quick check you could try adjusting the back lighting on one - if I recall correctly this should adjust it on all instruments that are connected through seatalk.
 
Feb 20, 2016
96
None None None
OK thanks. I will try this probably on Saturday and come back with a full report.

Thanks for all the information everyone. It is greatly appreciated.

Michael
 
Feb 20, 2016
96
None None None
Well, I’m down here at the boat. I set everything up the way it was discussed above.

When I got everything hooked up everything turns on, but the auto pilot says “auto pilot failure“.

Also, I’m not getting true and apparent wind. I just get apparent.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Michael​
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Hi Michael. Which display is showing the error message? Your chart plotter or the AP control?
 
Feb 20, 2016
96
None None None
It is the auto pilot that says Seatalk Failure. Interestingly enough it only says it when I try to connect the auto pilot to any other device. If I disconnect all other devices and leave the auto pilot to run by itself it works fine. It’s just when I try to daisychain in another instrument that I get the error. I’ve already tried switching jumper wires in case the wire was bad but that doesn’t change anything. This is so weird.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
So connect to another display is causing a AP failure error. Would make me think that the connection to the second display is failing.
You are using the second connection of the AP display to daisy chain a second display with Seatalk cable. Are you adding a termination plug to the second Display’s connection?
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Yes. A terminator plug. Seatalk color blue. Fits at the end of the back bone

Chapter 1: Description
3
Terminator
Fitted at each end of backbone
Part number: A06031
Blanking Plug
Inserted into unused spur connector
positions in 5-way connector & T Piece
Part number:


http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=400
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=10125

This is the source I have seen for Raymarine legacy equipment. The manuals of various instruments are listed here. Yours is legacy equipment. Without knowing the exact units you have (i.e. master or repeater units) you will need to select the correct manual to use to identify the potential cause of the error..
hope this is helpful.
 
Dec 2, 2003
751
Hunter 260 winnipeg, Manitoba
I will occasionally get a seatalk failure as well depending on what’s powered up first and if a connection is weak.

Try just connecting the wind instrument with seatalk to the Autipilot. Power up autopilot after the instruments.

If still getting message - try just doing speed/depth to autopilot - you may need to run a third wire to autopilot for power to speed/depth. Or you can take power sea talk cable from wind to plug in to speed/depth to get power for the speed depth instead of running third wire to auto pilot

Disconnect jumper between wind and speed/depth. -Again - power instrument first - autopilot second. Do you get the seatalk failed message?
 
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Feb 20, 2016
96
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Not sure how you power one thing before the other. The way it is set up now, the auto pilot gets the power and then passes it on down the line. So once the auto pilot is on everything downstream of it is on too.
 
Feb 20, 2016
96
None None None
What is really weird about this whole thing is that the fluxgate is definitely talking on the yellow wire to the auto pilot. So the yellow wire has to be intact it would seem to me. Yet when you try to connect any two devices on the SeaTalk bus, there’s no communication. One would think that the yellow wire would either work for everything or it would work for nothing.

And by the way, when you bypass the auto pilot and just connect say the wind instrument and the speed instrument, you still get no communication between the two items.

Like I said, weird.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Hi.
I see you are up and again working the system.
I went back this morning and read all of your messages and reviewed the pictures - again.
What I understand is you have an AP - SmartPilot controller. And you have DC Power wired to this unit. It is the connection for your SeaTalk connections supplying power to the network of cables. Your diagram of your systems showed a DC connection to one of your ST60 units and a switch with a 5amp fuse, and a question mark.

If I understand you diagram you may be trying to supply power the network from two ends. This is not the way Raymarine diagrams the “Seatalk” system.
Check out this manual on page 9 you find several ways of connecting your “seatalk system and providing power to the AP and the ST60’s If you power the ST60’s then you need to not transmit power down the Seatalk cable to the ST60’s from the AP. There is a diagram of how to do this and only connect the “yellow - data” wire. Not the power leads to the AP.

https://m.box.com/shared_item/https://raymarine.box.com/s/nwf2s5ha9xrltggghogu/view/17296742353

That is all I got.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
There is a third way on page 11.
upload_2019-7-28_15-22-53.png

The key here is that Seatalk power to the displays is provided direct from your DC Bus. Your diagram indicated that you have that option.

Power is not through the AP computer. Note in the lower left insert the red wire is not connected. So power is not running down the lines only signal from the AP Computer.

The AP Computer gets power direct from your DC Bus.
 
Dec 2, 2003
751
Hunter 260 winnipeg, Manitoba
Based on your original info I have attached a diagram of my understanding of the original wiring. A modified drawing is also attached with seatalk and power connections.

You mentioned previously that the navigation switch controls wind/speed/depth instruments and the Autopilot switch turns just that on.

With the indicated connection - turn on nav switch first, then a few seconds later the autopilot switch.

B04E54E9-78F2-4D3D-AFF5-8EA7B7261EE8.jpeg 20CD9815-E822-4D4C-A63F-FDCDCCA47B4F.jpeg