MAIANA Blue

[Dr_Lyn]

I managed to do it with a normal soldering iron. Now testing, it seems to be working so far, will keep you updated.

Henry

[sebba]

Great!
Fingers crossed, let's hope this will fix it.

[aitonos]

I am fine with a multimeter and can find someone to do the smd soldering for me.  I would really appreciate any hints as I have two boards that are not working.

best regards
Henry Tornow

So these symptoms might be caused by hardware, so many people getting crazy with this issue; hopefully works the fix!

Thanks

[sebba]

hello! any news?

[sebba]

I managed to do it with a normal soldering iron.  Now testing, it seems to be working so far, will keep you updated.

Henry

so? fixed or not fixed?

[aitonos]

I managed to do it with a normal soldering iron.  Now testing, it seems to be working so far, will keep you updated.

Henry

so? fixed or not fixed?

Sebba, I PM Dr Lyn and he replied me this , I expected he could also post it for the public, but he didn't notice that he had been asked, as he could reply me, but not in the thread. 

Fortunately this is what he said: " Hi Aitonos, I managed to do the desoldering my self on two boards.  Since then both boards work perfectlly, one having been constantlly on for abt. 2 months.  The gps has been a bit unstable but i think this i due to electric noise on the boat and i have a backup for that, other than that it has been working perfectlly.' best regards"

I guess that 2 boards, 2 months ON it's very good...

Knowing this, I will do also the desoldering, but before I will try to solder the Serial adapter and plugit to the PI  to check. Will report.

My board is also the 11.9.1 hw version

Thanks!

[samuel67]

Really impressive progress, Seb. Seeing the step-by-step evolution from PCB assembly to RF and antenna tuning is very motivating for those of us following along. The NanoVNA measurements and frequency adjustment details are especially helpful.

The idea of adding an O-ring groove for better sealing sounds like a smart improvement, particularly for long-term marine use. I’m curious to see how the outdoor and long-distance tests perform once everything is fully enclosed.

Looking forward to the real-world results — great work so far and thanks for sharing the details.

[Lazzz]

I have a problem with Mariana not receiving any more,
I purchased the Mariana kit with a USB + RS422 Adapter when they first came out and it worked perfectly connected via nmea 0183 to my Raymarine plotter.
I then purchased the Macarthur hat and connected the Maiana to the hat and is working but not perfectly, just a tiny glitch when reading as data on my plotter.
I tried connecting back via the USB + RS422 Adapter but it would not receive but transmitted ok.
I purchased the new Mariana Blue USB + RS422 Adapter thinking the old USB + RS422 Adapter was faulty but this new one will not receive either.
It can't be the base unit at fault because when I connect to the Macarthur hat it receives, and transmits ok.
Any ideas please?

[sebba]

Hi Lazz,
Let me know if I got it right.
So,
1st time: Maiana -> NMEA0183 Adapter -> direct to Raymarine  = worked.
Then changed to: Maiana -> MacArthur hat on Raspberry Pi. How did you connect Raymarine plotter to Pi? Maiana's data are visible in Signalk data browser?
Please give me more details about the glitch.
Then, you connect it back to Raymarine, like 1st time? and no receive? Did you get nothing? I mean, Maiana should transmit on NMEA0183 the GNSS sentences (like RMC, GLL etc) and VDM sentences (the received AIS targets). 
After that, you got Maiana Blue NMEA0183 adapter (RS422) and do you have same results.

I can suspect the RJ45 connector (bad crimping) or something bad happen with the Maiana main PCB.
Try to remove Maiana PCB from your installation location, even remove it from the large PVC tube, and test with a short and tested cat5/6 cable.
Also, check the PCB board for corrosion

Try to use a PC (laptop/desktop) and an USB cable to Maiana Blue NMEA0183 adapter. Of course, wire the + and - 12v wires to adapter and connect also the Maiana PCB to the adapter using a cat5/6 short and tested cable.
If Windows, use the Termite app and check for data flowing from Maiana (make connection on your specific COM port, using 38400 bps, 8N1)
If Linux, use CuteCOM app.
You should see data flowing. You should be able to send commands like cli sys? station? reboot etc

Pay attention: Maiana Blue adapter is galvanic isolated at USB side but if you use other adapters you have to check is there are isolated or not. To be absolutely sure you'll not make any further damage, try to use a laptop which is running on battery and is not connected to the AC charger.

Good luck

[Lazzz]

Thanks for your reply Sebba.
Yes - "1st time: Maiana -> NMEA0183 Adapter -> direct to Raymarine = worked." and worked great!!!
"Then changed to: Maiana -> MacArthur hat on Raspberry Pi. How did you connect Raymarine plotter to Pi? Maiana's data are visible in Signalk data browser?" Yes All data from Maiana is going to my Raymarine plotter via SK - NMEA2000.
The glitch is that when reading the AIS data on my plotter all the blank spaces & after the names etc there are "yyyyy"s, with two dots above the y, to fill the blank spaces eg "BOATNAMEyyyyyyy" or "Destination: yyyyyyyyyyyy".

"Then, you connect it back to Raymarine, like 1st time? and no receive? Did you get nothing?" It is transmitting great but nothing coming in whatsoever, same with the new Maiana Blue NMEA0183 adapter (RS422)!!
I am using the same Cat5 cable that I use to the MacArthur hat that is Tx & Rx so I'm ruling out the cable or RS422 connections.

I really don't want to remove/dismantle my aerial just yet!!
I have connected the new Maiana Blue NMEA0183 adapter (RS422) to Windows Termite & can see the data flowing from Maiana also resent the cli, station etc commands but nothing coming in.
Nothing is connected to any AC.

I suspected the Cat5 cable & connections so changed different cables & used the exact same cable that is working on the MacArthur hat but still would not receive!!

I am thinking of getting the CAN Adapter instead of the NMEA0183 - would this work??

I want to have a separate AIS System separate from the Pi5 but still have the MacArthur Hat Maiana as redundancy??