Raymarine

[Ken Juul]

About 2 years ago I bought a Raymarine C series chartplotter/radar.  The radar I replaced was at the Navsta, so the new one went there for the first year until I got my pedestal guard modified this spring.  I did not hook up the GPS or buy the map software until I moved it to the cockpit.  Got it all installed, inserted the map card and discovered the chart plotter would not work because the Chartplotter software was too old.  After a month delay I finally got the correct Compact Flash card to upgrade the software.  Fire it up and the Radar doesn't work   Since we have had several lightning strikes in the vicinity of the marina I figured that was the cause and called the local Raymarine Tech to verify.  He verified the software load, did some diagnostics that pointed to a bad cable.  Brought a new test cable to the boat, same fault, must be the scanner unit, which he took off the mast and took the the shop for testing/repair.  He plugged it into his test bench and the radar worked like a champ.  After some trial and error testing he determined the software upgrade from Raymarine has a fault in it.  He is going to reinstall the scanner and down grade my software to the last known good one and I should be good to go   Hopefully Raymarine will own up to the error and pay my bill.  If you are using a Raymarine chartplotter I would not upgrade to software version 4.29 the cause of my problem.

[Steve Sayian]

Ken,

I too have the C-80 system and upgraded to 4.29 this spring.

So far I've not experienced any problems.  I use the chartplotter everytime we go out (mostly for GPS SOG as my knotmeter keeps fouling and I hate to take it out) and have used the radar in both good and bad wx, with no problems.

Best of luck in getting this fixed.

Steve

[Ken Juul]

Glad yours works!!  In thinking about it my guess is that since I went from version 1.x to 4.29 I missed something in the middle that caused the radar problem.  It was my assumption and the advice of several marine electronics folks that 4.29 should be a consolidation and loading the others is not necessary.  Perhaps we were wrong, will let you know what RM says.

[Steve Sayian]

Ken,

According to the Raymarine website, each new upgrade includes previous versions.  My system was installed in 2004 (before I bought the boat) and I have done the 4.25 and 4.26 upgrades without issue.   Below is a quote from the Raymarine website on the 4.29 version.

"Raymarine has released software version 4.29 for the C70, C80 and C120 Multifunction Navigation Displays.

This software replaces previous versions 4.26, 4.25, 3.18, 3.16, 2.17, 2.14, 2.12, 1.24 and 1.21. It is not necessary to install any prior versions of software before installing version 4.29.

v4.29 software features the following improvements and addtions:>

Support for AIS message 24 (related to Class B transmissions)
Tide arrow data vectors now correctly displayed in head-up mode
New language translations: 13 languages, including the additions of Danish, Dutch, Portuguese & Spanish"

Steve

[Ken Juul]

After much trial and error we got everything working.  Installed upgrade 4.25.  Shut down, restarted doing a hard reboot.  Restarted and did a system reset using the menu. Shut down, disconnected the gps input.  Restarted ensured the radar worked, plugged in the gps, ensured the map worked.  Shutdown, restarted and everything worked.

The Tech thinks the problem is in the gps head.  Doesn't know if it is hardware or software.  He says RM hints, but does not admit that there is a problem with it.  Time will tell.

The Tech also said RM has a history of bad gps recievers.  In the early days the quality was so bad he routinely installed a Garmin reciever in all his RM and other installations.  Food for thought.

I'm not bashing RM, I like the equipment.  But it is very frustrating when new equipment doesn't work.  It is especially frustrating when the directions are followed, the Tech verifies all was done correctly and leaves scratching his head looking for answers.  Just posting so if someone else runs into this situation you may have some answers to save time and help the Tech solve your problem. 

[Rick Johnson]

Is it true that Raymarine's engineers are all former Lucas Electric employees???

[prh77]

Lucas.....Prince of Darkness.....

[Ken Juul]

I don't think so, the units seem pretty water proof there was no rain/moisture and don't leak oil/brake fluid on the cockpit deck    Been there, had 3 MGs so I appreciate your comment!!!!

[Rick Johnson]

Ahhhhh, a kindred spirit.  Mine was a 1956 MGA...  Loved that car and hated it every time it broke down.  Very similar to my feelings about my C34.  I wonder if there is a relationship between British sportscar owners and eventual sailboat ownership.

Did you happen to own a MG T series?

Cheers,

Rick

[Bill Asbury]

Had same love/hate relationship with British sports cars (3 MGBs and 2 Jaguars) but eventually switched to Miatas, the modern MG w/o the reliability probs.
Cheers!
Bill

[Ken Juul]

My dad passed down his 60 MG A to me in high school and I had a couple different '70 B models.  Almost bought a GT, but the Navy sent me to Hawaii.  Went with a topless jeep instead

[prh77]

Had two Bs and a GT [early 70s], great cars......

[dgill]

WHY DO THE ENGLISH DRINK WARM BEER?

BECAUSE LUCAS MAKES THEIR REFRIGERATORS

[Bill Asbury]

LOL!