raymarine gps antennae replacement

[Duetto]

hi all,

we have a 2003 34 pilot. i'm pretty sure i need to replace the gps antennae. i think it's a raystar 120. has anyone replaced theirs's with something OTHER than a 120 or 125? if so what product did you use and how big is the project?

thanks,

john

 

[Tonic1]

If you're replacing the mfd as well as the antenna, most have built in antennas. I replaced an old Garmin unit on my 2007 P34, I think it was a 3006 unit with the roof mounted antenna. I replaced it with a Garmin 1042, with built in antenna and just left the old antenna on the roof. To replace with a new external antenna, you have to get the wire down to the display. On the hardtop, like mine, there is a wire way, but you will likely have to remove the headliner. Not sure how the wire was routed on the soft top version.

 

[Duetto]

a standalone with built in gps is on my list but i want to keep the old mfd for radar. i think i've landed on mounting the new mushroom antennae inside cabin in front of steering wheel. there is a seatalk junction box mounted under the hinged platform.

thanks again

 

[Iggy]

What about a Marine Satellite Compass

 

[Ka_sea_ta]

This is a good opportunity to begin the upgrade of your boat's electronics. The RS150 receiver is a good start. It has NMEA 2k or seatalk ng output, which can be converted to seatalk through a raymarine seatalk to seatalk ng converter. Using the converter will allow you to start upgrading to NMEA 2k while still using the legacy Raymarine MFD

 

[Long Island Boater]

hi all,

we have a 2003 34 pilot. i'm pretty sure i need to replace the gps antennae. i think it's a raystar 120. has anyone replaced theirs's with something OTHER than a 120 or 125? if so what product did you use and how big is the project?

thanks,

john

You didn’t mention the reason for the replacement. I thought mine was bad but changed the battery and works like new.
Good luck!

 

[Sailor Harry]

hi all,

we have a 2003 34 pilot. i'm pretty sure i need to replace the gps antennae. i think it's a raystar 120. has anyone replaced theirs's with something OTHER than a 120 or 125? if so what product did you use and how big is the project?

thanks,

john

There is a CR2032 cell soldered in to the GPS receiver. It can be replaced if you can handle a soldering iron. Be careful not to damage the cable when you remove the GPS for this operation. Be advised that the date (year) cannot be set correctly, as Raymarine (or whomever did the design), calculated that the design life would be 10 years (or so--not sure), so only memory enough for that period of time was allotted for the calendar year. I learned this the hard way.

 

[DDW]

You don't say what you are using the GPS for. Most of the old Raymarine (and other brand) MFD will accept NMEA 0183 GPS data. The Raymarine 120 puts out SeaTalk 1 data and also NMEA 0183, but most installs would have used ST1. GPS receivers that can do NMEA 0183 are almost a dime a dozen these days. You can get one for <$20 on Amazon, Ebay, etc. This will also work for an older Raymarine autopilot.

 

[Maerin]

Ditto on the battery. Note that the Raystar is not an antenna, it is a self-contained GPS receiver. Much older Raymarine gear used an external antenna, pretty much obsolete now. If the battery option doesn't pan out, you can use a Digital Yacht 160. It is NMEA so some changes will be necessary. You can still connect it to the SeaTalk via a converter, but it will be more money. Another option is to connect it to your MFD's NMEA IN port, and configure the DY160 to the correct baud rate, and make sure your MFD NMEA IN port is enabled. Your baud rate will be dictated by the MFD's NMEA IN configuration. If you have other SeaTalk connected devices, the MFD you connect the GPS to should handle the conversion of the NMEA data to ST and propagate it to the ST buss/network. Caveat that the MFD must be powered up to get the data to the ST buss. If you have multiple devices that use the GPS data via ST, a converter may be a better choice, it all depends on how your ST network is configured. It's not likely going to be plug n play, so be prepared to do some manual study. On the upside, the new technology is more accurate, faster position acquisition and updating. If you change the electronics in the future, the DY160 will still be compatible with any device that uses NMEA.

 

[Long Island Boater]

There is a CR2032 cell soldered in to the GPS receiver. It can be replaced if you can handle a soldering iron. Be careful not to damage the cable when you remove the GPS for this operation. Be advised that the date (year) cannot be set correctly, as Raymarine (or whomever did the design), calculated that the design life would be 10 years (or so--not sure), so only memory enough for that period of time was allotted for the calendar year. I learned this the hard way.

My battery is not soldered in from 2004 version.

 

[Duetto]

fup on this. i'm pretty sure i was wrong with the gps antennae. i've narrowed the problem down to our dms250. the connection to the transducer sometimes has problems, which i'm working on. it also has a connection to my rl70c, via hsb. when the dms has trouble it, apparently, signals the rl70c at which time the rl70c seems to lose its gps connection. bottom line i'm still gaining understanding of the problem.

another question that someone may have the answer to: we have a nema 0183 cable going into our rl70c. to the best of my knowledge we have no nema devices. we do have a gyro course computer which outputs nema. i'm thinking this might be where the cable goes.