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Black Diamond
Vice Admiral Joined: 24 October 2015 Location: Newport, RI, US Status: Offline Points: 923 |
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Posted: 05 March 2018 at 19:34 |
Is it just me, or is the B&G technical support process pretty weak? For the last 3 months I've been asking what I think is a simple question:
"Is there a faster way to track a target using MARPA functionality than by going thru the long, drawn out, multi-screen, path I have been using?". I enclosed a description of the path and a quick statement of why I thought the existing path was cumbersome. What I got from B&G was: 1. A response a month after I sent in the question 2. A request for my firmware revisions and product information (no issue there) 3. An offer to give me an RA (return authorization) for my radome (????#@!!!) 4. Nothing that indicates the person on the other end actually understands the issue The impression I have is that the person on the other end of these mail messages has never used the product and is simply going thru a script. I used MARPA functionality all the time and wanted to track targets more quickly. Right now I'd more than likely get hit by the target I am trying to track before I get it tracked. I went to PANBO and tried to post a question there, but most people just said "I don't use MARPA" and "don't bother". Sorry.. not an answer. Has anyone got a better source of getting B&G questions answered? Raymarine had an "owners forum" where other owners could get together and ask each other questions, co-miserate, or otherwise offer hints and requirements to the product engineers. The people from Raymarine who showed up in those forums knew the products and had good information to share. Struggling to find something similar for my new ZEUS components.. |
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Rick
S/V Black Diamond Hanse 575 Build #192, Hull# 161 Newport, RI |
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Wayne's World
Admiral Joined: 18 July 2012 Location: Cruising Status: Offline Points: 1111 |
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Rick,
I have had similar issues with B&G support. We have 3 Zeus screens (2x12", 1x8") on board. The method I use to acquire a Marpa target is - 1. Place the "touch" cursor on the target, 2. press Menu at the bottom of the screen, 3. Select "Acquire Target" from the drop down menu on the right. The target with the cursor on it will be acquired. To acquire a second or more targets just place the "touch" cursor on the next target. Once you have finished acquiring targets touch the "Finish Acquiring" option at the top of the screen. I think there is a limit to the number of Marpa targets you can have but can't remember what that number is. A box appears at the target which turns to a circle with a vector once the target is acquired by the system and then details are available. I don't find the B&G system much different or more complicated than other brands I have used. I use Marpa when over-nighting for tracking storms and of course when we have boats/trawlers nearby which don't have AIS. I don"t find the B&G Marpa very accurate, especially in rough conditions with the vector angle and length changing wildly over a short period of time. But it is better than guessing. I hope the above helps.
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Wayne W
Cruising, currently in the Caribbean and will head across the Pacific early 2024 |
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sflier
Commander Joined: 18 October 2013 Location: Newport, RI Status: Offline Points: 95 |
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Rick, I find it's best to call them directly. Their technical support team is in NH and I've found them to be fast and helpful. Simrad support: 800-628-4487. Select B&G when prompted.
