I am replacing my current chartplotter with 2 Raymarine ES78 MFD's with internal GPS antennas, and am also replacing my old radar with a new Raymarine radar. The master MFD will be in the cockpit, and the repeater at the Nav table. I will be using an HS5 network switch to connect the two MFD's and radar together with Raynet hs cables. I currently have a Ray 60 VHF radio, Raymarine ST60+ instruments, and a Raymarine autopilot and computer. I also have a Vesper AIS transponder that I would like to integrate into the system. This is how I have planned to set up the system:
-The Vesper AIS is NMEA 0183 compatible, so I will connect the AIS output to the #1 input only NMEA 0183 port of the master MFD, and set that port at 38,400 Baud.
-To get the GPS signal to the VHF radio I will set the input/output #2 port of the master MFD to 4,800 Baud and connect that output to the input of the VHF radio.
-To get the heading sensor data to the master MFD I will connect one of the NMEA 0183 output ports of my existing Raymarine computer to the input of the input/output #2 port on the master MFD.
-To get heading sensor data to the repeater MFD I will connect the NMEA 0183 #1 input port of the repeater MFD to the output of the #2 port of the master MFD (thus, the #2 output port of the master MFD will be connected to both the VHF and the repeater MFD).
A few questions come to mind in regard to this proposed setup:
-First of all, does all of the above appear to be appropriate for the desired network connections?
-Will the Raynet hs cable carry the data from the internal GPS antenna in the master MFD to the repeater MFD, or do I need to use a Seatalk ng cable from the master to the repeater for the GPS data?
-I would like to have AIS available at the repeater MFD, but there will no remaining NMEA 0183 output port on the master MFD to provide this data. Would there be a problem with connecting the output from the Vesper AIS transponder to both the master and the repeater MFD #1 input only ports? This would provide the required 38,000 Baud to both MFD's, but in this case the master MFD would not be actually be a "master" as far as the AIS data is concerned. If this setup is a problem, do I need to setup a Seatalk ng backbone in order to get the AIS signal from the master MFD to the repeater MFD?
-I was initially planning to install a Quantum radar unit, using both power and data cables, but have read on an earlier Raymarine forum that the Quantum is considered inferior in performance to the Raymarine RD418HD radar. I am a bit confused about this, since my understanding is that at shorter ranges, the Quantum has superior definition as compared to the RD418HD radar. Since I am installing the radar on a gimballed mount at about 14' above water level I don't expect that the 48 mile range of the RD418HD, compared to the 24 mile range of the Quantum is a critical factor (since I am unlikely to pickup even large targets much beyond 20 miles). Additionally, since the radar will be installed on a cruising sailboat, the energy saving features of instant on and much lower energy use at both standby and transmit are significant factors to consider. I'm not sure how important the dual range and 48rpm features of the RD418HD are, since my current radar does not have these features. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks in advance for any advice or recommendations.
BobSH