Changing Raymarine E80 to Garmin

[Jim&Deb]

I am curious about the possibility of changing our Raymarine E80 to a Garmin chartplotter. Also, I would like to know if anyone here has found a Garmin system that is "plug and play" regarding compatibility with the other Raymarine components such as radar and the like. I appreciate the experience and wisdom of those who have gone before me!

[cuthbert]

I am keen to see what answers you get on this. It really depends upon if you have the 5000+ system (all digital electronics integrated in the instrument head) or 6000+ with external 100/300 control computer, if the former, the options are opaque. Recently I have had a few problems with my 2003 (ST5000+ autopilot with ST60 instruments) system. Fortunately, it was just the rudder sensor, but it sent me looking and if I scrapped the lot and went to Raymarine's latest and greatest I would still end up with a three wire 5k variable resistor rudder sensor in the system, but it did make me seriously look at upgrade options and what I could buy now if I started in a piecemeal fashion and at the same time I would be looking to add or starting out with adding, a MFD which I don't currently have (I use navionics on a iPad and a Furuno WiFi radar).

Re the MFD, Raymarine did not verify/include by design an upgrade path from the 5000+ to the current MFD -the Axiom range: and therefore what you get is unknown, but if you have the instrument/separate computer 6000+ it is supported and you upgrade these Raymarine systems using a seatalk to seatalkng converter from the computer to the MFD (which would then require a seatalkng to NMEA200 cable as the Axiom uses NMEA2000 connectors). But I previously toyed with getting an older unit off ebay and putting that RM C or E MFD in and posed the question here and Captain Kirk posted that he has done the ST6000+ -> Axiom (which is NMEA 2000 with funky Raymarine cabling) upgrade and it works (see "position of chartplotter" thread).

I see a few boats for sale/sold that have ST60 instruments but not clear if 5000 or 6000 head - but still early seatalk with Garmin MFDs. Garmin's website is clearly stating that they all the current products they sell are NMEA0183 backwards compatible which is (sort of) linked to the earliest Raymarine interface - seatalk, used on many/most of our boats. I have also seen one 2006 350 in MDR california up for sale with a Furono Navnet MFD.

What is unclear is if the original factory installations to a C or E series Raymarine MFD used
1) A 5000+ with or without an Z290 to connect via seatalk and if not if it is needed when using Garmin/Furono. The ST5000+ manual says you need a Z290 to get data in and out but its not fully defined in scope.
2) A 6000+ instrument head with 100/300 computer

If your autopilot is later than ST5000+ (the ST6000+ onwards) and has a separate computer box from the instrument head the upgrade path is much easier.

[Jim&Deb]

Cuthbert, we are headed to the boat on Saturday and I will check our system to get more info so I know what I'm dealing with. I thank you for your very informative response and as always, I appreciate those who have experience to pass on to others.

[Bob_A]

Hello
I wrote previously about the change to Garmin but will offer a few things that may be helpful.
First I whole heartedly endorse the change from the pathetic C80 to Garmin.
I chose the GPSMAP 1243xsv which will fit into the existing C350 Nav Pod. Note the 1242 will not.
This was the best improvement I made on our boat. The existing Raymarine radar would not interface with the new Garmin in
my case anyway. Because our C350 did not have the ST60 wind instrument (why the hell not Catalina!) and I really wanted one,
it necessitated stepping the mast and wiring for the Garmin wind transducer. Desiring new and improved radar I added the Garmin Fantom 18.
Ours had the ST6001 auto pilot. It was possible to utilize the existing Raymarine gyro compass for heading but I did not go the extra mile to get the chart plotter and auto pilot to communicate with each other to the extent the Auto would steer to the track on the chart plotter.
Given the new Garmin gear I had to create a NEMA2000 backbone and had a tech on board for the integration to the 0183.
The 1243 gives you many combo choices so we split screen regularly for wind information and occationaly sonar, sometimes radar but usually used the overlay for this.
We were very happy with the 1243 touch screen and the split left both sides large enough to see easily. We retained our ST60 depth and SOG displays.
By adding an additional B150 thru hull transducer, to make the new sonar aspect of the 1243 work, I was able to set the depth on the CP to bottom of keel and the ST60 to waterline. Nice feature for anchoring etc.
I have to admit I used the sonar very little due to mostly setting ground tackle in known anchorages.
Good luck with your project.

