Raymarine: Sirius Reciever

artbyjody · #1 (**permalink**) 06-18-2008

As I have posted before - I am outfitting "Hello Gorgeous" with the latest and greatest.

The Raymarine Sirius Weather unit, comes with some impressive features if you use either the C or E Series displays. Particulary, beyond the basic weather information it can also display various wind patterns for your selected region.

That all works fine and dandy because it is tied to your display.

I post this for those looking to use the Sirius Radio capacity that can be added on for $6 a month.

Yes, you can do it.. if you have a recent marine radio that accepts aux audio input...you can pipe the C or E Sirius unit audio to your receiver unit. And there lies the limitation. Its only a aux audio output, which means you have to have the C or E series display ON - so that you can listen to the satellite radio.

I won't be able to confirm this until I actually do it, but figured the post would be relevant. You can buy a splitter (I actually think you can get any splitter that splits RG-6) and run as the source from your Raymarine Sirius antenna, it to a Sirius / XM interface device for your particular unit. I have Jensen 7" DVD / Sat Ready touch screen device - and frankly I do NOT want to be slave to to Raymarine Display to play music. It may be possible to register the two separate units ( the receivers compatible Sirius unit) and the Raymarine Sirius unit ) and still take advantage of the the $6 a month radio addition to the $30 weather for the Raymarine Weather Sirius subscription.

Not quite sure yet - but that is the blocking issue for me at least - because when I saw the Sirius radio as $6 extra - that was the requirement I went for when buying a media center for the boat. Again advertising - who wants to use a C or E display for selecting music? Especially since they are not intertwined..

Posting thread to post what my experiences will be.... because there is no direct way way less a splitter and a separate Sirius interface for the Sirius Ready Radio to interface with the Raymarine Sirius unit they sell unless you really enjoy powering up your C or E series display to enjoy the music.. (I might but my batteries may say nay to that)...

To be updated.....

donradclife · #2 (**permalink**) 06-18-2008

I'm a little confused about the Raymarine thing, but you can buy a separate Sirius receiver for $25 at radioshack, and your second Sirius subscription is $6/month. The $25 Sirius radio comes with its own antenna, runs on 12V, and comes with a FM broadcast unit so you can play it thru any FM radio if your radio doesn't have a CD-in jack. The power draw is negligible compared to running an Raymarine display.

SelkirkGrace · #3 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by artbyjody

As I have posted before - I am outfitting "Hello Gorgeous" with the latest and greatest.

The Raymarine Sirius Weather unit, comes with some impressive features if you use either the C or E Series displays. Particulary, beyond the basic weather information it can also display various wind patterns for your selected region.

That all works fine and dandy because it is tied to your display.

I post this for those looking to use the Sirius Radio capacity that can be added on for $6 a month.

Yes, you can do it.. if you have a recent marine radio that accepts aux audio input...you can pipe the C or E Sirius unit audio to your receiver unit. And there lies the limitation. Its only a aux audio output, which means you have to have the C or E series display ON - so that you can listen to the satellite radio.

I won't be able to confirm this until I actually do it, but figured the post would be relevant. You can buy a splitter (I actually think you can get any splitter that splits RG-6) and run as the source from your Raymarine Sirius antenna, it to a Sirius / XM interface device for your particular unit. I have Jensen 7" DVD / Sat Ready touch screen device - and frankly I do NOT want to be slave to to Raymarine Display to play music. It may be possible to register the two separate units ( the receivers compatible Sirius unit) and the Raymarine Sirius unit ) and still take advantage of the the $6 a month radio addition to the $30 weather for the Raymarine Weather Sirius subscription.

Not quite sure yet - but that is the blocking issue for me at least - because when I saw the Sirius radio as $6 extra - that was the requirement I went for when buying a media center for the boat. Again advertising - who wants to use a C or E display for selecting music? Especially since they are not intertwined..

Posting thread to post what my experiences will be.... because there is no direct way way less a splitter and a separate Sirius interface for the Sirius Ready Radio to interface with the Raymarine Sirius unit they sell unless you really enjoy powering up your C or E series display to enjoy the music.. (I might but my batteries may say nay to that)...

To be updated.....

Hi Jody,
How is this project going?
Chip

artbyjody · #4 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008

Chip,

Sorry for the delayed reply.

Currently I have been just running the C-70 setup which doesn't allow interface to the SRS-100 (requires the SRS 50 instead). I have just moved the C-70 to the master stateroom (mainly just so that if a VHF call comes in or some alarm goes off - I have the ability to check current course etc without having the expense of another E series display)...Just I have put off big projects to concentrate on sailing on the weekends ...

I'll probably have the E-120 with Sirius hooked up tonite or later this weekend and will update this thread with observations.

negrini · #5 (**permalink**) 09-06-2008

I wich they had sat broadcast here too. Jody, I remember you talking about your TV and updated technology. I couldn't find a compatible TV/DVD combo in US, so I'm giving iPod a try. I just got the iTouch 32Gb, with composite cable and just doing some test on my home lcd. The SW to convert my 700+ DVDs can select quality, size and subtitles, so I can match my TV screen. They have the component video cable as well, but looks like the bottleneck will be the convertion quality selected. I managed to have a 2:00hs long movie into a 1.6Gb with a respectable quality watching out of my 26" (well, my old eyes doesn't feel that difference anymore) and I'm very happy with results. This way I'll convert my entire asset to a big mass storage, then select some movies for wife and kids before heading the marina. I can also use it in several different places, and will not need any change to the factory sound/video installed ... let's see how it goes ....

