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Going to start the process of switching from analog to digital....slowly
davidbrooks
Member Posts: 1,351 ✭✭✭✭
So i have likely designed and redesigned the dash and instrumentation on my 342 a dozen times. If i could ever get the money together it would be a clean dash with just two 9 in touchscreen Garmin MFD's. However the cost is what keeps me from doing it. Current estimates for the whole thing is ~$9-10k. So i am thinking about doing it in small pieces. May take me 10 yrs but i will get there, die or sell the boat. So what do i do first? My thought was that this year i could replace the depth transponder with the Airmar DT800. It is a smart sensor and would connect via NMEA 2000. So i would need to create a NMEA network as well. That isn't too expensive. A few questions for those that have gone this route. Where would you create the NMEA "Hub" for everything to tap in? Just put a piece of starboard in the engine room? then lay it out on that? Where do you apply power to the network? At the dash via a switched power supply or does it need to be closer to the sensors in the engine room? Finally, anyone have any reviews on the Airmar DT800? Work well at speed? Any things to look out for?
It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere!
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The wiring at my helm was an unholy mess of tangled cables, unused plugs and bad wiring. I would have started by getting that area sorted out. I would have put in a piece of Starboard screwed to the fiberglass, so I could use it for mounting components and securing wires. Then I would have traced and labeled as many cables as possible.
No matter what you eventually do, that step will make it easier. I eventually did it, but wished I had done it sooner.
PC BYC, Holland, MI