Analog to NMEA conversion

[Mobcat]

Hi has anyone had luck with one of these, my wish is to bring my Lehman 135 up to NMEA so I can patch it into my Raymarine panels in the helm and bridge with out spending thousands ...... this one seems to be a copy of the Ali combo at a much more realistic price for what it has to do

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005002635558024.html?_randl_currency=AUD&_randl_shipto=AU&src=google&gbraid=0AAAAAD6I-hEVOGmmY-lNnphRwn-Q-iMt2&src=google&albch=shopping&acnt=708-803-3821&slnk=&plac=&mtctp=&albbt=Google_7_shopping&albagn=888888&isSmbAutoCall=false&needSmbHouyi=false&albcp=11491022111&albag=112291760596&trgt=1460897941361&crea=en1005002635558024&netw=u&device=m&albpg=1460897941361&albpd=en1005002635558024&gbraid=0AAAAAD6I-hEVOGmmY-lNnphRwn-Q-iMt2&gclid=CjwKCAiA1aiMBhAUEiwACw25MQPSb1QNoivxErjJxw4uT1wfF9htjcRlm-_nr-ctaJuOVBNsy9605hoC96wQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&aff_fcid=f1f8d41948c848faa6676e4f310c41e8-1636497770426-07233-UneMJZVf&aff_fsk=UneMJZVf&aff_platform=aaf&sk=UneMJZVf&aff_trace_key=f1f8d41948c848faa6676e4f310c41e8-1636497770426-07233-UneMJZVf&terminal_id=d3b9e124d82c438a9e10360277b84d17

 

[ghost]

I recently installed the actisense one. The only “issue” I ran into was with the Cali ration of just one of my gauge senders (coolant temp). The tach and oil pressure were easy, but none of the listed sender options seemed to work for temp. So I had to pull the sender off the engine, put it into a sous vide with a known temp and then over the course of a few hours I measured and wrote down the sender output for each temp and built a custom gauge mapping. If you were replacing your analog gauge cluster and could simply purchase new senders of a known supported type you would not have to worry about this.

Consuming the n2k once calibrated was easy.

 

[Scottwb96]

I went with a SeaGauge G2. Needed to change out some senders to go with their preprogrammed config settings, but once that was done, everything seems to work well...

 

[Mobcat]

I suppose I could just install nmea senders in all and along side all the out puts on the Lehman as well, and then have analog and NMEA redundancy that would work wouldn’t patched into the seatalkng nmea or am I smoking to much weed ???

 

[Scottwb96]

Have you looked at the SeaGauge device yet? it's a pretty straightforward install. For the most part, you can just disconnect the sending wire from the back of the gauge and connect right into the SeaGauge device. Countless options for gauges/devices you can connect. I am running mine for my 2 older CAT engines as well as my Westerbeke genset. You can also add sensors, switches, alarms, etc...

 

[angus99]

I recently installed the actisense one. The only “issue” I ran into was with the Cali ration of just one of my gauge senders (coolant temp). The tach and oil pressure were easy, but none of the listed sender options seemed to work for temp. So I had to pull the sender off the engine, put it into a sous vide with a known temp and then over the course of a few hours I measured and wrote down the sender output for each temp and built a custom gauge mapping. If you were replacing your analog gauge cluster and could simply purchase new senders of a known supported type you would not have to worry about this.

Consuming the n2k once calibrated was easy.

I’ll be installing an Actisense EMU-1 in the next month or three. I plan to keep all of the analog functions on our Lehman 135 clusters and just add a digital display (Furuno F170) at each helm for more precise data and backup. Which engine(s) did you have the temp sender issue with? Glad to hear you’re mostly happy with the Actisense.

 

[catalinajack]

I’ll be installing an Actisense EMU-1 in the next month or three. I plan to keep all of the analog functions on our Lehman 135 clusters and just add a digital display (Furuno F170) at each helm for more precise data and backup. Which engine(s) did you have the temp sender issue with? Glad to hear you’re mostly happy with the Actisense.

I tried using an Actisense coupled with a Noland Engineering RS-11. I could never get it calibrated especially the tachometer. The tach reading was erratic to the point of being useless. Perhaps it was user error. I gave up and installed a suite of new VDO gauges on both helms. They tell me everything I need to know at a glance. Maybe this winter, in my spare time, I will attempt again.

 

[Bob Cofer]

I have used the Nolan device with great success. Mounted the analog gauges on the engine as backup and connected the Nolan inputs to the sending units for the gauges.

 

[ghost]

I’ll be installing an Actisense EMU-1 in the next month or three. I plan to keep all of the analog functions on our Lehman 135 clusters and just add a digital display (Furuno F170) at each helm for more precise data and backup. Which engine(s) did you have the temp sender issue with? Glad to hear you’re mostly happy with the Actisense.

My engines happen to be cat, but the senders are matched to the gauges more than the engines I think. My problem is the gauges are oem branded to the boat, so it’s not so easy to simply look up the mfg. Anyway, I tried every combination of common gauges and none of them worked, so likely something relatively obsolete, so just made a custom lookup.

A better option would be to simply buy new senders of known origin. If you still have some gauges that you want to be analog, buying new analog with new known senders is still a good option.

There is no such thing as an n2k sender or more specifically, that analog to digital conversion is exactly what the actisense emu is doing. Newer engines will be doing the same thing, they simply have the conversion being done in an ecu already onboard.

 

[angus99]

I tried using an Actisense coupled with a Noland Engineering RS-11. I could never get it calibrated especially the tachometer. The tach reading was erratic to the point of being useless. Perhaps it was user error. I gave up and installed a suite of new VDO gauges on both helms. They tell me everything I need to know at a glance. Maybe this winter, in my spare time, I will attempt again.

John, I understand they’ve updated the firmware, which they say solves some of the calibration issues.

My engines happen to be cat, but the senders are matched to the gauges more than the engines I think. My problem is the gauges are oem branded to the boat, so it’s not so easy to simply look up the mfg. Anyway, I tried every combination of common gauges and none of them worked, so likely something relatively obsolete, so just made a custom lookup.

A better option would be to simply buy new senders of known origin. If you still have some gauges that you want to be analog, buying new analog with new known senders is still a good option.

There is no such thing as an n2k sender or more specifically, that analog to digital conversion is exactly what the actisense emu is doing. Newer engines will be doing the same thing, they simply have the conversion being done in an ecu already onboard.

Thanks. Mine are VDOs, which Actisense says are compatible. I’ll give the existing senders a try and see how it goes.

 

[GingerMd]

I bought one of those Far East N2K devices thru Amazon for a bit more return protection. I needed it. Didn’t do anything. Returned it. In the process of making my own for a bit of fun and flexibility. RPI4, PICAN-M, YachtDevice WIFI, ADC board. Winter project to give me WIFI gauges wherever ever I want, but mostly on the flybridge, where it wasn’t configured for full gauges. Plan to hook up cellular and WiFi for real time reporting as well. Stay tuned for details in a few months !