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Boat › Navigation electronics

Navigation electronics

The chartplotter, or multifunction display (MFD), at the helm is the heart of a boat's navigation electronics. The GPS antenna, radar, sonar, autopilot and compasses all feed it over an NMEA 2000 network, and it shows everything on one screen. This is the system Raymarine designed for my boat Renko: select a part of it, or a topic from the list.

ChartplotterRadarSonarNMEA 2000 networkGPS antennaAutopilotElectronic compassVHF radioAIS

Chartplotter (multifunction display)

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Installing a Raymarine Axiom Pro multifunction display for GPS navigation on Navionics charts and side-scan sonar.

NMEA 2000 and SeaTalk NG networking

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What NMEA networks are for, how they work, and installing a Raymarine SeaTalk NG network.

External GPS antenna

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Fitting an external Raymarine GA150 GPS antenna for an accurate position.

Radar

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Installing a Raymarine Quantum 2 Doppler radar and aligning it to the boat's heading.

Sonar and transducers

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Installing sonar transducers, from Raymarine RV-320s through the hull to a Wi-Fish on the transom.

Autopilot

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Adding a Raymarine hydraulic autopilot to existing hydraulic steering.

VHF radio

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Installing a marine VHF radio and tuning its antenna.

Navigation lights

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Positioning and wiring side lights and an all-round white light.

Sea charts for coastal navigation

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Reading a chart, plotting courses and converting between true and magnetic.