Raymarine C80

[LongJohn]

I know that it's well passed its prime, and I'd love to find someone qualified and recommended on the Tennessee River to replace it. But right now it knows my course and speed, but won't tell me where I am. Anyone know what's going on?

 

[grahamdouglass]

Bad gps connection?

I had a C80, and it is attached to a GPS antenna. The connection could be loose or the GPS antenna could be faulty. There is a light that blinks on the GPS antenna, that means it is working.

 

[jungpeter]

Hi LoJohn,

I had a C80 on a previous boat, that I ultimately abandoned because of a similar issue as yours. I suspect your Raymarine GPS antenna has failed. Unfortunately, as this antenna communicates with the chart plotter via a Raymarine proprietary comms protocol (Raytalk, as I recall), only a Raymarine-branded GPS antenna of that vintage will restore functionality. And while you can find such an antenna on Ebay, for instance, they're pricey and usually previously-owned to boot.

The C80 has a NMEA 0183 interface for a non-proprietary GPS feed. Unfortunately, this feed does not provide full functionality to the chartplotter regarding anything other than position. So if you simply want your position displayed on your C80, a simple $30 hockey puck GPS antenna will work, if wired appropriately via a NMEA 0183 feed.

The sad fact is that the industry has moved on, and the C80 is long past it's "use by" date. Equally sadly, this date seems to come due all too soon these days.

Regards,

Pete

 

[sum escape]

The GPS antenna has a battery in it, probably soldered in but replacemable. If you do not see a light on the antenna, it is likely a dead battery. You tube has DIY videos on how to replace it.

 

[boomerang]

During the C-series tenure, They used a Raystar 120 & then a Raystar 125 GPS antenna to feed position to the plotter. The 120 had no light on top. The 125 has a LED that flashes red-no fix, yellow--acquiring a signal & green-signal fix good. The internal battery is only to retain the previous satellite almanac for a faster fix after shut down. It will still work with a dead battery.
Go into the softkey menu & look at the satellites received. It shouldn't be able to give you speed and COG without a fix.
Worse case is you but another GPS antenna or small cheap gps/plotter & interface it to your C80 in place of the Raystar. Theres nothing wrong with the plotter, just the gps from where the C80 plotter gets it's position.

 

[STB]

I just looked back at my log. A while back, I replaced one of these with a Raymarine RS150 GPS receiver, which has a SeaTalk-NG interface. To get it to interface to an old C120, I used a Seatalk-to-Seatalk-NG converter kit.

The converter kit is basically a Seatalk-NG hub with a port for original Seatalk. It also has two regular white Seatalk-NG ports and two blue bridge ports to connect to other Seatalk-NG hubs.

It turned out to be a nice way to go because it solved the problem quickly with nontear-put, used a GPS receiver than can hang around after a future upgrade, and provided a couple of SeatalkNG ports for anything new, as well as provided the ability to grow out the Seatalk-NG network from there.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003E1WVR...t_i_85W8CM4S7EQMEC99APJQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MU7QHN...imm_94NA2VYCY7R22FA8EVQ2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[LongJohn]

Tanks for all your suggestions. Just for general info; the plotter woukl report correct speed and course (slightly different from electronic compass) but would not provide location info. The GPS Status page showed no tracked satellites. The GPS restart option was not available. Cycling power from the on/off button was ineffective. However, completely removing power from the system and restoring power caused the system to restart properly.


I'd still like to upgrade the plotter and autohelm, and would happily entertain recommendations for a qualified installer in my area. I consider my area between Knoxville and Pickwick. That's more than 300 miles on the Tn River. I might even go as far as Demopolis. Thanks for your input

 

[diver dave]

I have an extra Raymarine E32042 gps laying around. If it would help, PM me.