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UFO · 15-05-2020, 18:14

Just installed New Axioms and are having issues with the AIS & Satellite fix.

I have a very weird setup from the last owner for AIS:

When they installed the previous Raymarine (they had Garmin before that) they kept the Garmin AIS600, but added a Standard Horizon GX2200E - AIS/GPS VHF which is linked to the Garmin AIS and share a MMSI.

The Garmin AIS will only Transmit when the VHF is turned on, but it will receive either way.

With the New Axioms when the VHF & Garmin are on, I randomly lose Satellite Fix on the Axiom for a split second - Enough to drop the waypoint track. When the VHF is off everything is fine.

Anyway onto a question - I have been trying to isolate the connection to the Axiom from the VHF as If I replace the Garmin AIS, I do not want some clashing issue with the VHF sending its own AIS info to the Axioms - Which may be what is causing the satellite fix issue?

I have isolated the Garmin AIS from the Axiom (Removed all data cables/NMEA/power cables) and I stop transmitting and it disappears from the network - All good so far, Next I have removed the NMEA cable from the VHF, but the Axioms are still Receiving AIS signals. FYI the VHF does not show up on the network even when the NMEA cable is plugged in.

So if the Axioms are not getting the AIS data through NMEA how are they getting it?

smac999 · 16-05-2020, 00:15

there is really no way (or reason) to link the VHF to the AIS 600. I see no way it would require the vhf to be on to transmit.

you have something weird going on.

the 2200 is nmea 183. it will not show up on any network list

UFO · 16-05-2020, 01:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by smac999

there is really no way (or reason) to link the VHF to the AIS 600. I see no way it would require the vhf to be on to transmit.

you have something weird going on.

the 2200 is nmea 183. it will not show up on any network list

Yes something very strange for sure. As I said the AIS600 will only receive and not transmit unless the VHF is on - They also share a MMSI.

How is the Axiom getting data from the VHF for AIS? Its not NMEA183, so what else is it? I want to use the VHF without it feeding data into the Axiom as its causing an issue.

CatNewBee · 16-05-2020, 01:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by UFO

Yes something very strange for sure. As I said the AIS600 will only receive and not transmit unless the VHF is on - They also share a MMSI.

How is the Axiom getting data from the VHF for AIS? Its not NMEA183, so what else is it? I want to use the VHF without it feeding data into the Axiom as its causing an issue.

That is normal, the MMSI belongs to the vessel not to the unit. Both need to know the vessels MMSI, the AIS to transmit it and to filter it out when showing on the bus, the VHF for making DSC calls, your handheld DSC VHF very likely too, the AIS ResqueMe beacons in your life vests need it too...

Jetx · 16-05-2020, 09:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by UFO

...Next I have removed the NMEA cable from the VHF, but the Axioms are still Receiving AIS signals. FYI the VHF does not show up on the network even when the NMEA cable is plugged in.

As previously mentioned, the VHF communicates via NMEA 0183, so it won't show up on the Axiom's (NMEA 2000) network devices list.

As for AIS targets showing on the Axiom after disconnecting the VHF's NMEA 0183 cable, if you haven't restarted the Axiom, it will continue to display AIS targets for some period of time (it treats them as "lost" targets, which it automatically drops after a preset amount of time). They should disappear if you restart the Axiom after disconnecting (or just powering off) the VHF.

The Garmin not transmitting except when the VHF is powered on suggests that the VHF (or VHF breaker) must be wired the the Garmin's "silent mode" switch input.

I'd suggest just leaving the VHF isolated, with nothing but power and VHF antenna connections, no NMEA connections to anything. Leave the Garmin on your N2K network, but disconnect whatever wires are connected to the Garmin's silent mode switch (or put in an external switch if you like), and you should be good to go.

rfadler · 17-05-2020, 09:20

Contact customer support. I had the same symptoms, different devices but the solution was to stop all the other devices on the network from broadcasting a position report.

I suggest contacting customer support because it's a known issue that Raymarine should fix, but only if people complain.

If you look on the Raymarine support forum there's a thread titled "Axiom pro not recognizing external GPS" created on 1/29 by user rfadler. It has lots of info about using the diagnostic tools available in Axiom.

Good luck

UFO · 17-05-2020, 23:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfadler

Contact customer support. I had the same symptoms, different devices but the solution was to stop all the other devices on the network from broadcasting a position report.

I suggest contacting customer support because it's a known issue that Raymarine should fix, but only if people complain.

If you look on the Raymarine support forum there's a thread titled "Axiom pro not recognizing external GPS" created on 1/29 by user rfadler. It has lots of info about using the diagnostic tools available in Axiom.

Good luck

Thanks.

Got to the bottom of it. The VHF/AIS/GPS Unit had 2 connections to the network - One directly from the VHF and after some convoluted cable following I found it also had a separate AIS receiver, which was also connected to the network - Removing both from the network has solved my issues.