Furuno USA has finally released the SC30 Satellite Compass, after putting it "through strenuous testing" and "modifying the software to meet our testing requirements." Heck, I thought it performed phenomenally well last June. The SC30 is NMEA 2000 device, and an interesting aspect of its launch is Furuno's excellent PDF diagrams illustrating all the ways it can be installed. Today I recommended the Installation Guide in the back of the Maretron catalog as a good reference on N2K wiring, but it does tend to portray 2000 backbones in a more linear way than they really have to be. In the diagram above, for instance, the Furuno FI-50002 junction box is serving as the the entire backbone, power feed and terminators included, and all the other devices are being dropped off (to the 6 meter max). The diagrams also reveal a Furuno translator box developement they haven't talked about yet...
The illustration below is centered on a box called the IF-NMEASC, which can translate the SC30's N2K messages (PGNs) into NMEA 0183 as well as classic Furuno data formats like AD-10, and it has a USB port. Interesting! In fact, I'd been hearing rumors about a similar box called the IF-NMEA2K1 which can control two way 0183/2000 translations in all sorts of sophisticated ways, and, sure enough, Furuno gave me a link today. It is wickedly expensive, but, as noted, powerful, and besides I'm hoping it's just one a stream of useful N2K translators and PC gateways that will help make gear the SC30 integrate into any vessel system. By the way, in Miami Furuno showed me some neat NavNet 3D improvements as well a preview of MaxSea Time Zero that looked great. More soon.
I understand how the heave corrections will significantly improve the performance of a fish finder and how important that can be to commercial or sport fisherman.
But what does this do for the recreational boater or sailor? Am I going to see better performance in the radar? Am I going to see better performance in the autopilot?
Will it remove the need for a dedicated GPS in the AIS unit?
The autopilot performance will be improved due to 0 wandering of the traditional magnetic compass even magnetic compasses with rate gyros installed
Radar overlay will also be improved because of this.
GPS in AIS unit is still a must im afraid this is purely a safety thing as you can nearly always put corrections in gps systems therefore the ais has its own that cant be altered.
Posted by: Anonymous at March 9, 2009 2:46 PM
AIS requires GPS for TIMING. The GPS signal provides a syncronized time signal to all the individual AIS units, which helps them to schedule their brief transmissions in an orderly manner.
The "GPS compass" (basically two or three GPS receivers seperated by a known distance) has been available from several manufacturers for several years. These compasses can spit out 20hz true heading, accurate to better than 1/2 degree (no variation, no deviation, no accuracy problems near the poles), plus rate of turn and attitude (roll/pitch). Oh yeah, and position, time, and all the other normal GPS stuff. Work great with autopilots, and your radar/chart overlay is dead nuts on all headings. These guys will be supplanting gyrocompasses in a lot of installations.
Posted by: Mark at March 9, 2009 8:00 PM
Can the FI50002 box also send/receive VGA video signal ?
I'm thinking of using the MFD12 in the cockpit, and send "video out" signal down to my indoor steering position. ( I will use a std PC monitor inside the yacht )
Do I need to connect this extra monitor directly to the MFD12 ?
Posted by: reginaowner at March 21, 2009 12:26 PM
The MFD12 puts out DVI.
The FI5002 puts is a N2K device. No video.
Posted by: Sacnussem at March 21, 2009 1:45 PM
reginaowner, the Furuno IF5002 is a N2K connector only (power/NMEA2000). What you're wanting to do is very simple as the MFD12 has a DVI output so it plugs directly into any standard DVI TV/Monitor etc.
Posted by: John at June 17, 2009 10:15 PM
Looking at the mfd 12, it has a dvi out but the resolution of the pluged in monitor, for example an neovo X19 is not the same as the output of the mfd 12.
How can you overcome that ?.
p.s sorry for my poot English !.
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