GP-33 software update ?

[Anonymous]

Hello everybody,

Let me introduce myself, I am Nick Vermeulen, a retired Dutch electronics engineer, living aboard our sailboat Jedi. I did electronics design before retiring, so I should be able to stand any level of tech terms

I am in the process of installing a complete new electronics package aboard our yacht named Jedi, a Sundeer 64. There is a lot of Furuno and Maretron gear, plus some Simrad.

I have completed basic installation and am in the process of testing and studying everything. I started with GPS. I have two main GPS units: a Furuno GP-33 which replaced a GP-32 and a Maretron GPS200 sensor. I am comparing these, plus testing the extra features that the GP-33 provides with it's display unit.

Testing includes an Autopilot which is a Simrad/Robertson AP25/AC40 which is directly connected to the N2K network. I use N2KAnalyzer from Maretron.

Here are the issues I run into:

1. Magnetic variation. Both GPS units transmit this vital data, but there is an inconsistency. This is what my network analyzer shows in PGN 127258:

- GP-33
-> Variation source: WMM 2005
-> Age of Service: 12-31-2009
-> Variation: -3.099702 degrees

- GPS200
-> Variation source: WMM 2010
-> Age of Service: 12-25-2011 (today)
-> Variation: -3.363262 degrees

I think my problem with this is obvious: there is a significant difference in variation and it appears that the data from the GP-33 is old. Also, it looks like the GPS200 retrieves new information from the satellite constellation while the Furuno doesn't. Both units have been on for at least 48 hours now.

2. DOP

The display shows a DOP of around 1.64. The analyzer shows HDOP 0.800 and VDOP 1.500 and no data for TDOP. I do realize that the unit displays SQRT( HDOP^2 + VDOP^2 ), but as this is a marine product, why not just display HDOP as 0.80 and let airplanes worry about VDOP?

3. Activate GOTO

This doesn't work. The activation becomes visible on the GP-33 and even on a RD-33 but not on the auto-pilot, nor on a MFD12 display. The analyzer shows that it transmits an origin waypoint 10,000 and destination waypoint 1. When I do the same from the MFD12, it shows an origin waypoint 0 instead of 10,000 and all works.

I believe points 1 and 3 are bugs in the GP-33. What is the latest firmware? I have 2051531-01.01. Jedi is in the jungle of Panama, so pls. go beyond the "visit dealer" suggestions. I would love to receive new firmware and check if these issues have been addressed. If it's known that these have not been corrected, I would like to report these with this post.

Thank you,
Nick.

 

[dotdun]

Nick,

Also, it looks like the GPS200 retrieves new information from the satellite constellation while the Furuno doesn't.

AFAIK, magnetic variation is not broadcast by the GPS sats. My guess is that the GP-33 is simply matching location to declination in a static db whereas the GPS200 is doing the same then performing a time calculation on the value. :?

I base part of this on the fact that the Simrad & Garmin N2K based GPS' don't even send magnetic variation (127258).

 

[Anonymous]

Hi DotDun, nice to meet you here too :lol:

Yes it is a static database and as seen in my 1st post, the Furuno has one from 2005 which is obsoleted. It is that service date that is throwing me off... I do not exactly know what it means. I was thinking that maybe some is transmitted along the same lines as the almanac...

If not, then I assume a new firmware with the new database is available. Let's wait for the big Furuno guys here who know to recoup from eating those turkeys :jump

Also, while my post here was waiting or approval, I got the autopilot to accept the GOTO fom the GP33. But the error in it's formatting of the PGN is still preventing correct highway displays.

cheers,
Nick.

 

[Anonymous]

bump...

 

[Anonymous]

The World Magnetic Model 2010 has validity from 2010.0 to 2015.0. WMM 2005 had validity from 2005.0 until 2010.0. As geomagnetic declination is not a constant, the service date is just the calculation date for the current position. In the case of WMM 2005, 31st Dec 2009 was the last date that the model could calculate.

I have a GP-33 that was new late last year. However it’s on my boat so I can’t check it’s f/w version or WMM version. Even WMM 2010 will expire at the end of next year. Although the variation change will be small, I would hope that Furuno release f/w updates to incorporate new models when they are issued.

 

[Anonymous]

I still have the same software with the same errors. I would love to hear from Furuno if there is new software to fix this. It has been some time that I reported this and, while this is a backup unit for me, it really should be able to provide the correct GOTO PGN for the autopilot. Also the outdated magnetic variation introduces wrong info for magnetic heading etc.

thanks,
Nick.

 

[Johnny Electron]

Thanks for your patience. The Mag Variation source has been updated to WMM 2010 in the new GP33 software v2.01. This software should be shipping in units towards the end of this month. As you know there isn’t a very large change in variation but you are welcome to send your display in for (Free) software update any time after the end of the month. This was brought our attention last year by Nick, but due to higher priorities it had to be put on hold. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Johnny,

That is good news! It will be June before we get back to the US as we're currently spending the winter in the Caribbean. I guess that's okay.

Do you know if they also fixed the bug with GOTO (point 3 of my OP)?

thanks,
Nick.

Thanks for your patience. The Mag Variation source has been updated to WMM 2010 in the new GP33 software v2.01. This software should be shipping in units towards the end of this month. As you know there isn’t a very large change in variation but you are welcome to send your display in for (Free) software update any time after the end of the month. This was brought our attention last year by Nick, but due to higher priorities it had to be put on hold. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Johnny Electron]

It sounds like they still have that on the "todo" list....they said "The way of creating waypoint number has not been modified but will be changed." We have seen some our systems not send the waypoint name where it will show up on the pilot. It isn't a big issue because you are only ever going to one waypoint at a time. Both the GPS/plotter and Pilot are going to that same waypoint even if it doesn't call it out by the same name. At least they do have it on the list to be addressed. You can send you unit in after you get back in June and we will gladly get it updated for you.

 

[Anonymous]

It sounds like they still have that on the "todo" list....they said "The way of creating waypoint number has not been modified but will be changed." We have seen some our systems not send the waypoint name where it will show up on the pilot. It isn't a big issue because you are only ever going to one waypoint at a time. Both the GPS/plotter and Pilot are going to that same waypoint even if it doesn't call it out by the same name. At least they do have it on the list to be addressed. You can send you unit in after you get back in June and we will gladly get it updated for you.

The problem is that the backwards waypoint numbers prevent the "highway mode" to work with the Simrad AP25 pilot when steering to a waypoint set by the GP-33. The GP-33 is my backup GPS so I can live with it but it is an annoying bug because initially I thought it didn't work at all. Then, after analyzing the network data and finding the weird waypoint numbers, I tried again and found that the autopilot is actually steering to the correct waypoint but it's highway mode display doesn't want to go from waypoint 10,000 towards waypoint 0.
I don't know how other autopilots react to that, but the AP25 is a popular pilot.

I wonder how many people set waypoints for their autopilots with a GP-33 these days... I bet not many

thanks!