Raymarine E80 problem

B

Bob Cat

New member
Went out on the boat today and had some weird stuff on the screen. With the chartplotter diplay on "head up" the little boat icon in the center of the screen was pointed in a different direction. I could visually see the breakwater all the time, but the chart on the plotter showed something different. Very confusing. Glad the fog didn't come in. Any ideas for an explanation?

Bob
 
One possable cause is the following. Your settings my have gotton changed....When all else fails..try turning off the unit and then restarting....all my computers loose their minds from time to time.

For use in the continental US the two primary datums are the older NAD27 CONUS used on many older USGS 7.5 minute topo maps and the newer NAD83/WGS84. NAD is "North American Datum" and 27 or 83 refer to the years of adoption (1927 and 1983). NAD83 is equivalent to WGS84, which stands for "World Geodetic Standard 1984". NAD83 describes the continental US while WGS84 describes the whole world and uses NAD83 data for the US part. Depending on the age of a USGS 7.5 minute topo map, you may see reference marks for both NAD27 and NAD83. GPS units usually allow the choice of NAD27 or WGS84 as well as many others.

GPS units usually default to a datum selection of WGS84. However, most USGS topo maps are still keyed to NAD27 unless they are relatively new.
Click to expand...
 
Bob,
I had the same problem recently with my Raymarine C-80 system. The culprit ended up being the legs of a folding metal chair under my sink- lying too close to the digital compass.
 
Thanks for the responses!

I checked the flux gate compass unit and it was clear all around. Another thing that happened was I was on slow speed auto-pilot and I noticed I was off course, based on visual reference. The autopilot just shut down. Maybe I was going so slow a wave pushed me over enough to cancel the steering order? Never happened before. Maybe I had entered "the Santa Monica Bay triangle!"

Strange stuff. I'm taking her back out on Monday to go through everythiong again.

Bob
 
I had a problem with a Raymarine C80 that was similar, in that the boat icon showed the boat going the wrong way, some times 180' off. Orientation was fine initially but it all of a sudden the boat icon on the display
showed the boat going in all kinds of weird directions. Turned out that Ray...
had some units get out with a component soldered in backwards. They worked fine initially but soon degraded and I was one of the lucky ones

I sent it back and they fixed it and explained the problem. Probably, no
relationship to your problem as Ray... indicated this problem was corrected
as soon as they were made aware of it and that has been a while now.

Probably gave the culprit an office job.

Good luck on running it down.
 
As the largest electronics provider Raymarine can probably count the most units on the water. That does not make them the best unit on the water. As a marine service tech I spend most every day dealing with Raymarine products and problems on many boats. You won't find a Raymarine product on my boat.
Chuck..Florida

This is one of MANY "Raymarine problems" posts I read before my choice of going ALL Furuno for my new boat
Don't get me wrong Raymarine has some new outstanding great products..which I was really tempted to get ..till I researched...the reliablity factor...
Make sure you buy a extended warranty for ALL Raymarine products!!

Dick
255 Tom Cat
Shirley Mae
 
Dick,

Another view. As an ex (now retired) Furuno dealer I can assure you that Furuno radars do have problems - just like the other big guys. Many of my commercial fishing customers continue to use Ray Marine radars and like them. I still use both Furuno and RayNav -- I really like my E-80. In the big high-powered units I'll take Furuno every time, but in our little bathtub-sized toys I think it's a coin flip. More RayNav, more problems. And they just don't make 'em like they used to!!! I don't knock Furuno - a great radar, but there are many satisfied Ray Nav customers out there.

That said, I really like the way you have equipped your T-cat. Beautiful job.

Dusty
 
As the largest electronics provider Raymarine can probably count the most units on the water. That does not make them the best unit on the water. As a marine service tech I spend most every day dealing with Raymarine products and problems on many boats. You won't find a Raymarine product on my boat.
Chuck..Florida
Click to expand...

I've seen that quote before on thehulltruth.com and that's just one service tech's opinion. One can also find service techs who swear at Furuno rather than swear by Furuno, Dick. Same for Lowrance and Garmin. In the under 30 ft. world they're all about even. Just like Ford truck owners, Chevy truck owners, and Dailmer Benz/Dodge truck owners, if ya own one rarely do ya knock it. I've owned Furuno, Lowrance, and Raymarine, actually had all three on the Jenny B. My C80 is just as trouble free as the Lowrance or Furuno was and if I were to replace anything it would be feature driven not by brand.

