Project- Engine gauges- analog to NMEA 2000

refugio said:

I'm getting closer to doing this. FWIW, I have twin Cummins 5.9s circa 1999 - all of the gauges work but they are showing some crazing on the lenses and only about half of the lights work. I'm fighting a separate problem with my fuel gauge. I'm redoing the electronics panel with with an Axiom 12 and 12 Pro which leaves a couple of smaller displays needing to relocate, and the instrument view of the Axiom is much more space efficient than the physical gauges.

Reading the Chetco docs, I see they mention using existing senders or replacing with some with "high precision pressure senders" - I'm thinking I'll keep all the existing senders. The pulse (rpm) senders are particularly important because they come from the synchronizer.

And now I"m wondering about engine hours. Lighthouse 3 has a field for this, but I think it's read-only and the hours come from the SeaGauge. But the docs for that just mention a dynamic value.

1) Is there an option to set an initial hours value? I'm thinking there would have to be.

2) Is the SeaGauge intelligent about accumulating hours? One of the problems with the key-based hourmeters is leaving a key on...for maintenance for example. How does the SeaGauge know the engine is "running"? The docs note "Unit should have power applied when key is in the accessory or run position and power removed when key is off" - but I'm not excited about having to turn the key on to check fuel level or hours (for example) and would prefer to leave it operational while I'm aboard.

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Pau Hana said:

For now, I elected to leave the factory alarms (combo low oil pressure/ high temp) and engine hour meters in place, so I don’t have a solid answer for those questions.

I used the existing senders on the engines, including for the tachs. I’ll be using the 3rd pulse input for the genset, and installing a N2k drop for a Maretron or similar fuel flow system.

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refugio said:

Thank you for indulging my curiosity - a couple more questions. Did you power the display from the key switch like the manual specifies? Having the key on to monitor the generator, for example, seems like a design flaw. I will have to ask about that.

And I see you're using the default display - are your trim tabs enabled?

Again, thank you for answering my questions.

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Tonic1 said:

Just to chime in on one of Refugio's questions regarding engine hours. The Chetco does allow you to input a starting number for hours to count from. I'm pretty sure it only counts when rpm is greater than a set value.

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refugio said:

Excellent! That's exactly what I was hoping. I'm getting closer to pulling the trigger.

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Aquabelle said:

Another vote for Chetco. Freed up a lot of helm space by connecting up my twin 6bta's to compact Chetco displays at both helms. I didn't need to change or add any senders.

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Aquabelle said:

Sure, happy to. In the lower helm pic below, the Chetco gauges panel is to the Stb of the MFD. At the fly helm, it is the illuminated panel to the Port side of the monitor. At the lower helm, all that now empty space to the left of the throttle/gear controls used to be occupied with analogue gauges. Now it is where I sit a keyboard connected to the MFD. Removing the large analogue panels from the flybridge allowed me to build the new housing you see in the pic, a huge improvement in the visibility of instruments and screens.

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Aquabelle said:

Removing the large analogue panels from the flybridge allowed me to build the new housing you see in the pic, a huge improvement in the visibility of instruments and screens.

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refugio said:

Thanks for the images. How many hours have you run with this configuration? A small part of me is wondering if - after almost 40 years of regular gauges - my mind is going miss them.

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4ward42 said:

Everything still working?



I want to convert my Markline 1100 to digital. I hope they offer great support. I am in IT so should be good.

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4ward42 said:

Everything still working?

I want to convert my Markline 1100 to digital. I hope they offer great support. I am in IT so should be good.

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Pete Meisinger said:

Wow!! Beautiful.

How about a total cost estimate, include labor time and misc expenses.

It's definitely not for me. Temp, Tach and oil pressure is all I need. In my case, it's a forty year old tub. Lets not get too sophisticated.

Something about putting lipstick on a pig. In my case the forty year old trawler is still just a forty year old trawler and it would confuse the owner.

KISS (Keep it Simple Sailor)

pete

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• The Chetco SeaGauge G2 unit ($600-800 depending on ordered configuration) https://digitalmarinegauges.com/seagauge-g2-28-function-sensor-interface-unit/
• A NMEA 2K backbone (maybe $100 depending on layout)
• Some basic electrical skills and connectors
• some basic computer skills