Upgrading from networked Raymarine E80's to Axiom

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grahamdouglass

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2012
Messages
423
Location
Canada
Vessel Name
Summer Wind 1
Vessel Make
Marine Trader 41
My Raymarine system ( 2 E80's, G2 Autopilot, st8002 head, DSM300 Sounder modual with a P70 internal transducer) has developed a couple of issues (eg. broken network cable, randomly loosing gps position etc.) so instead of repairing the system I am considering the upgrade.
I would like to retain my G2 autopilot and ST8002 autopilot head, and my Raymarine smart constroller. I believe I would have to upgrade my Radar.
With respect to AIS, would a dedicated AIS unit like an AIS 250-700 etc be necessary or could you feed the MFDs with a Raymarine or Lowrance VHF that has AIS capability?
If you've done this, share your thoughts. I'm especially interested in having a smart MFD and a slave MFD to reduce costs.
 
I feed my GPS data(Furuno), Autopilot data(Simrad) and my AIS data(some no name receiver) via NMEA 0183. I feed my depth sounder data(Airmar) and heading data(Simrad) via NMEA 2000. My Radar is and MFD’s are Raymarine and all communicate via the Raymarine Ethernet.

MDF’s are E90w and E120w. In the past I tried to add a more modern display to the mix. Unfortunately, mismatching MDF generations led to system crashes.
 
I received a response from Raymarine. They said that the new axiom will not work with the SG2 SmartPilot. However I saw a youtube video of someone who managed to make an Axiom MFD work with a SmartPilot SG2 or SG3 course computer. Has anyone on this board done that. I am thinking about an upgrade, but I don't know if I want to upgrade my autopilot as well. Mind you I could always use the auto pilot with out integration with my MFD.
 
I had a similar challenge with Axiom and a Smart Pilot (I think SP-30?) I could get it to work somewhat, at least in heading hold mode. But only way to deactivate was to power down the SP-30.OK for long constant courses but mostly a pain so I upgraded to new auto pilot (EV-1?) and very pleased. I kept the old hydraulic drive motor so not too expensive. I think an Autopilot is critical for safety and comfort so worth the investment. Easy self install. Almost just a plug and play swap.
 
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