Don
 
Thanks all for the input.

I woke up last night with a vision. I had checked around the auto-pilot flux gate unit under the sink for clearance, and it was great, with no metal anywhere near. Then I remembered that in the head, directly on the other side of the bulkhead where the sending unit is located is where I keep the EU2000 generator! If it's close enough to the bulkhead, that's the culprit!

More to follow.

Bob
 
Another factor we discovered on our E-80 setup was that you have to select either "planing" or "displacement" hull on the setup. When going slow in significant seas, it would seem the autopilot would get confused from the boat wallowing about in the seas. Changing the setup to "displacement" mode seemed to help that. Still, just a brief spell of that so far.

ps, Of course, we changed the setup back to "planing" hull after that, and no problems since.

John
 
Watch where you put your cell phone too. If you want proof, just put it near the fluxgate compass indicator unit and watch what happens.

Merv
 
SQUIDSLAYER DICK: Who is Chuck in FL and where did that post come from? Looking into a new electronics package now myself...and saw the E-120 Raymarin and was able to operate it for a few days on a friend of mine. The softkey pads on the new stuff do make Raymarine much more user friendly...

So..which Furno did you end up with??? Is it user friendly or do you need to be someone who touches the buttons on it every day as to be able to opperate it?

BOB CAT; Do tell Hero!!! What is/was the deal with your E-80? My friends E-120 compass gizmo did not like the metal zipper of a sleeping bag. Had us a Brumuda Triangle Night on Lake Martin....till we moved the bag!!! :mrgreen:
 
Not only is Furuno the National Marine Electronics Assoiation Winners for 2006...but...........
the US Coast Guard........RELABILTY
this reafirms my choice to go ALL Furuno
NavNet VX2 & NavPilot

Dick
255 TomCat
Shirley Mae

FURUNO AWARDED $5.5 MILLION MULTI-YEAR
U.S. COAST GUARD CONTRACT 2006

Furuno USA, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a multi-year US Coast Guard (USCG) contract valued at just over $5.5 million. The contract for the Standard Navigation Acquisition Package (SNAP) ensures delivery of robust, reliable Furuno electronics for the US Coast Guard. The equipment is slated for the replacement of the aging radar systems on Coast Guard patrol and rescue boats. The SNAP contract comes on the heels of another USCG contract award secured by Furuno for over 100 of its full-featured, adaptive, NavPilot Autopilot systems.

Each patrol and rescue boat will have a high-tech integrated navigation system based on Furuno’s NavNet vx2 to make these boats state-of-the-art. Built around Furuno’s revolutionary NavNet vx2 radar/chart plotter system, the SNAP package seamlessly integrates a 1934C radar/chart plotter, GP37 DGPS/WAAS, RD30 digital depth display with a 235 kHz Smart Sensor and PG1000 Heading Sensor. Some vessels will also receive an LC90MK2 Loran-C. All of the information can be viewed on the daylight-viewable 10.4” LCD display of the 1934C, while the GP37 and RD30 can display their respective information. Additional NavNet vx2 displays may be connected using the Ethernet network feature of the NavNet vx2 product line. Many USCG boats will receive a basic SNAP package and other displays, which can be fully customized to an individual operator’s needs.
 
Hey Dick!! And that sound system looks sweet too. I like that unit. Are you happy with it?

The Pioneer 6800 IPOD SAT Ready Stereo CD Reciever...EVEN MONITORS your BATTERIES VOLTAGE!! SWEET!

Also...nice whale shots for sure man.

Byrdman
 
Gee, Folks

This wasn't meant to be a forum for the Furuno vs Raymarine debate! I'm glad for the constructive advice that was offered.

Turns out it was a combination of things: First, the Honda generator was too close to the bulkhead separting the flux gate unit mount position inside the sink cabinet and the head. I moved the generator back against the rear bulkhead and watched the readout on the autopilot correct itself. (please don't start a debate about Honda vs Yamaha generators) Second, the flux gate compass needs to be swung to align all the electronic systems within the gps and autopilot. The autopilot is the primary feed for the others and can fall off accuracy if not used over time, lightning, power surge or spike, etc. This came from a Raymarine tech on their service line after only a 4 minute wait.

Bob
 
Fantastic Bob... As usual.... it is the little things that get us. Glad to hear it was a simple issue, and glad to hear about the response time from Raymarine too. Looks like life is good again aboard your boat.

Byrdman
 
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