Help using Raymarine E120

[09 290 St Pete]

Hello everyone. Recently got an 09 Chesapeake 290. The boat came with a pair of networked Raymarine E120's, SeaTalk network, DSM 300 sounder, bronze thru hull, Sirius weather receiver, autopilot, & Ray 218 VHF. I love the boat. The E120's have got me pulling my hair out. Could anyone tell me if there is an easy way to learn how to use these plotters? I couldn't figure out how to enter my numbers so I had to move the cursor around to get close enough to a location. Any help I can get is appreciated. Thank you

 

[seasick]

Have you read the manuals?

You can download them here
https://flir.app.box.com/s/xawl2aq1d5ze ... 1357463564

 

[09 290 St Pete]

Yes I have read the manual for the E120's but still am having way too much trouble with navigation. The Raymarine sonar works great. I can't even tell if the E120's are working properly or if it's just me. I will have the Simrad unit from our previous boat installed on the Grady soon. The Simrad is a breeze to use. Redundancy would of been nice to have offshore. I have not been able to fIgure out how to operate the E120's so it looks like I will be taking them in for repair. Thanks

 

[beachbum]

had a e 120 on my last boat for 6 years- great unit but no set up "intuitive" the user needs to learn to think the way Raymarine thinks.

My suggestion- look on Youtube for demo's or get somebody that has an e120 to demo/teach you.

 

[Sharkbait282]

Our 282, new to us, came with an e125, circa spring 2012, and one of the things that's critical for making your learning experience meaningful is to make sure the OS software is full up to date. The boat was delivered with the original spring 2012 software, and the current manual and online resources are all based around an addition 9+ updates.

If you're not really comfortable with the instructions for your unit on the Raymarine site, I'd recommend getting local technical assistance for your software update. At the same time this will give you an opportunity to pose some questions with someone else who may be very much more familiar with your unit.

Finally, I'd strongly recommend taking the time to play (read learn) with your displays in a non-operating, non-moving, traffic free environment. Being a member of the cell/smart phone generation, I can attest to way too much temptation to "text while driving." Learn at anchor, at mooring, with someone else driving, but don't make attempts at new concepts or settings while under way.

Have fun! I'm sure your displays have more than enough capability for all but the most extreme use cases.

Bob.

 

[09 290 St Pete]

Thank to everyone for the advice. We installed 3 new batteries and made sure they were fully charged. Then decided to go out bottom fishing. Our first stop to drop a line was 35 miles off. One E120 is set up as the master and used as a chart plotter, the slave is used for the sounder. I spent more time trying to get the plotter to work and turning off alarms than I did fishing. The plotter was plaqued with "Lost Connection", "System Alert" and other things. We drifted another spot and cought some nice fish before heading to a hole that was another 6 miles out. Somewhere around 40 miles out the plotter lost the chart then a short time later it completely crapped out! Nothing I tried got the chart back on the screen. I only had a little boat icon on the plotter moving as we went along. Then the screen rotated and looked like it was upside down. I was able to get the screen image reoriented finally. But no heading or coordinates. Meanwhile the display with the sounder had a couple of reboots, numerous alarms,"DSM Connection Lost", "No Data Source" ect. Somehow the sounder continued to work, between alarms. We had a nice clear view of the bottom and saw schools of fish stacked up too. We had no electronic navigation to guide us. We headed back in the old fashioned way, using a compass. Since my last post I have read numerous reports on another forum from people who have the same problems with their Raymarine E120's and DSM 300 sounders. My E120's are not fit for navigation and pose a dangerous risk for anyone that would rely on them.

 

[Doc Stressor]

Give Raymarine customer service a call. Ever since the company was bought by FLIR their service has been great.

A lot of the older Raymarines had a lot of problems. They know about them and may very well be able to help you out.

 

[09 290 St Pete]

I have made an appointment with the company that did the original install. For the appointment I will take the boat to the facility for a diagnosis of the system. The first available appointment I could get is on August 18, the hourly rate is quite high so their business must be very good. I have a lot of research to do before then and hope to talk to someone at Raymarine that can actually help me. They are the certified Raymarine installer that sold and installed most of the Raymarine electronics when the boat was new for the original owner. The cost was over $22,000., $3995. Of that was non-Raymarine, for a KVH TracVision Satellite System and 12v Marine Receiver for Direct TV, and misc, the satellite tv is not an issue. In 2013 the 2nd owner of the boat added a $4700. Raymarine Auto Pilot System, that included Pwr Assist Pilot,EV-400 p70R Power Pack, Drive, & SeaTalk1 to SeaTalkNG Converter, & Ethernet cables.The auto pilot system was installed by a different certified marine installer. If repairing the Raymarine system is not cost effective then replacement is in order. If I have to purchase new navigation electronics then only the Raymarine auto pilot and Raymarine VHF radio would be compatible with electronics from a different manufacture. Any recommendations for good certified marine electronics installers in the St Petersburg Fl area are appreciated. Thanks for letting me vent

 

[Fishtales]

check the dsm. there was a recall on a certain contract manufacturer. swap it out and it will work fine. then read the manuals. i find them very easy to use.