LCD engine monitor/gauges

[Mike36c]

I now understand your situation Byron, sounds like it will work fine for you. My set-up however has generic NAPA type senders and Kevin said I couldn't simply apply 12v to one side of the sender and send the signal to the RS11. He said the gauge itself had to send the current (whatever it is) to the sender. I'm not an electrical guru, am I missing something?

 

[SeaWhisper]

Noticed the thread... Thanks for the info... Just called and spoke with the Engr. myself, Placed an order for an RS11. I will be installing it on our 1969, 53' MY, 8v71N. We currently have a Garmin 5212 Chartplotter /NMEA 2000 in place.

 

[TopHattandTails]

Does this RS11 work with 32vDC?

 

[SeaWhisper]

Does this RS11 work with 32vDC?

When I installed my Garmin 5212, I took a 32v power converter which steps down to 12V@ 20 amps. So the Garmin is running on the 12v system. My understanding with the RS11 NMEA 2000 need to be connected to the 2K back bone with a 9-28 voltage. This is the RS11 power input. As for the analog input on the RS11 is from 0v to 30v or >2 kohms. I wouldn't think that the voltage would reach 32v on the oil/water/transmission pressure sending units. The way I understand is with engine not running, sending units should read 0v or positive voltage/ohms, as oil pressure rise, water temp rise, etc. voltage/ohms increase/decrease. NoLand Engr, said that if the voltage input was to exceed the 30v on an analog input, the analog input would might not give a proper reading on the NMEA 2k reading. 30v is 100% limit on the input side of the RS11 analog scale. Noland Engr did mention that all analog inputs needed to come of the analog gauges input terminal. Wow.. hope I'm making sense.. Going fire the engines up and check the voltage before start then check voltage at different temp readings and oil pressure readings...

Okay I'm back with the voltage readings. Ran the port engine to obtain the voltage readings off of the water and oil sending unit. Note: Oil/water gauges are not Hatteras gauges, PO replaced with "SW" units.


Motor running
Water Sending Unit - Oil Sending Unit Voltage.

<100 = 9.04 volts -------- 60psi = 5.86 volts
100 = 8.12 volts -------- 55psi = 5.78 volts
120 = 7.50 volts -------- 50psi = 5.56 volts
130 = 7.50 volts -------- 40psi = 5.33 volts
140 = 6.36 volts --------

So I guess on the water side as temp rises the voltage drops, while the voltage increases as old pressure increases. Should I have taken the readings in ohms?

Tomorrow evening I take the readings from behind the gauge and see what my output.

Electric guru's does then seem right to you? Input wanted. Thanks!

 

[krush]

As I am typing this I realize one thing that could be an issue for my setup is if it is the PLC that supplies the sending units with power, does the software have to be up and running on the Windows-based machine for the sensors to have voltage, or are they powered as long as the PLC has power (ignition-on). If the FTNav software has to be up and running for the sensors to have power, the NoLand RS11 would lose power if the Windows machine did crash leaving my backup system down for the count and therefore useless as a backup. I will call my FTNav contact and check with him.

My educated guess is that you don't need the windoze computer at all. PLC's are independent. In fact, all the I/O information and "brains" are on a small processor on the PLC rack. The windows computer is merely a interface for the operator. Often PLC's will have a small multi-line display with buttons that directly access the PLC. Of course, things can be done many ways, but the purpose of a PLC is to be a stand alone controller--all the I/O (input/outputs) and logic resides on the PLC...at least that's how it is done in the normal world.

PLC's control everything from simple gadgets to power plants. New PLC's are very affordable and really simple to program. I've had to dig up and work on some ancient 80's TI505's with text ladder logic--the stuff today is mostly point and click.

I now understand your situation Byron, sounds like it will work fine for you. My set-up however has generic NAPA type senders and Kevin said I couldn't simply apply 12v to one side of the sender and send the signal to the RS11. He said the gauge itself had to send the current (whatever it is) to the sender. I'm not an electrical guru, am I missing something?

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you can't just use 12v to most senders--it must be constant CURRENT (instead of constant voltage). When the current is kept constant, a change in resistance causes the voltage to go up and down in the circuit. (I'm simplifying this, so don't attack me google experts).

 

[dfirst hatt]

DeeRow wins the prize! You just described the NMEA2000 system that I am in the process of installing on my boat this winter. I am running the Noland RS11 to convert tach, oil pressure and water temp from both mains to NMEA2k. I am also using the Materton fluid level adapters to monitor fluid levels in all tanks with alarms on the NMEA2K network as well. To display the info I am using two of the Maretron displays (one at the chart table and the other in the master) as well as the Garmin 5212. These NMEA2K systems are so easy to use and install I think it is the best thing for the DIY since sliced bread!

Hi Byron just read your post on the RS11 looking to install on mar 1st or 2nd are you satisfied with yours?Thanks difirsthatt 1970 SF 45C series1 nw Boat

 

[captainwjm]

Interesting discussion; could anyone ballpark the total costs?

 

[dfirst hatt]

Interesting discussion; could anyone ballpark the total costs?

The RS11 is $ 230.and a nema2oooo starter kit is $57.misc. wire to run to guages,buss bar just depends on what u have now.I was converting to nema2k anyway very nice plug and play system.

 

[Vincentc]

I am now going to follow through last years plans for electronic gauges, and contact Noland engineering.

I would like to hear the experiences of anyone who has done it and used it, and have the benefit of their experience to decide what works best to get rpm, oil, and water on the plotter screen.

Also, is the a practical way to transmit information from a Garmin 4000 series plotter screen to an IPad?

Thanks

 

[Vincentc]

I have direct gauges in the saloon, but that is not so helpful if you are underway and cannot go below to check them. The gauges at the helm and FB are not reliable, and after a bout with post engine shut down anxiety Sunday night, I feel compelled to get some gauges I can read at night and trust.

The shut down was caused by an air leak in the fuel system, but if I had been able to read the gauges at the time, I would have known that it was not caused by overheat or loss of oil pressure. So I went ahead and ordered an RS11 from Noland engineering and a Garmin NEMA 2000 starter kit. Total cost so far $310. Kevin at Noland was very helpful, and I hope the project will go smoothly.

I read the NMEA 2000 download from Garmin last night and feel like the network will not be a big issue. It says the Garmin 4000 series is compatible. It does not appear that the 3000 series will support this, sorry Jack.

Regards,

 

[davidwigler]

Keep us posted please, this is high on my list too. Thanks!