wkearney99
Guru
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2018
- Messages
- 2,189
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Solstice
- Vessel Make
- Grand Banks 47 Eastbay FB
I've got a boat that's had a bunch of stuff set up on it over the years and some of it is obsolete.
Before I go down a particular path I have to ask, does anyone know of reasons why a Simrad AC20 autopilot would have any issues with changing to any one brand/model of NMEA2K-0183 bridge vs any other?
Currently mine gets 0183 data through some Furuno MFD12 chart plotters. GPS->MFD->Ethernet->MFD->-0183->AC20. Likewise heading data is coming in via NMEA2k->MFD-Ethernet->MFD->0183. I'm likely replacing the GPS unit as I've had intermittent issues with losing position.
I've learned over the years to never assume something 'ought to work' just because of specs. I've also learned it's often better to know what DOESN'T work than anything else.
I'm also prepping the networks for the eventual upgrade of the chart plotters. I'm getting as much as possible onto the NMEA2k bus and away from being exchanged through the plotters. A lot of which I've already consolidated into one MFD instead of three different ones it had been using before. That and discovering stupid stuff like a bus being powered off much smaller gauge wire than could support it.
So anyone out there handled upgrading their GPS and heading gear while still using an older AC20 Simrad with AP26 remotes?
Before I go down a particular path I have to ask, does anyone know of reasons why a Simrad AC20 autopilot would have any issues with changing to any one brand/model of NMEA2K-0183 bridge vs any other?
Currently mine gets 0183 data through some Furuno MFD12 chart plotters. GPS->MFD->Ethernet->MFD->-0183->AC20. Likewise heading data is coming in via NMEA2k->MFD-Ethernet->MFD->0183. I'm likely replacing the GPS unit as I've had intermittent issues with losing position.
I've learned over the years to never assume something 'ought to work' just because of specs. I've also learned it's often better to know what DOESN'T work than anything else.
I'm also prepping the networks for the eventual upgrade of the chart plotters. I'm getting as much as possible onto the NMEA2k bus and away from being exchanged through the plotters. A lot of which I've already consolidated into one MFD instead of three different ones it had been using before. That and discovering stupid stuff like a bus being powered off much smaller gauge wire than could support it.
So anyone out there handled upgrading their GPS and heading gear while still using an older AC20 Simrad with AP26 remotes?