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1. #MULTIPLE BRANDS ON A NMEA 2000 NETWORK HOW TO#
2. #MULTIPLE BRANDS ON A NMEA 2000 NETWORK CRACKED#
3. #MULTIPLE BRANDS ON A NMEA 2000 NETWORK LICENSE#
4. #MULTIPLE BRANDS ON A NMEA 2000 NETWORK PLUS#

You can’t take compatibility for granted, and often you’ll need to determine whether (and how) one piece of equipment can talk to another on a case-by-case basis.The NMEA Standards Committee developed the NMEA 2000 interface which isīased on the electrical CAN Bus. Compatibility between brands is getting better, but you still need to be careful when building a hybrid network. The bottom line is that manufacturers so far have only made half-hearted efforts at standardization and inter-operability. Otherwise it’s probably best to stick with the same radar and display manufacturer. You can bet on any of the newer radomes and displays in Navico’s suite of brands (Lowrance, B&G, Simrad) all talking to each other through Navico’s Ethernet, so you can safely mix and match equipment from these manufacturers. When building a complex network your options are therefore somewhat limited, as it normally makes sense to build around your radar/display interface. Unfortunately, Ethernet, or something like it, is a necessary evil, because it’s much faster than NMEA 2000 and is needed for transmitting graphic data like radar, weather maps and complex cartography. As a result, each manufacturer’s version of this technology really is proprietary and can’t talk to that of others. Where things really go haywire is with Ethernet connections, for which there is no standard. Some proprietary networks are essentially duplicates of NMEA 2000 (Navico/Simrad’s SimNet is one example), but some manufacturers’ NMEA-based networks don’t interface perfectly with straight-up NMEA equipment without some tricks and fixes. His chartplotter has both interfaces on the back, so he plugs his AIS into the NMEA 0183 plug and the rest of the network into the NMEA 2000 plug, essentially running two “networks” without an adapter. Another acquaintance of mine has an NMEA 2000 network throughout his boat, but also has a black box AIS transceiver that only speaks NMEA 0183. In some cases a device that has interfaces for both NMEA 2000 and NMEA 0183 can act as an adapter of sorts. Buying an adapter was an obvious solution and a small price to pay to keep from replacing a reliable autopilot. One sailor I know replaced all his old malfunctioning electronics with new NMEA 2000 Certified stuff, but had a $4,000 autopilot that only spoke NMEA 0183 and still worked flawlessly. Whether or not this seems expensive depends on circumstances. These adapters, produced by manufacturers like Simrad, Actisense and Maretron, translate NMEA 0183 data into NMEA 2000 data so the two networks can talk to each other. If you’ve got a mix of equipment on your boat, you can purchase what are variously called adapters, bridges or gateways to connect NMEA 2000 devices to NMEA 0183 devices.

#MULTIPLE BRANDS ON A NMEA 2000 NETWORK HOW TO#

The question then becomes how to connect various devices together if they don’t speak the same language. All these devices are still useful and still have a place aboard our boats. But if you’re like me, you’re not about to toss out all your electronics just because they aren’t cutting edge. Still, what new technology didn’t have some complaints and issues to resolve? Progress is progress, and NMEA 2000 will undoubtedly be the marine data network we use for the next few decades. With NMEA 0183 you can set up a whole data network for a couple bucks in wire.” That’s probably close to a hundred bucks just in cabling.

#MULTIPLE BRANDS ON A NMEA 2000 NETWORK PLUS#

Just to connect a GPS to an antenna you’d need two of each, plus the drop cables and backbone. “Here’s a T-fitting for $14 and an end fitting for $7.50. He went on to show me drawer after drawer of NMEA 2000 parts and complained that what was supposed to be so simple really involves lots of bits and bobs-bits and bobs that vary slightly from one manufacturer to another. My partners and I miss good old NMEA 0183, where you could just connect everything up to a single bus and be done with it.” How many times have you connected to a data network and had it work the first time? It’s buggy and complicated. One experienced electronics installer (who prefers to remain anonymous lest the NMEA send its goons after him) lamented to me, “It’s still a data network.

#MULTIPLE BRANDS ON A NMEA 2000 NETWORK CRACKED#

Still, NMEA 2000 may not be all it’s cracked up to be. These problems don’t have to do with the NMEA 2000 standard itself, but are instead due to marketing, competition and vested interests in existing technology. The cost is negligible, but there have been some obstacles in bringing certified products to market.

#MULTIPLE BRANDS ON A NMEA 2000 NETWORK LICENSE#

For a device to be NMEA 2000 Certified, the manufacturer must purchase the standard and license each individual product.