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Peregrine1983 · 13-01-2017, 10:06

Hey all,

Curious if anyone out there has a Raymarine es78 or similar Raymarine es series MFD and what anemometer setup they are using.

Any recommendations on which anemometer to buy? Also, what wind data will be displayed in my es78?

I haven't installed the es78 yet, so I'm not super familiar with the user interface and I'm hoping I don't need to get a separate wind display.

Thanks in advance.

Ryan

Peregrine1983 · 13-01-2017, 10:42

I got a great deal on this unit, but I'm concerned maybe I should return this unit for a B&G zeus with more sailing-oriented software. Any thoughts appreciated...

Captain Bill · 13-01-2017, 11:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peregrine1983

Hey all,

Curious if anyone out there has a Raymarine es78 or similar Raymarine es series MFD and what anemometer setup they are using.

Any recommendations on which anemometer to buy? Also, what wind data will be displayed in my es78?

I haven't installed the es78 yet, so I'm not super familiar with the user interface and I'm hoping I don't need to get a separate wind display.

Thanks in advance.

Ryan

I have a c97 which runs the same lighthouse II software. If you have a copy of the operators manual it has all the details of what can be set up with respect to wind. Note that some items are calculated and require input from a speed sensor, compass, or GPS. I have the Raymarine wind speed and angle transducer running through an ITC-5. I don't recommend it. I put one in in the summer of 2015 and it started acting weird in October with data drop outs, by February when I was in the Bahamas it stopped working all together I went through several parts swapping instances with Raymarine to no avail. First I sent in the ITC-5 and they said it was working fine, so next I sent in the transducer head, it was working fine, next they sent me a new cable, still no luck. In the meantime I was hooking a new depth transducer to the ITC-5 and didn't notice I had bumped the power switch to on. Apparently hot plugging a transducer to the ITC-5 is a big nono. So I fried the ITC-5. I bought a new one and surprise the wind instrument is working fine. Imagine that a new ITC5 fixed the problem, of course since I had fried the old one, no warranty coverage. Everything was working perfectly since the beginning of August, but this week I started getting data dropouts on the wind instrument. Speed and direction just go away for a few minutes up to an hour. This is just how the last one started.

Peregrine1983 · 13-01-2017, 13:04

Thanks for the reply Captain Bill. Sorry to hear you're still having trouble with that unit. Sounds like a drag.

I just actually called Raymarine and B&G and went over to Westmarine just to see both units and confirm. Here's what I learned:

The Raymarine es78 can NOT display information from an amemometer. They said I need to purchase a separate wind display. It sure seems silly that you can't display wind info on the es78. The B&G Zeus units CAN display information from an anemometer. Specifically they said to get their model 608.

Unfortunately, I've now got to exchange my es78 for a Zeus 7. I may just exchange my es78 and wait until the new Zeus comes out as it was just announced. Thankfully WestMarine has a great return policy.

Peregrine1983 · 13-01-2017, 13:19

Something else worth mentioning if you're considering an electronics upgrade and considering units from these two manufacturers...

When I called Raymarine I was on hold for over 10 minutes before I spoke with a rep, and when I called B&G (Navico), I spoke with a tech person almost instantly.

Captain Bill · 13-01-2017, 14:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peregrine1983

The Raymarine es78 can NOT display information from an amemometer. They said I need to purchase a separate wind display. It sure seems silly that you can't display wind info on the es78. The B&G Zeus units CAN display information from an anemometer. Specifically they said to get their model 608.

That's an interesting bit of information since the ES78 uses the exact same software I am using in my C97. I do have a separate I70 display, so on the chance that the wind data to my C97 was being repeated from my I70 I powered down the I70. Sure enough the wind data continued to display on my C97. Every gust, puff, and change of direction was there. I also looked in my Lighthouse II operating manual and it says nothing about these wind features not being available on some hardware. Now do they sell the wind transducer and the ITC5 separately from the I70? I bought mine as a package so I can't tell you one way or another. If I remember correctly the package deal with the I70 was cheaper than the individual components, but I wanted wind, depth, and speed as well. I just looked it up on Anchor express where I bought my electronics and the ITc-5 was 229.99 and the transducer was 389.99 purchasable as individual items so they can be purchased separately.

Peregrine1983 · 13-01-2017, 14:30

Hey Bill,

Yes it seems it is the exact same software, which makes it really strange that it wouldn't display wind. In additional to my call to Raymarine, the rep at the NYC West Marine couldn't believe the es78 wouldn't display wind, so he called his Raymarine rep to confirm... sure enough the rep confirmed that it won't display wind.

Even weirder... the unit at West Marine in "demo mode" allows you to go in and see simulated wind data!

I'd love to know if anyone has an es78 hooked directly into a anemometer and if they're able to see wind data...

Captain Bill · 13-01-2017, 14:51

It may depend on how the question is being asked. If the question is can you hook an anemometer up to an ES78, the answer is clearly no. Anemometers are analog instruments and the ES series is purely digital just like my C series. The anemometer from Raymarine must be connected to an ITC-5 which converts the analog signals to SeatalkNg sentences which drive the display on the ES series. If you were to use some other brand of anemometer with this display it would have to be capable of generating NMEA 2000 sentences or be attached to a converter similar to an ITC-5 that would generate the NMEA 2000 sentences which could then be fed through an NMEA 2000 to SeatalkNg adapter cable to the SeatalkNg backbone then into the SeatalkNg port on the ES78. My engine instruments are NMEA 2000 and the software has no trouble interpreting those sentences.

Now if the question is put as can the Es78 display wind data from a Raymarine wind transducer/ITC-5 or an NMEA 2000 wind transducer, I think the answer would be yes. Sometimes technical people can be very literal.

Peregrine1983 · 13-01-2017, 15:14

Hmm. I hear what you're saying and that's certainly possible that they just failed to mention that it needs to be NMEA 2000, however I don't think that's how the question was interpreted by the Raymarine guys.

Two separate calls were made to Raymarine. I called and so did the WM salesperson. Both reps said no. When I called I even asked, "So I need another display?" and he says "Yes."

Maybe another call is in order! I'll try to call them back tomorrow...

toddedger · 13-01-2017, 15:16

I have an E series 7" display on my boat and used it a few years with ITC-5 and wind transducer. You get a really nice wind display with true speed and heading. The only thing missing is you can't calibrate the wind transducer without an I70 display. The wind transducer comes pre calibrated so this was not a problem for me. I would imagine that if you were to change the length of the wind transducer cable you might need to re calibrate it.

Peregrine1983 · 13-01-2017, 15:18

Hey Todd,

Which transducer did you have?

Captain Bill · 13-01-2017, 15:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by toddedger

I have an E series 7" display on my boat and used it a few years with ITC-5 and wind transducer. You get a really nice wind display with true speed and heading. The only thing missing is you can't calibrate the wind transducer without an I70 display. The wind transducer comes pre calibrated so this was not a problem for me. I would imagine that if you were to change the length of the wind transducer cable you might need to re calibrate it.

Good point, I did have to do the calibration procedure from the I70.