Connect Old Raymarine Stuff to New NMEA 2000 Backbone?

This is kind of an old picture, but it works the same.

SMIS_Gauge_layout.jpg

Back at the engine you have the engine interface connected to a tee with a terminator resistor on the end. Some where in the middle there will be a tee that supplies power to the network. If you follow the wire coming out of the gauge it should go to a tee. All you have to do, disconnect the wire on the tee and add another tee to connect the gps module. The tee for the power can be any where between the two terminators. To add any device you just break a connection along the length of the backbone add a tee and add the new device. The terminators need to stay at the ends of the cable.
 
Well, one question was just answered by Ryan at Sportcraft! The connector for the drop cable to an N2K backbone is on the back of the SMG4 display unit itself under a cover. He said it will require an N2K starter kit, which I just ordered.

Now I need to figure out the N2K GPS antenna. This one from Defender for $185 looks like it would fill the bill - any other suggestions?

This will result, at least at first, in my having at first two completely separate systems or "networks" on-board - the existing 2005 NMEA 0183 stuff, which all still works, getting GPS input from the RS 125, and the Suzuki SMG4 N2K display connected to a new N2K backbone and fed with an N2K GPS antenna.

At some point one of these N2K WiFi multiplexers that can convert 0183 and 2000 bidirectionally would be very nice - integrates everything and shows output on an iPad to boot. If I understand things correctly, with this all the old stuff would also be able to get GPS input from the N2K GPS antenna.

The benefit of this seems to me to be that I can replace all the old stuff - which is not "junk" in my mind because it has worked for 16 years and still all works - incrementally with new stuff as we feel necessary or worthwhile. A new VHF and likely a new MFD are probably in the not too distant future. This would be in addition to the existing C-80, at least for a period of time, because the C-80 shows depth sounder output from the Depth Sounder Module and the radar display from the Raymarine radome. And Jody - we have never felt our lives were in danger because of the 16 year old electronics! We cruised 5,428 miles around the Great Loop in 2017 with this equipment plus an iPad over the held on a RAM mount running various nav apps, and did just fine!
 
Having two networks is what I ended up with. NMEA 2000 is designed to talk on a bus to multiple things sharing different information. NMEA0183 is really only designed for one way traffic and one source can only support a limited number of listeners.

The receiver you link to will do what you need it to. Be aware that that one also has a heading sensor in it. If you feel you are ever going to use that feature, you need to consider it when installing the receiver.
 
ssobol":1zudzbay said:
Having two networks is what I ended up with. NMEA 2000 is designed to talk on a bus to multiple things sharing different information. NMEA0183 is really only designed for one way traffic and one source can only support a limited number of listeners.

The receiver you link to will do what you need it to. Be aware that that one also has a heading sensor in it. If you feel you are ever going to use that feature, you need to consider it when installing the receiver.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
Pat, that Mini Multiplexer is a newr version (by about 6 years) of the shipmodule one I have and it has worked flawlessly.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

January_2010_344.thumb.jpg
 
hardee":1vl3m12f said:
Pat, that Mini Multiplexer is a newr version (by about 6 years) of the shipmodule one I have and it has worked flawlessly.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
Click to expand...

Whether or not we buy that multiplexer will totally depend on how aggressively we upgrade things to N2K. My guess is, that multiplexer is in our future!
 
The N2K backbone starter kit was ordered from Amazon yesterday and is arriving today. The GPS receiver with heading sensor was ordered from Defender this morning, and will get here when it gets here! It may take Defender two days to ship and take UPS 5-7 days to get it here. This feels like a start on advancing into the current century!
 
Here is a photo of the N2K socket for the drop cable on the back of the Suzuki SMG4 display, right where Ryan from Sportcraft said it would be. It was under a little rubber cap.

N2K_Connector_on_back_of_Suuki_SMG4.sized.jpg
 
Aha. My mistake there - I thought the cable came with the display. Mine was all hooked up to the backbone with a couple of Tee connectors in it when I picked up the boat.

