Raymarine Rl70C 'lost Radar / Sonar / Charplotter Fix' Alarms

[SpawnyWhippet]

I have the following devices interfaced using NMEA in my boat: Raymarine RL70C chartplotter / 24nm radar (display at chart table), L770D Fishfinder & DSM (display at helm), Raystar GPS, ST6001+ autopilot, ST60 Tridata.

Every few mins my Fishfinder multifunction display beeps several times and pops up with a 'lost radar/chartplotter' alarm and resets the range from 3nm to 72nm. I then have to zoom back down to 3nm.

Also, intermittently it will display an error saying 'lost sonar' or 'lost GPS fix' which requires me to reset the whole system in order to re-acquire a GPS fix.

I am planning some long passages and need to be able to rely on this gear - can anyone offer any solutions to check?

The local Raymarine dealer here in Singapore just said 'I don't know what the problem is' when I explained it, he just suggested to get his electrician out and check my power supply. However, his electrician installed my AIS and did an appalling job of the wiring, so I don't want him back on the boat.

[SpawnyWhippet]

Originally Posted by SpawnyWhippet' date='12 April 2010 - 05:04 AM

I have the following devices interfaced using NMEA in my boat: Raymarine RL70C chartplotter / 24nm radar (display at chart table), L770D Fishfinder & DSM (display at helm), Raystar GPS, ST6001+ autopilot, ST60 Tridata.

Every few mins my Fishfinder multifunction display beeps several times and pops up with a 'lost radar/chartplotter' alarm and resets the range from 3nm to 72nm. I then have to zoom back down to 3nm.

Also, intermittently it will display an error saying 'lost sonar' or 'lost GPS fix' which requires me to reset the whole system in order to re-acquire a GPS fix.

I am planning some long passages and need to be able to rely on this gear - can anyone offer any solutions to check?

The local Raymarine dealer here in Singapore just said 'I don't know what the problem is' when I explained it, he just suggested to get his electrician out and check my power supply. However, his electrician installed my AIS and did an appalling job of the wiring, so I don't want him back on the boat.

I found the fault with the 'Lost Fix' error - it was my Raystar 120 GPS. When I replaced it with a new Raystar 125 I no longer get the 'lost fix' error. Now I am getting the error 'Radar/Chart Unavailable', even though the radar is not on, and the chart and fix are clearly visible.

[JeanneP]

Not having a setup such as yours, I am posing questions rather than answers. I hope this helps a bit.

WRT "radar/chart unavailable" when the radar unit is off, wouldn't that be because the radar is off? Do you get the message when the radar unit is on?

I just downloaded the User's Manual, and the troubleshooting section is, IMO, useless. However, it does give you some ways of contacting Raymarine - perhaps you could email somebody to help you.

Good luck.

J

[SpawnyWhippet]

Originally Posted by JeanneP' date='06 June 2010 - 02:12 PM

Not having a setup such as yours, I am posing questions rather than answers. I hope this helps a bit.

WRT "radar/chart unavailable" when the radar unit is off, wouldn't that be because the radar is off? Do you get the message when the radar unit is on?

I just downloaded the User's Manual, and the troubleshooting section is, IMO, useless. However, it does give you some ways of contacting Raymarine - perhaps you could email somebody to help you.

Good luck.

J

Thanks for the suggestions and I agree with your thoughts on the troubleshooting section - I have never been able to resolve any problem with any electronic device by using information found in a troubleshooting guide.

eg Problem: 'Radar unit does not detect other ships'.

Resolution: 'Switch unit on or remove screen cover.'

I still get the 'no radar/chart available' error with the radar on. I also still get occasional 'no sonar available' and my DSM module intermittently doesn't run. Every 2 -3 mins the L770D & RL70C units start beeping and I have to clear an error; it's getting to the point of being unusable, especially with the chart resetting to 72nm all the time. The L770D also freezes for several mins sometimes and I can only fix it by resetting the power.

My Raymarine dealer has suggested that the cause of the problem could be the size of the Indian Ocean charts loading into my L770D, causing it to fill the limited memory available. His suggestion was to buy a smaller chart for my immediate area only for $500 (he would not lend it to me first to check if it fixed the problem though).

Not sure how to test this without risking another $500 on a possible fix that may or may not work.

[magwas]

It seems like a communication problem. I would check the wiring and connections.

[chiroeurope]

Yeah this definitively sounds like an I/O problem (Input/Output).

First thing is not fun which is make a list of all connections and where they are and what state they are in (this will help later trust me).

Second get a multi meter and check that you have continuity on all cables.

Check and clean all contact point with a cleaning agent that does not leave a film (DO NOT use WD40 under any condition).

Check power supply and fuse connections with this. If the problem continues start disconnecting each segment until you have a base that functions.

At which point add one part and run for 30 minutes or through charting problems until it either runs clears or has an error. Note what the errors are (this is very annoying and a bit time consuming but pays off in the long run).

This should allow you find which part of the equipment is the problem and to see if it is under warranty or not. It will also you you a very detailed wiring diagram of your system that can be stored in the Ship log and maintenance manual (not the one the builder gave you the one you build yourself) that way you have a reference chart that can be used in the future should a problem arise that is similar to this.

While flow charts are a bore to make and time consuming to update at time they are extremely useful in certain ways. This really is another version of the lists we where talking about on another thread. It is one of my lists that get don on any electrical equipment new or not as part of basic checks to make sure things are running right.

Hope it helps,

Michael

[SpawnyWhippet]

Originally Posted by chiroeurope

Second get a multi meter and check that you have continuity on all cables.

Check and clean all contact point with a cleaning agent that does not leave a film (DO NOT use WD40 under any condition).

Check power supply and fuse connections with this. If the problem continues start disconnecting each segment until you have a base that functions.

At which point add one part and run for 30 minutes or through charting problems until it either runs clears or has an error. Note what the errors are (this is very annoying and a bit time consuming but pays off in the long run).

Thanks Michael,

the wiring is pretty simple and straightforward. I traced it all out, removed the binnacle top, resoldered all the connections that were previously using only screw connectors and tested them. Then I re-seated all the navigation wiring behind the chart-table that feed into the main GPS unit, all were seated well previously.

I still get intermittent 'No sonar/radar chart available' errors every 30 mins or so. The fishfinder sonar works about 50% of the time and the L770 multifunction display at the binnacle is still freezing and hanging every hour or so, requiring a power off reset, or sometimes it will reset itself to zoom out to 72nm on the charplotter display, but then runs very very slowly.

I also tried to run the navigation without the Indian Ocean chart installed, but it errors continuously with 'no chart data found'

I suspect I have several problems:

1) Intermittently functional fishfinder sonar transducer

2) Insufficient memory in the L770 to display the Indian Ocean chart.

I have no more ideas what to do, other than spend many thousands replacing the L770, sonar transducer and chart cartridge

[SpawnyWhippet]

Originally Posted by SpawnyWhippet

I have no more ideas what to do, other than spend many thousands replacing the L770, sonar transducer and chart cartridge

Well, the problem was getting worse and worse. After getting another 2 sets of technicians out to look, they concurred that the fishfinder multifunction display is intermittently bad and cannot be repaired. They cannot supply a compatible replacement unit and I am now in a $25k hole fitting two new Raymarine E120W HybridTouch chartplotters, digital HD radar, fishfinder, navpod, Seatalk HS cabling and AIS integration.

At the end of the excercise, I will now have the added function of touchscreens and AIS on my chartplotters. Not bad for $25k.

Anyone want to buy a perfectly good Raymarine RL70c chartplotter, 24nm radar and a dodgy fishfinder?