Lowrance Announces New NMEA-2000 Sensors

Electrical and electronic topics for small boats
jimh
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Lowrance Announces New NMEA-2000 Sensors

Postby jimh » Thu Nov 19, 2015 8:51 pm

Lowrance sent a newsletter to customers previewing several new NMEA-2000 network sensor devices it says will be introduced "this month" and describes as "upgraded sensors." Perhaps we will see these available in late November 2015. There are upgraded NMEA-2000 sensors for:

--fuel flow measurement in-line in a fuel hose; called Fuel Flow Sensor and will retail at $199; apparently a replacement for the EP-60R;

--fluid level measurement by connecting to a tank level rheostat or equivalent device; called Fuel Level Sensor and will retail at $99; apparently a replacement for the EP-65R;

--boat speed measurement with a paddlewheel pick-up for transom mount; called Speed Sensor and will retail for $99; apparently a replacement for the EP-70R;

--temperature measurement with a transom sensor; called Temperature Sensor and will retail for $99; apparently a replacement for the EP-80R;

--temperature measurement with a through-hull sensor; called Thru-Hull Temperature Sensor and will retail for $99;

--management of fuel data; called the Fuel Data Manager and will retail for $99; apparently a replacement for the EP-85R Data Storage Module; this may be the most anticipated upgrade of the bunch; and

--pressure measurement by connection to a hose; called Pressure Sensor and will retail for $99; apparently a replacement for the EP-90R.

The announcement [was] available on-line, and [had] a few links to more information.

Many users have reported problems in using the EP-85R Data Storage Module with various other Lowrance multi-function displays. There seemed to be many firmware dependencies between this sensor and the display devices, along with problems related to power status of the sensor and the engine it was monitoring. One would hope that the upgrade to the Fuel Data Manager sensor will help eliminate these problems.

Hoosier
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Re: Lowrance Announces New NMEA-2000 Sensors

Postby Hoosier » Fri Nov 20, 2015 8:37 am

The detail page on the Fuel Data Manager [used to have] this statement:

"Can only be configured by compatible Lowrance or Simrad displays and gauges"

There [was] no link to a list of compatible devices.

[Update, September 2018: As is typical with Lowrance, the design, layout, and organization of their website changes every few weeks, so the original page cited above no longer exists. It has been replaced with a new page with less information. Now see:

https://www.lowrance.com/lowrance/type/accessories/sensor-networking-accessories/fuel-data-manager-pk/#prl_key_features

for information about the Fuel Data Manager product.
1978 Outrage V20 with 2004 Suzuki DF-115. 1992 23 Walkaround with two 2010 Yamaha F-150s.

jimh
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Re: Lowrance Announces New NMEA-2000 Sensors

Postby jimh » Fri Nov 20, 2015 9:21 am

The newsletter also says: "The sensors are easy to install and monitor a wide array of vital engine and boating functions via your HDS Gen3 or HDS Gen2 Touch display." Will these new sensors be compatible with legacy displays? Or, are they only for the latest touch-screen devices?

jimh
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Re: Lowrance Announces New NMEA-2000 Sensors

Postby jimh » Fri Nov 20, 2015 10:18 am

ASIDE: it has been over ten years since I first wrote about NMEA-2000 sensors from Lowrance. See this 2005 article about them:

http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/009561.html

The price of the sensors back in 2005 was $50.

jimh
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Re: Lowrance Announces New NMEA-2000 Sensors

Postby jimh » Sun Nov 22, 2015 10:00 am

Based on some correspondence with Lowrance, problems in getting some components used in the original sensors may have been the motivation for this new line of products, more so than any software problems. These new sensors are thus new hardware designs. The intent is that the new sensors will remain functionally identical to the old sensors, and be compatible replacements. Evinrude will also be adopting these new sensors for their I-Command instruments.

jimh
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Re: Lowrance Announces New NMEA-2000 Sensors

Postby jimh » Fri Sep 21, 2018 2:16 pm

In updating some dead links created in this thread by the constant changing of the Lowrance website, I noted that the latest listing of NMEA-2000 sensor devices does not include a FLUID LEVEL SENSOR. I don't know if this is representative of Lowrance having stopped making this product or just sloppy organization on their website. The latter is more likely. Compare at

https://www.lowrance.com/lowrance/type/accessories/sensor-networking-accessories/list/