I have a Raymarine seatalkng network with my Cerbo GX (running latest Venus large os) connected to a network device drop T using the Victron VE.CAN cable with the fuse removed and a short seatalkng device cable. No terminator on the second VE.CAN port. I am using a Digital Yacht iKonvert NMEA2000 Gateway USB connected to the network to bring the data into my Windows 10 PC. Running a generic data sniffer, I can see all the traffic on the bus and I only see the data outputs from Raymarine devices, not the Cerbo GX data. The Cerbo GX NMEA2000 out switch is turned on under services. I verified all cables and connections are good. No broken pins etc. I also loaded up SignalK on my computer and was able to read the NMEA0183 Raymarine data. Why can I not see the Cerbo GX data? Is it possible the iKonvert is filtering it out or is the Cerbo GX not sending it?
- Can you post a picture of where the interface cable is connected to the Cerbo?
- Do you see any NMEA devices from your N2K network in the Cerbo’s devices list?
It’s in the correct port. The Cerbo can see the seatalkng network. I can run the signalk server on the Venus large os and it reads everything on the network just fine. It’s the sending out data part that I am struggling with. I am now starting to think that the Digital Yacht iKonvert NMEA2000 USB unit may be the issue with the signalk server on my PC not seeing the Cerbo data. Maybe it’s not able to interpret it. Investigating now.
Ok, so it’s on the network, so that’s good. Do you have an instrument on which you can display Cerbo battery data (ie: current, state of charge, temps, etc…) ? Like an i70S? You might have to increase the number of batteries in the i70s to 3 or 4, depending on the battery instance that your shunt is using (if you have one).
What is your generic data sniffer?
I only have one smart shunt and I don’t currently have a voltage sensor lead on the lead acid start battery so I don’t need multi battery setup. My unit is a Digital Yacht iKonvert NMEA2000 USB. Looking at the switches in it for the various modes (don’t get me started on the crappy design of this thing), it seems like it cannot decode those packets, which is a total head scratcher to me. How can they call it an NMEA2000 converter and not convert all data? It has a raw data mode, but I cannot get it to work in that mode. Read a post somewhere about that function not working yet. I am trying to talk to their support, but they are in the UK and it’s been like pulling teeth to get any response. I have a Axiom 9 and current MFD displays. I was trying to avoid digging into that interface, but maybe that’s my next move. It’s winter here and all those instruments are in the cockpit where the snow is. I am in the warm cabin below. So much for trying to make it easy to look at data.
I am using a data interface app that comes with the iKonvert. Just shows all serial data. I also wrote one myself and confirmed they both see the same data.
What is your ultimate goal? What info from the Cerbo are you trying to send to other parts of your boat? Display Victron data at the helm? On a phone? On a computer? There are many ways to get there…
- NMEA2000 (STNG)
- wireless (if you install signalK it includes a neat gauges app) (you’ll need to install Venus OS Large)
- ethernet to Chartplotter 13. Marine MFD integration by App
Signal K gauges apps:
Can you confirm that you have NMEA 2000 out selected ?
Axiom is the way to go! If that’s where you want the data, the best way to integrate the Cerbo is via ethernet, not STNG, as you can then use the HTML5 feature of the Axiom and is easier to setup.
That being said, going through the Axiom and displaying a data field from the Cerbo would be the quickest way to confirm the Cerbo is outputting NMEA2000 sentences.
If you use NMEA2000 with Raymarine instruments, there are some minor issues to workaround, namely tank type limitations on the instruments and the battery instances which have to be manually set via a terminal interface on the Cerbo GX.
https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ve.can:changing_nmea2000_instances
(scroll down to 6.4 New method - changing Data instance ), you’ll need to have your laptop connected to the Cerbo (wifi or ethernet) and a terminal program such as Putty.
I am running signalk on Venus large OS. I have a small web page setup for local wifi network access that displays typical boat data. That works fine. I am going to create a media server for the boat and want to run signalk on it and have that serve up data as it would be far more powerful than the Cerbo GX microcontroller and give me more programming options. I’d rather not be running a web server on the Cerbo. I have signalk server on my laptop for testing purposes, hence the USB interface to NMEA2000(stng).
Ok great. We need to isolate the issues and confirm that your Cerbo is sending it’s battery data to the STNG network. Can you try to display battery data (current or voltage) on your MFD?
Will do, but not until the temps are higher. We are in the single digits this week. Not conducive to companionway gymnastics. I was going to buy an i70s for the nav station. Now I am kicking myself. My reason for not buying was the setup I am trying to build. lol
I finally got the Cerbo GX data on the signalk server on my laptop. However, I cannot see any of the Multiplus data for some reason other than the current mode. I can see all the data on the Cerbo GX signalk server however. It’s not getting sent out on the NMEA2000 network it seems. I will try try to see it on the Raymarine next. Very weird. Cannot locate any settings in the Cerbo that would prevent it.