Using Nema 2000 bus

[rorkin]

I am planing to add a Garmin chartplotter to upgrade a 4 year old Lowrance unit.
I would like to keep the Lowrance unit as a discrete sonar.
The question is.. Can I pass all the data from the Lowrance unit to the
Garmin unit and eliminate the need to change any transducers or even the GPS antenna.. I know it might be a good Idea to mount the new antenna as well and have redundancy, but just wondering if my idea would not work ?? Anyone know if the connectors on the network are interchangeable ?? The old chartplotter is Nema 2000 capable as well as 0183 ,, It would seem to be a pretty simple task.. even with 0183 since all that information should be contained in the NEMA sentence..

 

[ocnslr]

Last year I installed a Garmin 4210 on a friend's sailboat, so some familiarity with those connectors.

This year I upgraded our boat from a Lowrance LCX-19C to an LCX-112C, with full NMEA2K bus for the engines, twin GPS receivers, LMF-400, etc.

The Lowrance NMEA bus uses industry standard connectors, i.e. they can be replaced easily with the field-attachable micro connectors from Maretron. This does NOT include the transducer connections, which are proprietary. The new Lowrance LBS-1 sounder module uses an Ethernet connector. The Lowrance does, of course, have the usual NMEA0183 connectionts.

The Garmin will have the NMEA0183 connections, and could get posiiton info from your Lowrance unit this way, but you are giving up any redundancy. I don't know of any way to get the Garmin to use sonar info from the Lowrance xducer, unless you can change the connector.

JMHO

 

[rorkin]

Perhaps I am missing something but if I can get both the Garmin and the Lowrance on the Nema 2000 Bus, don't I get the Transducer information
passed along the bus to the Garmin ?? If so Iwould probably mount the Garmin antenna for redundancy but pass over the Transducer information as that is not as critical.. But run both units.

 

[ocnslr]

I think the only NMEA sentences that originate from transducer data and are passed along will be depth and water temperature.

I don't know of any NMEA data that contains the actual sonar info.

 

[Hookup1]

NEMA

The sounder has a direct connection to the depth transducer. The Garmin MAY be able to get position data from the Lowrance but I don't know how to configure the Garmin. Your new GPS antenna is probably a better unit and will give you redundancy.

As far as passing the sounder data to display on the Garmin I seriously doubt this will work. I have a 3006C and my friend has a 4212. Both have Garmin black box sounders. I've been over the manuals a thousand times and don't see any way to configure a non-Garmin box. You may be able to pass digital depth, temperature and paddle-wheel speed across the NEMA bus but no images.

If I were you I would set them up as two independent systems. I don't see any advantage in interfacing the two units.

If the Garmin unit your looking at has a intergrated sounder you can most likley use the same transducer with possibly a different connector. Airmar makes most of the transducers. You can check specs and see if the transducers are the same

 

[rorkin]

Re: NEMA

The sounder has a direct connection to the depth transducer. The Garmin MAY be able to get position data from the Lowrance but I don't know how to configure the Garmin. Your new GPS antenna is probably a better unit and will give you redundancy.

As far as passing the sounder data to display on the Garmin I seriously doubt this will work. I have a 3006C and my friend has a 4212. Both have Garmin black box sounders. I've been over the manuals a thousand times and don't see any way to configure a non-Garmin box. You may be able to pass digital depth, temperature and paddle-wheel speed across the NEMA bus but no images.

If I were you I would set them up as two independent systems. I don't see any advantage in interfacing the two units.


If the Garmin unit your looking at has a intergrated sounder you can most likley use the same transducer with possibly a different connector. Airmar makes most of the transducers. You can check specs and see if the transducers are the same

That would be an option if I were to just use the Garmin.. Which is also a possibility.. I guess the only actual advantage of getting the Garmin on the bus would be to get depth data over to the Garmin.
I am leaning toward the redundancy of both the units with independant
antenna.. I am going to find a dealer who sells and instals both I guess and talk it over with them. I just don't understand why if the Lowrance transducer is a nema 2000 device it cant be seen as a device by the Garmin , either plugged in or on the bus.. I assume it is very much like
ethernet with addressing of the devices, visible to any display device on the network.. I thought that was the point. Perhaps I am overestimating the capabilities of Nema 2000

 

[ocnslr]

Re: NEMA

I just don't understand why if the Lowrance transducer is a nema 2000 device it cant be seen as a device by the Garmin , either plugged in or on the bus.. I assume it is very much like ethernet with addressing of the devices, visible to any display device on the network.. I thought that was the point. Perhaps I am overestimating the capabilities of Nema 2000

I have not seen any Lowrance transducer that is a direct NEMA2000 device, and certainly not one from four years ago.

