How to upgrade electronics?

[TitanTn]

My previous boat was a 300 Weekender with no electronics of any kind. Setting it up was relatively easy. I installed a NMEA2000 backbone and made sure my instruments (depth, speed, water temp, fuel flow meters) were all NMEA2000. I then installed a Vesper XB8000 wireless, GPS, AIS receiver/transmitter. All data was transmitted wirelessly to my iPad where I ran iNavX. This system worked great and were built off of the network.

So now I have a 1998 Sea Ray 400EC. It has the original electronics - all Raytheon. Radar, GPS, autopilot, depth, etc. The radar doesn't work, I don't have a chart plotter. I'd like to start upgrading the electronics, but I'd like for them to all be networked. It doesn't have to be the same as last time, but I don't know what the best track is.

I don't know if I should consider staying with RayMarine because I already have a Raymarine Seatalk network. Start over with 0183 or 2000. Go wireless again? Ideas?

I don't need to build a system built for constant salt water, distance cruising, high traffic usage. That's just not my normal boating experience. It's inland rivers with occasional trips to salt water. So I don't want to approach this with an unlimited budget - I want to be smart about it. So that leads me here - share your input!

 

[roberteb]

New equipment use N2k, to connect your original electronics you can buy from Raymarine STng (N2k) to Seatalk converter.

 

[TitanTn]

Thanks, your reply got me going in the right direction on some research. I learned a lot from this one web site on the multiple versions of Seatalk and how they connect with each other and NMEA. For those that are interested:
http://boatprojects.blogspot.com/2012/12/beginners-guide-to-raymarines-seatalk.html

 

[TitanTn]

So it looks like I can convert my Seatalk1 to NMEA0183 pretty easily. I think my challenge at this point will be finding a chart plotter and radar that communicates Seatalk1 preferably. Or at least NMEA0183.

 

[roberteb]

Forget 0183, as older standard.

I assume your original electronics are linked with Seatalk. Use for your new equipment 2000 and link both networks with http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=1597

Radar you kan have different options, the newer ones are wireless. If wired, is often ethernet (chartplotters have ethernet)..

The new Axiom from Raymarine is very nice

 

[TitanTn]

Thanks, yeah, after some more reading last night I see that converting from Seatalk1 to SeatalkNG (NMEA2000) is very common. This basically brings all modern day electronics into consideration. It looks like radar and a chart plotter will be fairly straight-forward, but I'm still trying to figure out if I'll have any issues with my autopilot. It works great now and I don't want to change what's currently working fine.

 

[RollerCoastr]

When I upgraded from the original Raytheon stuff, I kept my Raypilot 650. It wasn't as tightly integrated to the new Garmin gear as it was to the old Ray XX stuff. I thought it was a compatibility issue, but when I upgraded again, I realized that I have issues on the 0183 network, and always have. My fluxgate goes screwy when the plotter is talking on 0183.

My choices are to trace each wire on the 0183 network in hopes of finding the issue, or shutting down 0183 com from the plotter and using Auto instead of Nav mode on the 650 (1 waypoint at a time instead of the whole route), or upgrading to a modern AP. I had planned to go with option 2, until somehow this summer the display on my 650 cracked.

I'm budgeting for a Garmin AP now. The 650 has served me relatively well, but I'm looking forward to an AP that can follow a curved, WP-less course. That's the way we drive our boats anyway.

I don't regret any of my upgrades so far. I have 2 plotters, radar, fuel meters, NMEA2K stereo all integrated now. After a new auto-pilot, I'll start looking to upgrade the radar to support trails. I don't travel as far as I used to, nor at night like I did in the past, but I cruise in congested areas and I think trails would be awesome.