Wind instruments - B&G wireless vs. B&G wired vs. ????
- Thread starter Cederholm
- Start date
Have a friend that has the wireless. The yard ( and my friend) forgot about he battery in the mast head. So in the spring the mast was stepped and nothing worked. After a few trips up the mast, we determined that the battery was dead and the solar recharging wouldn't handle the issue. We bought a battery on eBay ($5 vs B&G $50). So take the mast head portion home and place it in the sun or use another battery care plan.
There are only 3 recreational companies and the prices are all about the same, Garmin, Navico (B&G, Simrad, Lowrance), and Raymarine.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,368
For convenience of installation the wireless is very attractive. But. Signals can go week or fail. Power means you will have to climb the mast, dead battery or bird poop on the solar cell.
Wired will mean a little more expense to gain the assurance of more reliability. They all use a little different design for the transducer. Look at them and choose the one that looks the strongest. Strong enough for the birds not to destroy.
Best of luck.
Wired will mean a little more expense to gain the assurance of more reliability. They all use a little different design for the transducer. Look at them and choose the one that looks the strongest. Strong enough for the birds not to destroy.
Best of luck.
We liked the flexibility of wireless. You can put the displays wherever you want, without having to drill holes and then run wires through them. Our TackTic system (now Raymarine) even came with a display on a lanyard that the navigator could wear around his or her neck. It allowed you to switch between any of the information on any of the screens. If you determine the locations aren't as wonderful as you first thought, the "fixed" displays can be moved without having to repair holes or re-route wires. We routinely changed out batteries so did not have trouble with them.
Thanks Paul, do you use the wireless wind indicator on top of your mast? If so, any issues?
BTW - I live in Southport too, though my boat is in Stratford. Are you at Pequot?
Our setup included everything: AWI, Depth, Boatspeed, True wind and Windspeed. We had it for about 20 years and sent some parts back for refurbishment (or repair after encounters with winch handles.) but nothing surprising. Overall it worked well and we were very pleased with it. Not having wires to get corroded can be quite nice.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Can you share with us how often you changed out batteries, and on which sources or repeaters? (I have read adverse commentary about this part of the scheme for many years.)
I have the wired version. I installed it in 2020, 2021 and again in 2022. I am on my third unit. The first one stopped working and was covered under warranty. The second one broke at the start of last season - apparently from a bird. Even though it was out of warranty, B&G agreed to replace that one at a discounted price. They also said they don't cover physical breakage, which I thought was strange. The wireless was not recommended due to my mast height so I went with the wired. It's great when it works.
I think the batteries got changed every 2 seasons. The depth unit and windspeed seemed to need the most attention. The one was in a fairly wet J/36 bilge and the other at the top of our 58' mast getting bounced around quite a bit. We bought it in 1998, iirc. One would hope they have improved things a lot since then.
As far as wired vs wireless, It means you dont need to fish a new wire down the mast, that's nice.... but you still have to go up the mast to mount the unit.. As far as convenience with display hook up... well , you put it on the network, so any extra displays you want are just tapped into that....cant see the advantage just more stuff to buy to receive the wireless data.
So if you stay with wired, stick with the B&G to insure perfect compatibility. I've had the wired model 608 (that's the older model, still good, they all send the same info) hooked into my N2k network for about 6 years. No issues. Remember it acts as a teminal on the network. The Vulcan does all the work combining boat speed and direction with the sensor's data to give you true and apparent wind data. You'll love it. If you want to save some money, give this company a shot. They sell the 608 over $100 less than anyone else. make sure it includes wire. That's another $50! Please Note: I have never done business with this company, but I wish I'd have known of this offer when I purchased my stuff back in 2016. good luck
B&G 608 Wind Sensor Black | Waveinn (tradeinn.com)
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I have the stupidly expensive wireless version and it's worked flawlessly once figuring out how to connect the Bluetooth. You need to follow the instructions precisely, with the sensor very close to the base hockey puck AND within the time-out period. My problem was that the N2k network would power the hockey puck and it'd time out before the Vulcan could initialize. Having the wired unit would be more reliable if I could've gotten the wire down without pulling the mast (no thanks), but I did get it to work. Photo shows pairing the two:
Trick was to start the Vulcan, THEN switch on the N2k & plug in the battery, and QUICKLY do the BT sync.
