advise on electronic setup boat on a new boat

[bertho]

Mikakun,
I have exactly the same question not so long time ago, finally, I purchase simple basic stand alone cheap equipment (nasa marine)as backup, and one other set connected to a plotter , plug and play.. (seiwa explorer Mk2, screen is a standard computer display , all inside the boat.. ) so far so good, I enjoy to have a 21 inch plotter/radar screen ! but I fully agree with above comment, no perfect system, electronic remain very sensitive to electromagnetic strikes (I'm sailling exactly at the wrong latitude..asia, between equator and 8 deg..., THE striking country) I m upset with "raynarine" stuff ..soffisticated, commercial, and not anymore reliable, and don't have the budget for full furuno or other "good "equipment
anyway, my first Atlantic crossing was a antic deepsonder , a sextant, and a VHF.... work fine and keep you busy !
keep your paper map always !!!
all the best
bertho
www.fusionschooner.blogspot.com

[mikakun2012]

Gonzo,

me never thought it would. if i understand what you say, all electronic equipments are in danger if a lightning strike the boat (are lightning always striking at the mast or can there be exceptions ? i would not think, but i'm not sure), multiplexer or not. & i'll keep in mind to not get mast antenna, thanks.

Bertho thanks for you post,

i was hesitating before but i'm adding to my list a basic cheap standalone set like nasa marine (the cheapest i saw as well) for back up + the backup standalone gps/vhf should be enough then; we plan to avoid storms as much as we can and to never sail in not good season (rather find a protected place or even maybe just secure the boat and stay on land during monsoon periods, with a catamaran we should not have draft problem and we can beach so easily in case it's real bad or we're lost;

concerning the maps, we'll be travelling a lot so i'm not sure i can get all the maps or any at all if we build in india.
I was thinking to have a backup notebook, sealed, maybe with a usb printer to print the maps on the notebook battery in case all electric are gone. little work in keeping a backup notebook battery always charged. i'll add the sextant on the list as well (and to learn how to use it)

i'm still motivated with multiplexer but i can see necessity to study ways to try protect the whole system from em (maybe at hull design?) fluctuations. must be some tweaks. yet more work though.

However i'm almost convinced to keep the autopilot out of the multiplexer which would defeat my primary purpose -after safety- (clean, neat, minimalistic cockpit & chart table with just one display in both, the backups in a drawer), more digging work there as well.

Still i'd like to make a point about electronic equipment and their costs. I might be wrong so please correct me if i am:

when you buy a top class stand alone instrument most of the cost are going into the lcd display and the software that is reading the data and presenting it on the screen. However the piece of hardware that makes the data, unless clearly stated in the specifications, is the same whether you get the large 3d fancy display, or the cheap digital monochromatic one.

i don't know the market well enough yet but i would guess that, and at equal sensor quality, the equipment with the simplest display & simplest functionality will be the most reliable one.

[mikakun2012]

just found a good article for rs232 protection

http://www.dcbnet.com/notes/surge.html

1. Keep cable distances to a minimum.

2. Do not run RS-232 cables between buildings. ..

3. Use properly grounded electrical outlets. If there is a faulty ground, the RS-232 link may provide an excellent but destructive path to ground. Grounding can be checked with a ground fault testing tool readily available at hardware stores for about $5.00.

4. Do not use frame ground (protective ground) for a data return ground. ...

5. Consider placing all equipment on an uninterruptable power supply (UPS)...
6. Install Surge suppressors.

you have noticed that those advises are not for boat conditions; any reason why they would not work on a boat ? I mean can we have a safe electric ground in a boat ?

[mikakun2012]

more or less related but all the boat lights on led with batteries sounds like a good idea