MFD/radar question

[Jghflash]

I have been given an older Raymarine e80 MFD and RD218 radome with cables......lucky me! The PO replaced all his electronic suite with new Raymarine stuff. Everything was working when he removed it so hopefully minimum problems there. I understand that the e80 does not have a GOS sensor. I want to run these two together as a stand-alone radar unit inside the cabin, as I have an e7Din the cockpit already. It’s my first radar unit and I am not that familiar with the older MFD units.
1) Do I need to connect a GPS sensor to the e80?
2) If I do that, is there any additional functionality when using the radar?
Thanks!

[tkeithlu]

Am I right that you want to run the MFD and the dome as a free-standing radar? There should be no problem. Radomes get their heading information from the way they are mounted - they have a front to match the axis of the boat. If you run your chartplotter as "course up" it won't mess with your mind.

[smac999]

The radar does not need a gps.

Depending on the software version. You main gain radar overlay or course up options for radar by using the gps cog. I think some versions allow use of cog. And some versions require a heading sensor.

Personally I would never use cog for radar options. It really should have a compass for that.

The e80 is also a chart plotter. So assuming he also gave you the map card with it. By adding a gps you will also have a chart plotter. However seatalk gps antennas are not available anymore. You can buy an expensive stng one + a converter. Or find a nmea 183 gps.

If he replaced his system he really should be removing his seatalk gps antenna as well. (Likly Raymarine 120 or 125). I would not leave it in with new system. You could try to get it from him. However the installer may have left it on boat if he was lazy.

[Jghflash]

Yes, that’s the plan to run it standalone. I just couldn’t find anything in the manuals for both units that addressed if there was any benefit to having GPS with the radar only. Thanks!

[Jghflash]

Originally Posted by smac999

The radar does not need a gps.

Depending on the software version. You main gain radar overlay or course up options for radar by using the gps cog. I think some versions allow use of cog. And some versions require a heading sensor.

Personally I would never use cog for radar options. It really should have a compass for that.

The e80 is also a chart plotter. So assuming he also gave you the map card with it. By adding a gps you will also have a chart plotter. However seatalk gps antennas are not available anymore. You can buy an expensive stng one + a converter. Or find a nmea 183 gps.

If he replaced his system he really should be removing his seatalk gps antenna as well. (Likly Raymarine 120 or 125). I would not leave it in with new system. You could try to get it from him. However the installer may have left it on boat if he was lazy.

Thanks for the info. I don’t have the map card, it was for an area the boat used to operate in, not where I am. Between the e7D, iPad and iPhone I at least have backups so no need to this.....just hoping to get radar operational.

[Pizzazz]

The E80 is a good chartplotter, so you may want to use it as your main chartplotter. You can feed it a GPS signal from any source. My recommendation will be to feed a GPS signal into your AIS radio and then the combined AIS/GPS signal into the E80. Next you definitely want to feed it Heading info from the autopilot via Seatalk 1 or NMEA2000, whatever you have available. You can get chart cards on eBay.

The only downside of the E80 is that it uses a lot of power, around 20W which is a lot these days. You will have the E80 using 2A, the radar using 2.5-3A, then the rest of the system, it adds up.

The only reason to keep the E80 is if you make a fully integrated system. If you just want a radar, you can sell your E80 on eBay and get an RL70 which is smaller, lighter and uses half the power. It will still integrate with your system but will not show AIS.

I used to have the E80 and the RL70 and loved them both. However, today it is better to sell the parts on eBay (they command high prices for people who replace dying units) and start with fresh, modern electronics. You do not want to get into combining sensor data, nmea 0183/2000, multiplexers, etc. it is not worth it.

[Ziggy]

Originally Posted by Jghflash

1) Do I need to connect a GPS sensor to the e80?
2) If I do that, is there any additional functionality when using the radar?
Thanks!

You don't need to connect a GPS receiver to the radar, but I think you will find it very useful to have even rudimentary nav information, such as the location of the next waypoint, overlaid on the radar display. Also chart overlay helps a great deal in interpreting the radar returns.

A heading sensor input is also useful. GPS does not provide heading information that is sufficiently stable and frequent, but it's better than nothing.

[Jghflash]

Originally Posted by Pizzazz

The E80 is a good chartplotter, so you may want to use it as your main chartplotter. You can feed it a GPS signal from any source. My recommendation will be to feed a GPS signal into your AIS radio and then the combined AIS/GPS signal into the E80. Next you definitely want to feed it Heading info from the autopilot via Seatalk 1 or NMEA2000, whatever you have available. You can get chart cards on eBay.

The only downside of the E80 is that it uses a lot of power, around 20W which is a lot these days. You will have the E80 using 2A, the radar using 2.5-3A, then the rest of the system, it adds up.

The only reason to keep the E80 is if you make a fully integrated system. If you just want a radar, you can sell your E80 on eBay and get an RL70 which is smaller, lighter and uses half the power. It will still integrate with your system but will not show AIS.

I used to have the E80 and the RL70 and loved them both. However, today it is better to sell the parts on eBay (they command high prices for people who replace dying units) and start with fresh, modern electronics. You do not want to get into combining sensor data, nmea 0183/2000, multiplexers, etc. it is not worth it.

No need to recreate the wheel with another chartplotter using this old technology. I already have everything else at the helm that I need. This is just an added bonus to get the radar capability!

[Jghflash]

Originally Posted by Ziggy

You don't need to connect a GPS receiver to the radar, but I think you will find it very useful to have even rudimentary nav information, such as the location of the next waypoint, overlaid on the radar display. Also chart overlay helps a great deal in interpreting the radar returns.

A heading sensor input is also useful. GPS does not provide heading information that is sufficiently stable and frequent, but it's better than nothing.

All good points, Ziggy. Would a GPS sensor provide any additional data on the radar returns? Like heading and speed of a target? I am thinking a storm cell at night maybe..........the odd large ship at night should be easily trackable on its AIS return. Thanks.

[Ziggy]

Originally Posted by Jghflash

All good points, Ziggy. Would a GPS sensor provide any additional data on the radar returns? Like heading and speed of a target? I am thinking a storm cell at night maybe..........the odd large ship at night should be easily trackable on its AIS return. Thanks.

I'm not familiar with the e80, but it may have a feature called MARPA (Mini Automatic Radar Plotting Aid). If provided with GPS input and heading sensor information, MARPA can track a target, but first you must manually designate the target you wish to track. I don't know how well MARPA would work with a large diffuse target like a storm cell.

[Ziggy]

Also, if the e80 can overlay AIS targets on the radar display, that can be very useful aid for interpreting radar returns.