The Lowrance LBS-1 digital sounder module is installed between the Lowrance transducer and the Lowrance display unit, but the input to the display unit is via a proprietary Lowrance Ethernet connector, and not the NMEA2000 bus connector.

The LBS-1 allows almost any of the newer display units - with the yellow Ethernet connection - to display the sonar data. That means that a Globalmap can now be a fishfinder.

But again, this is on the Lowrance Ethernet, and NOT on the NMEA2000 bus.

If changing the LBS-1 output connection from Ethernet to NMEA2000 was easy to do, then there would be a lot of happy Lowrance owners out there.

Brian

 

[rorkin]

Re: NEMA

I just don't understand why if the Lowrance transducer is a nema 2000 device it cant be seen as a device by the Garmin , either plugged in or on the bus.. I assume it is very much like ethernet with addressing of the devices, visible to any display device on the network.. I thought that was the point. Perhaps I am overestimating the capabilities of Nema 2000

I have not seen any Lowrance transducer that is a direct NEMA2000 device, and certainly not one from four years ago.

The Lowrance LBS-1 digital sounder module is installed between the Lowrance transducer and the Lowrance display unit, but the input to the display unit is via a proprietary Lowrance Ethernet connector, and not the NMEA2000 bus connector.

So is what you are saying is that that data is not passed down the bus ??

The LBS-1 allows almost any of the newer display units - with the yellow Ethernet connection - to display the sonar data. That means that a Globalmap can now be a fishfinder.

But again, this is on the Lowrance Ethernet, and NOT on the NMEA2000 bus.

If changing the LBS-1 output connection from Ethernet to NMEA2000 was easy to do, then there would be a lot of happy Lowrance owners out there.

Brian

\
Well this is an lcx 20c.. THe Gps antenna is clearly a nema 2000 device..
I guess where I am not being clear or do not understand is the following..
I do not want to connect the transducer to the NEMA 2000 network.. I want to pass the data through the Lowrance.. onto the bus then to the Garmin. I am making perhaps the false assumption that all data from all sources is on the bus and the Garmin can extract that and display it

Transducer --> Lowrance lcx 20c --> Nema 2000 bus --> Garmin.

Perhaps I am looking at NEMA 2k as more of a network than it really is.

If another remote Lowrance NEMA 2000 chartplotter can echo data from a primary one, why couldn't the Garmin NEMA 2000 compliant plotter display that data ?

 

[Grog]

The newer Lowrance models let you share the sonar data through the ethernet connection. I don't think that data can be transmitted over the 2000 bus, it's more for devices. There is way too much data from the sounder for the NEMA 2000 bus to handle. Another problem you might have is your NEMA 2000 connectors may not be the modern type and you will need an adaptor to convert to the new plugs. I had to do this with my LCX-25C (BOE sells the adaptors).

If you want redundancy don't share the GPS module data over the NEMA 2000 network. Any problem with the bus and both GPSs will be down.

 

[rorkin]

The newer Lowrance models let you share the sonar data through the ethernet connection. I don't think that data can be transmitted over the 2000 bus, it's more for devices. There is way too much data from the sounder for the NEMA 2000 bus to handle. Another problem you might have is your NEMA 2000 connectors may not be the modern type and you will need an adaptor to convert to the new plugs. I had to do this with my LCX-25C (BOE sells the adaptors).

If you want redundancy don't share the GPS module data over the NEMA 2000 network. Any problem with the bus and both GPSs will be down.

Agreed.. I want 100% redundancy on the Chart-Plotters.
Depth not as much of an issue if a failure..
If I know where I am than I should know the depth.
(Famous last words) I probably will just use the Garmin without any sonar info for now and use the Lowrance for sonar..