Good luck Neil Hanse 385 Portsmouth, RI
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Black Diamond
Vice Admiral Joined: 24 October 2015 Location: Newport, RI, US Status: Offline Points: 923 |
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Wayne,
how did you come across this path? Its different than what I have been doing but maybe not so much. My prior path was: 1. Touch the return 2. Touch the menu bar in the upper right corner of the screen. 3. Since "Radar options" is not in the first page of items, scroll the list to get to "radar options" 4. Touch "finish acquire" Somewhere around [3] the high speed ferry to Martha's Vineyard would have plowed into me in the fog. (3) is where cold, wet, fingers are trying to scroll the menu to get "Radar Options" and then "Finish Acquire" to come up. It takes 10 seconds or more to get thru the path above. You imply that "finish acquire" is an option I should see after touching the "menu" option once a return has been selected. That's not been my experience. My boat is 100 miles away on the hard for the winter right now, but I'll be checking that in a couple weeks once I begin prepping it for spring. Thanks as usual. |
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Rick
S/V Black Diamond Hanse 575 Build #192, Hull# 161 Newport, RI |
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Wayne's World
Admiral Joined: 18 July 2012 Location: Cruising Status: Offline Points: 1111 |
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Rick,
I found "my" path to the Marpa targets mainly by trial and error. I checked the timings for this path and it takes less than 5 seconds to select a target and then the equipment then takes another 25 seconds to finalize the process and come up with the target data and vector. I don't know if the menu options on your Zeus 2 on Black Diamond but I don't think it will be much different. Hope you escape those MV ferries. |
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Wayne W
Cruising, currently in the Caribbean and will head across the Pacific early 2024 |
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sflier
Commander Joined: 18 October 2013 Location: Newport, RI Status: Offline Points: 95 |
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Rick,
Do you broadcast AIS? MV ferry monitors class B and calls us to route around whenever we're caught in the fog to Block ... which is often. |
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Black Diamond
Vice Admiral Joined: 24 October 2015 Location: Newport, RI, US Status: Offline Points: 923 |
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Wayne, thanks... I'll see if the path works on mine.
RE: AIS I have a Class B transponder and it works. The installation guy botched the install so those of you getting new boats from Hanse might want to ask your neighbors on moorings and docks if they can see you. I verified it before I left on my vacation cruise. That said, they are not mutually exclusive. AIS assumes someone has an active radio and AIS watch. As some of the New England ferries have recently mistaken rock breakwaters for harbor entrances, I'll track them and not assume they are tracking me. In 30 years of large boat sailing I think less than a handful of those years I actually saw Nantucket on approach or didn't need GPS or radar to get thru Quicks Hole Edited by Black Diamond - 06 March 2018 at 23:12 |
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Rick
S/V Black Diamond Hanse 575 Build #192, Hull# 161 Newport, RI |
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Roejkjaer
Sub Lieutenant Joined: 01 June 2019 Location: Singapore Status: Offline Points: 10 |
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hi
With the hope that you got your answers last year :- ) Concerning MARPA; after acquiring targets I get the circle and info on it, but not a vector showing say the 6 minute direction and location of the target. Is B&G Zeus 3 able to do this? Kind regards Christian from the busy Singapore Harbour
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Black Diamond
Vice Admiral Joined: 24 October 2015 Location: Newport, RI, US Status: Offline Points: 923 |
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Wayne, that's what I do. Its just not as fast as I'd like. Christian, I get the circle and a CPA. I'll have to check about the vector line. I think so.... I believe its a setting on Zeus. Mine are Zeus2, not Zeus3, but I'm pretty sure. Relative to the base B&G support issue, I've learned who to talk to and who not to. The email support is inexcusable. Don't bother. They take a month to even acknowledge your mail and then another month to answer it. If you call the tech line, its not too bad, but there is usually a wait. My B&G problems stem from three main issues: 1. The poor quality of the 508 masthead unit. Its taken almost two years to stabilize its reporting. 2. A botched install at the factory where they jammed the NAIS NMEA connectors in too hard. This was the most difficult problem, requiring us to keep segmenting the network until we localized the problem and saw what happened. New NAIS box. (finally) 3. The inherent addressing problems with NMEA 2000. I power up and have no wind. Then do the "Bill Gates support line answer" (power down and up again) and things work fine. Another time I have a missing depth signal, or fluxgate compass, or whatever. No rhyme, reason or logic, It seems like a race condition on the network and something got an address it wasn't supposed to or expected an address it didn't get. At least this is what it feels like. Its not a critical thing, as its usually when I am first powering up the instruments before heading out, but its annoying. At this point (cross fingers) its stable with (3) as the only caveat. My Raymarine Seatalk NG devices were far more stable and less problematic. That said, the B&G devices do far more. |
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Rick
S/V Black Diamond Hanse 575 Build #192, Hull# 161 Newport, RI |
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