SelkirkGrace · #6 (**permalink**) 09-06-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by artbyjody

Chip,

Sorry for the delayed reply.

Currently I have been just running the C-70 setup which doesn't allow interface to the SRS-100 (requires the SRS 50 instead). I have just moved the C-70 to the master stateroom (mainly just so that if a VHF call comes in or some alarm goes off - I have the ability to check current course etc without having the expense of another E series display)...Just I have put off big projects to concentrate on sailing on the weekends ...

I'll probably have the E-120 with Sirius hooked up tonite or later this weekend and will update this thread with observations.

No rush at all, just a project similar to one I am contemplating and I would like to hear about it.
Thanks,
Chip

artbyjody · #7 (**permalink**) 09-17-2008

Here is a mini review of the Sirius / Raymarine system setup and my observations.

Installation:

Easy to install, however - the supplied Ethernet cable is not really a Ethernet cable. It only uses four of the pins. Initially I was going to place the receiver out of sight / out of mind and run a regular CAT5 cable. It would not work with normal cable so had to resort to moving my Raymarine Switch to a place that could bridge the distance from the Sirius receiver and the e-120 display.

If installing - you can run the Sirius unit's power through its own switch. Unlike unplugging Seatalk devices and the E-120 rebooting or powering off, powering the Sirius unit on and off the display adapts to it in real time. I have a switch inline with the power so that I can conserve batteries when under sail and weather is not really a concern.

1. System graphics are incredibly slow when panning in and out . Not quite sure if it is just this feature as I have noticed the same issue with the 3-D mode, and when the normal chart display is selected but it has all the overlays added.

2. The brochure photo details is very misleading. They are accurate don't get me wrong - but one does not get that level of display when zoomed in.

3. Speaking of zoom - you can't zoom to the same level you can in other display modes. This basically means that you have a minimum box that can be zoomed into and the bigger the zoom - the less detail.

4. The animation feature is clunky and when in that mode - other weather related functions are disabled.

5. There is no overlay for weather on the typical chart display. Although I believe weather warning boxes may appear.

6. Screen refreshes are slow when changing from ForeCast to / from NOWrad.

Granted not much weather activity out here so this is just my initial impression. As noted - its just slow in the redraws for panning ,zooming, changing modes of display or options to be shown. This was observed with both the 3.X version of the software and the 4.29 version.

Activation was easy through Sirius. They do offer a year plan for the weather as well as for the add-on audio (although I had to request the latter).

After getting some real use of it here in the upcoming weeks - I'll update with more observations.

camaraderie · #8 (**permalink**) 09-17-2008

Sirius is in serious trouble! I wouldn't be going for any long term contracts Jody:

Sirius XM Is in a Serious Bind

artbyjody · #9 (**permalink**) 09-17-2008

Cam - wouldn't matter anyways - I have way more invested in the hardware than the subscription (year) would ever take from me...Can't exactly use that stuff if your not subscribing to it. If it does go to de-listed, just means someone like Hughes or one of the other sat companies will take it over...

No panic here...

SelkirkGrace · #10 (**permalink**) 09-17-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by artbyjody

Here is a mini review of the Sirius / Raymarine system setup and my observations.

Installation:

Easy to install, however - the supplied Ethernet cable is not really a Ethernet cable. It only uses four of the pins. Initially I was going to place the receiver out of sight / out of mind and run a regular CAT5 cable. It would not work with normal cable so had to resort to moving my Raymarine Switch to a place that could bridge the distance from the Sirius receiver and the e-120 display.

If installing - you can run the Sirius unit's power through its own switch. Unlike unplugging Seatalk devices and the E-120 rebooting or powering off, powering the Sirius unit on and off the display adapts to it in real time. I have a switch inline with the power so that I can conserve batteries when under sail and weather is not really a concern.

1. System graphics are incredibly slow when panning in and out . Not quite sure if it is just this feature as I have noticed the same issue with the 3-D mode, and when the normal chart display is selected but it has all the overlays added.

2. The brochure photo details is very misleading. They are accurate don't get me wrong - but one does not get that level of display when zoomed in.

3. Speaking of zoom - you can't zoom to the same level you can in other display modes. This basically means that you have a minimum box that can be zoomed into and the bigger the zoom - the less detail.

4. The animation feature is clunky and when in that mode - other weather related functions are disabled.

5. There is no overlay for weather on the typical chart display. Although I believe weather warning boxes may appear.

6. Screen refreshes are slow when changing from ForeCast to / from NOWrad.

Granted not much weather activity out here so this is just my initial impression. As noted - its just slow in the redraws for panning ,zooming, changing modes of display or options to be shown. This was observed with both the 3.X version of the software and the 4.29 version.

Activation was easy through Sirius. They do offer a year plan for the weather as well as for the add-on audio (although I had to request the latter).

After getting some real use of it here in the upcoming weeks - I'll update with more observations.

Jody:

"10BASE-T and 100BASE-T only require two pairs to operate, pins 1 and 2 (transmit or TX), and pins 3 and 6 (receive or RX)." You can use any ethernet cable but just connect two pairs. Is the end connector different, with only four conductors?

"Unlike unplugging Seatalk devices and the E-120 rebooting or powering off, powering the Sirius unit on and off the display adapts to it in real time." Seatalk is RS-232 a serial protocol that is not intelligent. When you plug in the Sirus device, it is sending ethernet pulses and gets an address from the switch and then the network recognizes it. Good idea on the power shut-off, because ethernet is always pinging.

Thanks for the info. Let us know how the system works with weather!
Chip