Raymarine 54E DSC VHF problem - again.

alystra · 11 May 2008, 16:28

I think there's someone here who knows about Raymarine kit and it's a question for them.

Quick bit of history. The first set I installed worked well and I was very pleased with it, except it developed a faulty on/off volume switch. It was returned by the dealer and after a month or so the dealer was told to give me another one (under warranty). This is now installed and seems to work ok - except it won't listen to the GPS, a Garmin 126.

The original radio interfaced perfectly and displayed position info without problem. This one won't, though the settings on the GPS are unchanged.

I have reset the GPS output signal, tried varying the settings, reset the radio, tested all connections with a meter, checked that there is a signal coming from the GPS right to the radio plug, changed the old lead for the new one - all without success.

I'm really disappointed. There is no point in having a DSC VHF if it won't broadcast my position in an emergency. Is this a common problem with these sets? Is there a 'demon tweak' that will fix it. Will I have to send it back?

Thoughts appreciated.

codprawn · 11 May 2008, 17:24

I had no problem with mine although I did have a problem with my Navman - the gps + and - were mixed up - the colours were wrong in the book. It didn't hurt to just swap the wires around.

As nothing has changed in the Garmin maybe there are port settings in the Raymarine that need to be altered? Baud rate and NMEA type etc.

alystra · 11 May 2008, 22:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

I had no problem with mine although I did have a problem with my Navman - the gps + and - were mixed up - the colours were wrong in the book. It didn't hurt to just swap the wires around.

As nothing has changed in the Garmin maybe there are port settings in the Raymarine that need to be altered? Baud rate and NMEA type etc.

+ and - mixed up with the Garmin too, or at least the manuals are not clear. Still, the original one worked ok after I swapped those wires round. Tried the correct NMEA type settings, and all the others available, and all the baud rates too. Thing is, the original radio worked perfectly apart from the dodgy volume control. This new one doesn't, even though the GPS settings were unaltered when I connected them.

There don't seem to be any relevant settings on any of the radio menues, the manual says it uses NMEA 0183 v1.5 by default and doesn't mention anything about other settings or baud rates and I've tried all of them.

It's a mystery to me, but thanks for the thoughts Codprawn

alystra · 21 May 2008, 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by alystra

+ and - mixed up with the Garmin too, or at least the manuals are not clear. Still, the original one worked ok after I swapped those wires round. Tried the correct NMEA type settings, and all the others available, and all the baud rates too. Thing is, the original radio worked perfectly apart from the dodgy volume control. This new one doesn't, even though the GPS settings were unaltered when I connected them.

There don't seem to be any relevant settings on any of the radio menues, the manual says it uses NMEA 0183 v1.5 by default and doesn't mention anything about other settings or baud rates and I've tried all of them.

It's a mystery to me, but thanks for the thoughts Codprawn

Well, after a lot of lead changing and borrowing another radio to test it, the fault is not with the radio, but with my old Garmin 126. The NMEA output worked last year, there's still a signal coming out of the wire, but it's obviously not the right one.

Looks as if I'll have to break into the piggy bank and buy a new GPS, or plotter or something. I wonder though....

Maybe Garmin would send me a new replacement if I sent this back?

Jon Brooks · 21 May 2008, 12:01

do check the Garmin is sending out NMEA date.

If you have played with the setting or reset the unit it will or may have reverted to "Garmin Data" if so this will stop it talking to any NMEA device.

hope that may help

alystra · 22 May 2008, 09:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Brooks

do check the Garmin is sending out NMEA date.

If you have played with the setting or reset the unit it will or may have reverted to "Garmin Data" if so this will stop it talking to any NMEA device.

hope that may help

Thanks Jon. Yes, I have checked all the settings and reset them several times - at least, I think I have. (It is an old set and I sometimes think it's being a bit bloody minded, but I guess it's not really very bright.) It does seem strange though, as the rest of the GPS seems to work perfectly - as was the NMEA output last year.

Erin · 22 May 2008, 11:26

Two things come to mind.
Firstly, is there an update available for your GPS. If so, that would be worth a try.
Secondly, it is well worth a phone call to Garmin. They are likely to suggest you send it in, if there is a definite fault, and in my experience a very nominal 'repair' fee normally results in a brand new replacement unit.

Keith

J.C. · 22 May 2008, 13:35

Before you do anything expensive, just to recap... after all the fiddling around, are you sure you've set the Garmin back to NMEA out, 4800baud, 8bits, 1 stop bit, no parity - if all those settings are configurable on the Garmin?

I just took a quick look at the manual and it looks to me like the interface should be set to RTCM/NMEA or NONE/NMEA