Display engine instruments on Raymarine C120 chart plotter.

[RoyS]

I am considering purchasing a Noland Engineering RS11 converter to display my engine instruments on my Raymarine C120 chart plotter. The chart plotter has a Seatalk 2 port available. The plotter manual describes an engine monitor display page that would suit my needs. The Noland device will accept all my engine sender data and apply it to a NEMA 2000 output port. I am struggling to find a way to go from NMEA 2000 to Seatalk2. Anyone successfully done this installation with a C series plotter?

 

[Calif. Ted]

Seatalk ng and Nema 2000 are the same thing just using different plugs, so if you use a Ray Seatalk/Seatalk ng converter connected to the chartplotter by the rectangular Seatalk plug and then your RS1 connected to the Seatalk converter by a Seatalk ng to Nema 2000 adapter cable.
This article from Marine how to, pictures should help, it's difficult for me to put in words.
Raymarine SeaTalk 1 to SeaTalkng & NMEA 2000 - Marine How To

 

[RoyS]

Thank you Ted. I did see that article by Mainsail. I have been investigating this for some time now and here is the issue. Raymarine was evolving its application of Seatalk. They created Seatalk 1, followed by Seatalk 2, followed by Seatalk ng, followed by Seatalk hs. Seatalk 2 was only out there briefly and quickly became an orphan. The C series chartplotters came with Seatalk 2 as the potential connection to NEMA 2000. However, it appears that Seatalk 2 was released before the NMEA 2000 protocols were finalized. The C series equipment was also limited in its computing capacities. Seatalk 2 and everything released by Raymarine after that were supposed to direct connect to NMEA 2000 equipment via simple adaptor cables. With the C series there appears to be only limited ability to use NMEA 2000 connected in this manner. The manual that came with my C120 plotter describes an engine data page that was already included. I tried contacting Noland by email twice to see if anyone had successfully connected their equipment to a C series but I have received no response to date. Nevertheless, while I am still not 100% certain that I can make this work, I will try to connect a Noland Engineering RS11 data converter between my engine and my C120 plotter with a NMEA 2000 buss this Spring (if my wallet holds out). Surely, I am not the first to face this problem and hopefully someone else will come forward with the answers.

 

[Calif. Ted]

I misunderstood your reference to Seatalk 2 Roy, I haven't dealt with RM stuff from that era. I still think in terms of "old" Seatalk with round plug from Autohelm days (90's black cases) and "New" Seatalk with 3 wire rectangular plug on gray Raymarine. The Seatalk 2 connection was a 5 wire plug wasn't it ? I've ended with a Seatalk/Seatalkng/nmea2000 network with Garmin MFD and Raymarine instruments/AP playing nicely together, knock on wood.

 

[RoyS]

Ted, Seatalk 2 was an odd 5 prong rectangular push on plug. I actually found Raymarine conversion cables with Seatalk 2 on one end and NMEA 2000 on the other. These seem to be out of production but they are still available, perhaps used, on sites like ebay. Those cables are only 1.5m long but longer cables can be made by simply splicing two appropriate end cables together. Your system, with all the various manufacturer's components running together, is inspirational. At this time, in the dead of Winter, this is the only design project I have in front of me. Unless I get distracted, I will be ready to assemble this and install it on my boat in the Spring. I will report back here again when it is done.

 

[joelm100]

How did this go? I'm redoing my panel and thinking to go digital on the instrumentations on my 2001 H380 into a B&G Zeus (w standard NMEA connectors). I'm in the early stages, but am flummoxed by poor/vague/sensational product descriptions. I believe I need an analog to NMEA engine monitor such as the NoLand, AlbiCombi, or EMU-1. I don't think the Mariton or Digital Yachts will work because they need NMEA input from the get-go. The Noland seems the least expensive. Did it work for you?

 

[RoyS]

Yes, the Noland rs11 worked for me. The rs11 will convert analog sensor outputs to NMEA sentences. The NMEA cables and connectors are all standardized and can be purchased on Amazon or Noland. What you need to do before you start is verify that your plotter has a "page" for instrument data. That page will look like an array of engine gauges that you can configure for your particular needs. That information should be in your plotter manual. Your next hurdle will be to determine if you have adequate and compatible engine sender outputs for the gauges you wish to display. The rs11 will connect to most existing analog gauges at either the sender end or the gauge end without altering the existing gauge readings. The rs11 will also connect to an engine sender without a corresponding gauge. Keep in mind that some existing engine senders may be only simple switches that sound an alarm when some value is reached, like over temperature or low oil pressure. Those engine senders will have to be replaced with senders that provide a linear analog output. These are readily available but may require thread adaptors or T fittings, which are readily available as well. You will then run a sender wire from each sender device (or gauge) to the rs11 and a single NEMA cable output from the rs11 to your plotter. Your last hurdle will be to temporally connect a windows laptop (not a mac) to your rs11 and enter values that correspond to each senders low and high outputs. That last setup can be a challenge as the instructions in the rs11 manual may be out of date for the windows operating system you have. The rs11 manufacturer has a help telephone line that can sort that out for you, if needed. I enlisted a grandson (with laptop) to deal with that. I found that the rs11 terminals for sender wires were too delicate IMHO for an engine room application. The device appeared to me to be designed by engineers used to indoor electronics. This defect was overcome by applying a standard terminal strip next to the rs11 to connect the 16 GA. sender wires with ring terminals. I am retired and had the time to investigate and install this system. I hope I have explained this well enough for you to decide if you want to proceed. I am well pleased with my end result. All of my original engine gauges were cleverly mounted by the boat builder at foot level in the cockpit. After this installation I can glance down to my chartplotter just above my steering wheel and see everything I need to know. Good luck.

 

[BarryL]

Hey,

That looks great. Very clean installation. Nice job.

Barry

 

[joelm100]

Thanks for that summary, and agree with BarryL: nice installation. I'll commit! (want to loan your grandson?)

 

[tfox2069]

I've been wanting to do this for years. Really well done.