SCX-20 NMEA2000 over Ethernet via DRS6A Radar

[RickVicik]

Currently, my S330B GPS receiver passes its NMEA2000 information to my TZT14's over the ethernet link shared with the DRS6A radar, eliminating the need to run another cable.
If I replace the S330B with a SCX-20, can it use that same ethernet link, or will I have to run a new NMEA2000 cable down the mast to the NMEA2000 backbone?
---rick

 

[Johnny Electron]

As long as your remove the load of the GP330B, you "Should" be able to use the DRS canbus connection like you have in the past. We have never tried it. It supported the SC30 fine, so I expect it would also work with the SCX20. I would advise you to consider dropping it down to your main NMEA 2000 for two reasons. TZT2 and TZT3 will not use that radar canbus connection so if you upgrade in the future you will need to move it anyways. Lastly, if the radar goes down so does the SCX20 if you connect it to the DRS.

 

[RickVicik]

Thanks for the info.
---rick

 

[jfordyce]

I am in the process of upgrading my Navnet 3D to a TZT2 12. Just awaiting delivery of a PSU-012 for my DRS4A radar. I note that, as Johnny also mentions, the installation checklist states: "Do not connect any NMEA 2000 sensors to the CanBus port on the DRS. The CanBus port is currently not compatible with TZtouch2 MFDs. If retrofitting a TZtouch2 MFD to an existing DRS, any NMEA 2000 sensors interfaced to the DRS must be disconnected."

In my case, there is a Maretron GPS 200 receiver interfaced through the DRS.

Two questions arise.

Will any harm be caused to the system if the radar is powered up while the GPS is connected through the DRS? If so I will disconnect the CanBus connection.

Is this issue likely to be fixed in the near future by a software update? If so, I may just do without hooking up the radar for a while, rather than running a new NMEA 2000 connection down the mast. If not, then I guess I am in for some climbing.

Cheers,
J.E.

 

[Johnny Electron]

Will any harm be caused to the system if the radar is powered up while the GPS is connected through the DRS?

No, it will not damage anything. The device won't function as it did with the NN3D until you move it to the main NMEA 2000 bus.

Is this issue likely to be fixed in the near future by a software update?

No. This was a good enough idea at the time but that feature is not going to be carried forward. First off it isn't NMEA 2000 certified because NMEA.org does not accept that type of connector and design. Next it does create a single point of failure. If the radar goes out, anything connected can no longer talk to the system. The idea is gone with the NN3D power sync and a few other good ideas that can be done better by other means.

 

[jfordyce]

Thanks for this, Johnny.

Good to know that I can fire up the radar even if the switch of the GPS to the main NMEA 2000 bus gets delayed. I have other GPS's in the system, so it won't be a problem.

On the change in technology, I feel a bit like a paleontologist who has encountered an evolutionary dead end! No point, I guess, in sticking to outmoded technology for the long run.

Thanks again,
Cheers,
J.E.