Raymarine Axiom 7-RV MFD with RealVision Transducer

[Starscream]

Uh oh. My newly installed Axiom+ 7 RV doesn't seem to 'see' the attached transducer, or maybe user error. Any tips on how I verify that it's all good? Can I even verify this while the boat's sitting on a trailer out of the water?

Just noticed today that the P70 control head recognizes the depth transducer even if the Axiom isn't powered on, which is totally not what I expected.
The transducer must be powered through the backbone even when the display is off, and have its own "voice" on the network. I have the Axiom on the same power circuit as my VHF, the backbone on a dedicated fuse and the autopilot motor on another dedicated fuse. This morning we were trying to get out early and beat some incoming storms, and I didn't power on the VHF in the rush to get going. I was surprised to see depth data.

We were crossing lake Champlain with a strong south wind gusting 20+, and steep, closely spaced whitecaps hitting us directly on the beam. The Autopilot did a great job, but was swinging +/- 6 or 7 degrees regularly. We were taking some heavy hits and rolling like crazy, and I was really happy to be tucked in under the dodger, out of the wind, and steering with the +/- keys.

Hope you get the system worked out. My memory tells me that the depth display was blank (the two dashes) when sitting on the trailer, so maybe you don't even have a problem?

[Lokibuster]

Thanks for the replies - I managed to get out on the boat last weekend for a few days and I think I was worried about nothing. I was able to get some pretty neat 3D sonar imagery while underway.

As an aside, can you share your P70's hard-over time setting? My autopilot was pretty much worthless for the weekend...too slow to respond, and then way too dramatic of an overcorrection once we were way off course. I tried following the guide for setup, but I'm hoping I missed something because it was really bad.

[Starscream]

Thanks for the replies - I managed to get out on the boat last weekend for a few days and I think I was worried about nothing. I was able to get some pretty neat 3D sonar imagery while underway.

As an aside, can you share your P70's hard-over time setting? My autopilot was pretty much worthless for the weekend...too slow to respond, and then way too dramatic of an overcorrection once we were way off course. I tried following the guide for setup, but I'm hoping I missed something because it was really bad.

I'm using a hard over time of 27s. Works great for all conditions, but only if some centerboard and at least one rudder are down. Without the centerboard and rudder, the autopilot goes into a feedback loop and does bigger and bigger S turns until it starts going in circles. The autopilot can't handle a 26X with the fins up, and does best with both rudders and centerboard fully down.

A former member of this forum used a hard over time of 14s with success, and I was going to try that but I like 27s so much that I never got around to experimenting. That former member did his install a long time ago though and possibly with an older version of the software.

A very important word of advice: make sure your rudders are fully down, and check them often. When hand steering you can feel if a rudder has slightly lifted from the huge increase in steering effort. The autopilot doesn't tell you when that happens and just goes on steering until something breaks or burns out.

[adudinsk]

Wondering about the transducer mounting. Its quite close to the outboard.
With the outboard down and running does it interfere with the transducer's image?

AD

[Starscream]

Wondering about the transducer mounting. Its quite close to the outboard.
With the outboard down and running does it interfere with the transducer's image?

AD

Hi AD, sorry I don't have an answer; I've never run the sonar with the prop spinning. To be perfectly honest, the RV option was unnecessary for me and I rarely use it: I'm not a fisherman and our lake and river bottoms are pretty featureless. It seems to register depths just fine when running at speed, a statement that I make based on only the very occasional glance, since I NEVER run fast in any location where I may also need to know the depths.

[Lokibuster]

On my boat, they are quite close together (sorry, no pic to share), but the prop doesn't seem to interfere with the image at all.

Now, if only I had enough battery power to run that image for longer...it seems to really drain the battery quickly.

[adudinsk]

Thanks for the info.

Planning on installing mine on the drain valve of my 26M,. Making a plate with a 3" hole and using the 4 screws to hold it on.
Then bolting/stainless riveting the existing bracket to that plate.

As for run time,
I run 2 batteries.. one for start, one for house. Hope I get a few hours on one of them...
(Or I will idle the outboard abit.....)
How long can you run without depleting the battery?

Will post images when I get it properly mounted... with my mount creation.
Did not think that the transducer would be so large... its really big and bulky.


AD

[Starscream]

Thanks for the info.

Planning on installing mine on the drain valve of my 26M,. Making a plate with a 3" hole and using the 4 screws to hold it on.
Then bolting/stainless riveting the existing bracket to that plate.

As for run time,
I run 2 batteries.. one for start, one for house. Hope I get a few hours on one of them...
(Or I will idle the outboard abit.....)
How long can you run without depleting the battery?

Will post images when I get it properly mounted... with my mount creation.
Did not think that the transducer would be so large... its really big and bulky.


AD

Sorry, again I can't help: I have 100W of solar that helps extend the battery run time. With a 66AH battery I've left the Axiom 7 on overnight as an anchor alarm while using the same battery for overnight house loads, without problems, and by default the transducer would have been powered, but I didn't have it set on the RealVision screen. I don't actually know if that makes a difference.

AI tells me that the CHIRP transducer takes 100W maximum, with the chartplotter taking another 10 or so. That's a lot of amps. Based on that I'd guess that the transducer doesn't consume that power unless the screen is in RV mode. AI backs up that assumption.

[Lokibuster]

My setup is much weaker, and performance reflects that. I just have a deep cycle battery powering the electronics, which is charged only when on shore power.

It's been a year or so, but displaying the RealVision screen wiped out the battery in 30-35 minutes, it seemed like. Definitely under an hour.

[adudinsk]

Wow.. a real battery killer.
Thanks for the info.

I run 2 batteries..
One for start, one for house.
I do have a 200ah lithium at home I may also bring that onboard..
Sounds like I should mostly use RealVision when under power.


AD

[Lokibuster]

I should have clarified that the electronics run off my house battery which is only charged via shore power. The starter battery charges when the motor runs, so I'd expect if your RV is running off a battery that's charging mostly all the time, you should be good.

[adudinsk]

If you do not run the RV mode.. only say.. depth.. will that make the battery last longer?
Or do you always pull full load?


AD