Am on my second year with the battery. I do like that for the winter months the unit can be removed and kept safe in the cabin. I have it near a window so the battery doesn't go flat. (Even if it is a lithium which should be fine.)
btw - Had the basic Vulcan 7 for a while before adding the wind sensor and it is amazing how much functionality the wind sensor adds.
Trick was to start the Vulcan, THEN switch on the N2k & plug in the battery, and QUICKLY do the BT sync.
Am on my second year with the battery. I do like that for the winter months the unit can be removed and kept safe in the cabin. I have it near a window so the battery doesn't go flat. (Even if it is a lithium which should be fine.)
btw - Had the basic Vulcan 7 for a while before adding the wind sensor and it is amazing how much functionality the wind sensor adds.
I have the stupidly expensive wireless version and it's worked flawlessly once figuring out how to connect the Bluetooth. You need to follow the instructions precisely, with the sensor very close to the base hockey puck AND within the time-out period. My problem was that the N2k network would power the hockey puck and it'd time out before the Vulcan could initialize. Having the wired unit would be more reliable if I could've gotten the wire down without pulling the mast (no thanks), but I did get it to work. Photo shows pairing the two:
Trick was to start the Vulcan, THEN switch on the N2k & plug in the battery, and QUICKLY do the BT sync.
Am on my second year with the battery. I do like that for the winter months the unit can be removed and kept safe in the cabin. I have it near a window so the battery doesn't go flat. (Even if it is a lithium which should be fine.)
btw - Had the basic Vulcan 7 for a while before adding the wind sensor and it is amazing how much functionality the wind sensor adds.
Super helpful, thanks! I like that mount you have for the puck, is there a reason behind it? (being under a window that is)
Very helpful thread, thank you all.
I see B&G sells a "sail pack" here! Is this a good match with a Vulcan 9? Are there any redundancies with what the Vulcan offers? And as you'll see in the Defender link, there is a warning. Is that a concern for a potential auto-helm in my future?
Thanks again!
I see B&G sells a "sail pack" here! Is this a good match with a Vulcan 9? Are there any redundancies with what the Vulcan offers? And as you'll see in the Defender link, there is a warning. Is that a concern for a potential auto-helm in my future?
Thanks again!
The Sail Pack you referenced is just for the sensors, it does not include displays. Once connected to the network, the data will be displayed on the Vulcan or any other NMEA 2K compliant display. When using the these sensors with a MFD that has gps (most seem to have) the gps puck is redundant.
Radar and I think the AP need very precise heading information delivered faster than what comes from the GPS. If you add an AP you will need to add a heading sensor to make it work.
Check the other B&G packages offered by Defender.
Radar and I think the AP need very precise heading information delivered faster than what comes from the GPS. If you add an AP you will need to add a heading sensor to make it work.
Check the other B&G packages offered by Defender.
Thanks Dave, so to insure I'm understanding correctly, the Vulcan and the included GPS puck do the same thing and neither are accurate enough for auto pilot. Right?
I run my TP22 (simrad tiller pilot) through my NK2 network that only uses the Vulcan's internal gps. Vulcan's gps and built in controller run everything. Are wheel pilots more demanding. My first call would be to Simrad tech service. That's what I did when I set up my network and added the TP22. He said set it up with the Vulcan's gps, decide later if the separate sensor is warranted. Easy enough to add another device to the network.
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The GPS puck adds a lot because it gives heading (compass), heel, and trim, and at 10 hz provides rate info. Whether the rate is fast enough for AP is something I don't know.