Feel fortunate that your GPS device is so cheap. A local surveyor had a GPS head unit stolen from one of his instruments and it was valued at over $40,000. It was returned anonymously the next day with an apology note.
 
And here is my N2K backbone. It also came with two six foot drop cables. The one tee will only allow two devices to be connected, and in my case, one will be the Suzuki display and the other will be the N2K GPS. However, it is simple to add additional tees, and they are fairly inexpensive, I will probably get one to be ready for the next N2K device i buy!

N3K_Backbone.sized.jpg
 
This four port connector from Ancor is the same brand as my backbone, is $11 dollars less expensive, and will be here a day or two after I order it.

 
I think you need to put a terminator on any unused port so unless you are hooking up four devices the singles might be cheaper in the long run.
 
TyBoo":1jehayjj said:
I think you need to put a terminator on any unused port so unless you are hooking up four devices the singles might be cheaper in the long run.
Click to expand...

I have not seen any requirement that unused connections on a tee require a terminating resistor. Not going to be a problem at the start, since I have two ports and one will be for the GPS receiver / antenna and the other for the Suzuki SMG4 display. I anticipate at least two more in the not too distant future, namely, a new VHF with AIS, and a multiplexer for the rest of the old NMEA 0183 stuff, including the C-80 and the autopilot. So if anyone knows the definitive answer to Tyboo's statement, we would all love to hear it.

This is a copy and paste from the Actisense document on N2K networks:


Minimum Network Requirements
The following are the essential components of any NMEA 2000 network:
• Power insertion point - fused.
• 2 x NMEA 2000 certified devices (at least 1x TX and 1x RX) and a means to connect them to the network. This can be via T-pieces or other products which will be discussed later.
• Termination resistors - Precisely 2, no more, no less.

And:

Termination Resistors
At each end of the backbone a termination resistor must be installed.Each termination resistor is 120 Ohms and is connected in parallelacross the data pair of wires when plugged in to NMEA 2000 approved cables and connectors. This provides a total of 60 Ohms resitanceacross the network and is essential to data integrity.
 
Pat, this is a photo of part of the combination Raymarine Seatalk & regular NMEA 2000 network, I made up last winter for our new Raymarine chart plotter, auto Pilot, Honda HD-4 motor gauges & NMEA 2000 motor information. Along with backbone needing plugged any unused data spur must also be plugged. I didn’t have any left over ports, so didn’t have to plug any off.

The backbone is all Raymarine Seatalk. The spur lines coming in & out are a combination of Seatalk & NMEA 2000. The NMEA 2000 Spurs needed adapter cables to connect to & from the Seatalk backbone.

F5740843_6CB3_4BC3_9A46_F92DEF512457.jpg
 
Jody of course is right about the caps. When building the network, I thought there would be extra connecting points left over & the plugs I purchased looked similar to the backbone plug.
 
Thanks, Jay and Jody. I don't have anything on the SeaTalk ports of the C-80, everything, and I do mean everything, is on the C-80 NMEA 0183 port. That will change incrementally! I will get some blank caps when I get the second tee connector. I am also going to need some conecting cables that are shorter than the two six foot cables that came with the start kit! Jay, I see where you mounted your backbone, that seems like a good spot, but do the screws poke up through the dash? I don't know how thick the fiberglass is there.
 
Pat, that area is somewhere between 9/16 & 3/4 inch thick. I didn’t go through with the screws, I used, which at present I can’t remember the depth in. I cover the electrical area with a thick vinyl cloth attached by snaps, that are also screwed in & believe have 1/2 inch screws.

The auto pilot alone used 5 ports from the backbone, then another 4 for the engines to the Honda gauges & one for power. Many networks would also include more for the radio, radar & sonar.

My present radio is having transmit problems, so plan to replace it with one with AIS, so will be adding another single port for it.
 
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