[cuthbert]

axiom.jpg (147.14 KiB) Viewed 543 times

Just to follow up on this MFD topic, I finally bit the bullet last month and bought a 7" Axiom + and navionics card and installed it. About $1300 us in total for all the parts (Navpod/Axiom/Navionics/converter) and suprisingly the whole job took about an hour on the boat. I had originally the ST5000+ head with no MFD and it was fitted in a slim navionics pod on its own. So I bought a slightly larger pre cut navpod for an axiom 7 and a single raymarine instrument to one side. Exchanged old for new Navpod into the same mounting holes. Added a seatalk to seatalk ng converter (small block and cable to get the MFD to read the depth/wind/speed etc) and now I get the ability to have the autopilot hold a track to a single waypoint rather than entering a heading and adjusting as needed.

I'm suprised it worked ok as Raymarine said the support/upgrade was limited, but I wanted to stay Raymarine as it was possibly the best chance of getting something that would work ok. Chartbook will not need to come out again for coastal cruising and I will not risk upgrading the software in case I loose the working system I now have.

Its not linked to the radio or radar just the Raymarine instruments.

I like the screen brightness and I have had no problems of note other than the unit is steadfastly holding to the clock being GMT.

Nice easy upgrade.

[Captain Kirk]

Hello Cuthbert

Looks like you've found a good solution to your Nav system update. Nice looking install. I went with a pre-cut NavPod too - makes it easier.

As you may recall my migration to the Axiom MFD worked out well. The point I'd like to make now is that I do software updates once or twice a year on the Axiom as they continue to make improvements and add new features. I've never had a issue with any of the new software versions. All the upgrades have worked well my existing instruments including the ST-6001+ Auto Pilot which uses the 150G AST course computer.

I added wind instruments on the mast head and can now use the Pilot in "sail mode" ie) holding the boat to a wind angle. But mostly I use the use the routes I've put into the Axiom using the Navionics "autoroute" feature which makes it easy to build a route and save it.
If you use Autoroute make sure you review the route before use to make certain it doesn't take you in waters you're not comfortable with, sometimes I find I need to change a waypoint or two the fine tune the route to my liking.

Cheers

[cuthbert]

Hi Kirk,

Your post reminded me of something I needed to add for owners in the 5000+ series autopilot thinking of doing an upgrade and staying with Raymarine.

5000.jpg (196.48 KiB) Viewed 502 times

Since the "smart" part is in the control head not in an external computer the Axiom doesn't support the Navionics routing feature on the 5000+. My understanding from speaking with Raymarine prior to buying when trying to work out what it can do given the restricted support was that the sequence of waypoints entered in Navionics on the Axiom is stored in that course computer associated with the 6001 head and the 5000+ not having an external computer cannot hold those string of points.

So on the 5000 it gets the ability to enter a single "go to" point and hold that track (enter waypoint and "go to" on the Axiom then with Autopilot engaged hit the red track button twice on the 5000+ head). It works great, I love the ability to do just that and have the chart in front of me and my position on it. Well worth doing the install even if I get a limited set of the features. Since Raymarine are not fully supporting the Axiom with the 5000 series I'm happy to stay 'as is' and not risk going backwards by upgrading the software in the future, although I did the upgrade straight out of the box and it worked ok I'm not tempting it (unless Raymarine offer a downgrade /go back path with software just in case).

It may have been that a Garmin or Furuno MFD solution may keep that waypoint string ability in the MFD and therefore offers more features for 5000+ series boats looking to upgrade but I went with the easiest path knowing I would get some features.


I don't know how you managed before without the wind instrument. In my years sailing the C350 I just love setting off on a day sail (e.g in SoCal 5-6 hours to Catalina) and after having trimmed the sails as best I can pressing Standby and Auto at the same time to get the boat holding the wind heading. Then I can sit back and enjoy the boat sailing and just make adjustments very infrequently to hold the course/trim the sails.

[Captain Kirk]

Interesting, I didn't realize the routes are actually saved in the course computer. Makes sense though. I understood from my discussions with RM at the time is that I have the earliest model (150G AST and 6001+) that was compatible with Axiom routing features, got lucky I guess.

I also like to use the "go to" feature when typically when its a straight shot across the straits.

On the software updates, I do believe that the older versions are still available on the RM upgrade site so you can go back to it if the a new version gives you grief. In any case, the version you are using is probably a Version 4.xxx depending on when you purchased it. When I started with the Axiom it was still Vers 3.3. So yours is already using a much higher version than my starting point which means you do have most of the current features and probably won't need anything newer. They are adding lots of camera apps, radar updates etc, which I don't use anyway. I'm currently using Vers 4.4.70 which is marketed as Lighthouse 4.

On wind instruments -oh yeah agree, can't believe we did our first 3 years without them. The PO, who owned Sand Dollar from new didn't want them. But once we did the network upgrade/ Axiom9 etc., it was the next thing we added, after that came the AIS. Easy upgrades to make with the network in place.

Attached is the Network Schematic drawing.

NETWORK SCHEMATIC - REV 1 - JAN 2023.gif (32.58 KiB) Viewed 493 times