Pat Anderson
New member
Yellow is the standardized color for the data output lines in NMEA 0183 marine electronics. It is the data output (or more properly one of the data output lines) on the C80 NMEA output, and the NMEA data input lines on the S1000 autopilot and the Navman fuel flow meter (actually the yellow on the autopilot is a "Seatalk" input, which I believe is Raymarine's proprietary version of NMEA 0183). The Scotchlok connector instructions specify only solid copper wire. So why it is so hard to find 20 gauge solid copper wire with yellow insulation is beyond me.
I first tried LFS, and they sent me to Rasmussen Marine Electric. No dice. Rasmussen sent me to Radar Marine Electronics. Again no dice. Radar Marine Electtronic sent me to Hardware Sales. Once again no dice. Hardware Sales sent me to Platt Electric. No dice and they had no suggestions. So apparently is impossible to wire marine electronics in Bellingham...
I can get stranded 20 gauge wire with yellow insulation on Amazon but that is not supposed to be used with Scotchlok connectors (although I ran across a Cruisers Forum post that linked to some old Navagear article by our own Timflan where Tim apparently used stranded 20 gauge wire with Scotchlok connectors). Since Tim wired my autopilot on Daydream, perhaps he used stranded wire on my own boat!
Anyway, we are about to add an AIS for the Great Loop. The AIS takes a NMEA input, multiplexes it with the AIS data, and sends it to my laptop running Coastal Explorer via a USB cable. So I am going to need a small amount of 20 gauge wire with yellow insulation (I could use a different color but there is a very good reason for the standardized color codes, which is to be able to tell what is what when you look at all the wires).
So, can anybody help me out with maybe 6 feet of 20 gauge solid copper wire with yellow insulation, or at least give me a line on where to buy it? Or, have any of you used Scotchlok connectors with stranded wire successully, i.e., where the connection has held up over the years?
Thanks, any help would be appreciated!
I first tried LFS, and they sent me to Rasmussen Marine Electric. No dice. Rasmussen sent me to Radar Marine Electronics. Again no dice. Radar Marine Electtronic sent me to Hardware Sales. Once again no dice. Hardware Sales sent me to Platt Electric. No dice and they had no suggestions. So apparently is impossible to wire marine electronics in Bellingham...
I can get stranded 20 gauge wire with yellow insulation on Amazon but that is not supposed to be used with Scotchlok connectors (although I ran across a Cruisers Forum post that linked to some old Navagear article by our own Timflan where Tim apparently used stranded 20 gauge wire with Scotchlok connectors). Since Tim wired my autopilot on Daydream, perhaps he used stranded wire on my own boat!
Anyway, we are about to add an AIS for the Great Loop. The AIS takes a NMEA input, multiplexes it with the AIS data, and sends it to my laptop running Coastal Explorer via a USB cable. So I am going to need a small amount of 20 gauge wire with yellow insulation (I could use a different color but there is a very good reason for the standardized color codes, which is to be able to tell what is what when you look at all the wires).
So, can anybody help me out with maybe 6 feet of 20 gauge solid copper wire with yellow insulation, or at least give me a line on where to buy it? Or, have any of you used Scotchlok connectors with stranded wire successully, i.e., where the connection has held up over the years?
Thanks, any help would be appreciated!