Noland RS11 to NMEA2000 Digital Gauge Project-gctid806960

[TenMile]

On the heels of my failed Alba Combi to NMEA2K project, I was able to get a refund on the device, and have now received the Noland RS11.

Did a trial implementation tonight.

- Connected RS11 to PC via USB -- Windows 7 installed the drivers from the Internet

- Connected RS11 to 12V power, software successfully connected to the device (had to tell it which COM port to use)

- Connected leads to Port and Starboard Signal and Ground posts on my tach and connected those to the appropriate inputs.

- Set Pulses per Revolution values (number of flywheel teeth in my case) to 159

Saved configuration and started engines. So far so good. Both tachometers are now sending readings. I've tested the RPMs up to approximately 1800 briefly and both are working (Alba Combi would stop reading after 850 RPMs).

- Have Fuel Tanks and Engine Temps connected as well but I ran out of time.

More to come/

[Norton_Rider]

Did you leave the tachs connected?

[TenMile]

"Norton Rider" post=806978 wrote:
Did you leave the tachs connected?

Yes. In reading their documentation they suggested for a pulse sender like in the diesel engines there are 2 ways to connect. You can use just the signal wire into the RS11 or, use both the signal and ground wires into the +/- ports on the RS11. They suggested the second way provides a more stable reading so that's what I did. Working well thus far.

[Norton_Rider]

That's also the way I wired mine. I may have a chance to do some troubleshooting tomorrow. If the calibration still looks OK (159 teeth), I may disconnect the tach ground to the RS11 and see if that makes a difference.

[TenMile]

They also suggest that if the reading is erratic to reverse the + and - leads.

[Norton_Rider]

"TenMile" post=807014 wrote:
They also suggest that if the reading is erratic to reverse the + and - leads.

That's also on the list. I may do that first

[TenMile]

OK, the RS11 was just too easy.

Still doing some minor tweaks to the gauges, but it's running and working now. I do have to say -- as much as the Alba Combi is open to tweak and adjust -- the RS11 is so much easier to configure. Run the wires from the gauges, tell the inputs what each sender is, tell the system the current value (e.g fuel is 95% full) and that's it. Chartplotter picked up the Noland, updated the values and it's working.

[Dadrock33]

WOW! That's great, Terry! It was that easy, huh? . . . sounds like an endorsement if I've ever heard one. We appreciate all your efforts on the project and letting us know what's good and what's bad. It'll make my journey into that project a lot easier. Thanks.

PS - interesting, just noticed that the port tack colors are backwards relative to what you might expect and the engine temp scale is off a few, I guess. Are those items that you're tweaking? Assuming that those are all "options" that you have the ability to change or reverse or whatever . . . :S

[Guest]

What he showed was the rs-11 utility. It's just for configuration. The simrad shot below is the norm.

There are some odd things in the rs-11 laptop software. They have a new version coming out soon, maybe that will be fixed.

[TenMile]

"Dadrock33" post=807619 wrote:
WOW! That's great, Terry! It was that easy, huh? . . . sounds like an endorsement if I've ever heard one. We appreciate all your efforts on the project and letting us know what's good and what's bad. It'll make my journey into that project a lot easier. Thanks.

PS - interesting, just noticed that the port tack colors are backwards relative to what you might expect and the engine temp scale is off a few, I guess. Are those items that you're tweaking? Assuming that those are all "options" that you have the ability to change or reverse or whatever . . . :S

Yeah, that's just the RS11 Calibration software so not used much after the system is running.

For wiring, what I did was take a length of CAT-5, stripped back about 10" so that the wires would fan out to the gauges. I crimped spade tips on the ends of the wires and put them under the nut on the back of the sender terminals on each gauge. That keeps the wiring neater and all bundled in the same cable. I needed 8 connections so the CAT-5 worked out perfect. The water tank pictured is actually waste water and the RS11 doesn't have a waste water option so I just used fresh water. On the RS11 it uses a Euro-block style screw down terminal so I just bared back a small section of wire and terminated it.

The RS11 has about 1/3 the number of connection capabilities as the AlbaCombi. In a twin engine setup it has enough to do both RPMs (or Fuel Flow) and 6 additional gauges (3 of which can be taken straight off a sender like I did with the waste tank). So really it's RPM, Temp, Fuel and Pressure for each engine. If you want more than that, you simply add a second unit (they sell them in twin pack starter kits that also includes the NMEA2K backbone).

[Norton_Rider]

"TenMile" post=807683 wrote:
The RS11 has about 1/3 the number of connection capabilities as the AlbaCombi. In a twin engine setup it has enough to do both RPMs (or Fuel Flow) and 6 additional gauges (3 of which can be taken straight off a sender like I did with the waste tank). So really it's RPM, Temp, Fuel and Pressure for each engine. If you want more than that, you simply add a second unit (they sell them in twin pack starter kits that also includes the NMEA2K backbone).

Noland now makes a unit with more inputs, the MD33;

[Wort123]

My interest in digitizing was to get accurate readings for RPM, pressure and temperature. I just installed EGT and boost. I can see these new instruments and the digitized readings on the MFD easily from the FB and I usually operate from the pilothouse anyway. I guess some audible alarms would be good, but I really don't know what else I would consider essential to add but I'm really just getting started.

[TenMile]

Test at speed today. RPMs, fuel and temp all working.

My analog tachometers and these digital ones are about 150 - 200 or so RPMs off one another. I could feel the engines in sync so I suspect the 18 year old analog gauges are a bit out. Photo is a bit small - but analog gauges are at roughly 2600 and digital at 2480.




Attached files

[Wort123]

I just ordered an RS-11 and will hook it to my NSS 12 evo2. Can I use the same power source? Anything I need to know that hasn't been discussed here?

[TenMile]

"Wort123" post=811106 wrote:
I just ordered an RS-11 and will hook it to my NSS 12 evo2. Can I use the same power source? Anything I need to know that hasn't been discussed here?

It draws very little power so yes you could use the same power source as your plotter or connect it to a spare Accessory switch.

On mine, I left the USB cable attached and set it where I could easily access it. I mounted mine behind the lower helm dash in a void there which made connecting to the gauges very easy -- plus it's dry and secure there. You can fine tune the readouts by taking actual measured readings (e.g. fuel level or temp) and that makes the unit more accurate. You need the USB connected to a Windows machine to make that adjustment.